Teacher: Why I won’t give students high-stakes standardized test
I received the following email from a teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle, where nearly all of the teachers are refusing to give students mandated standardized district tests called the Measures of Academy Progress.
The Garfield teachers say the tests are flawed and don’t evaluate learning. After their boycott was publicized last week, teachers at a second Seattle school, Ballard High, joined in. You can read my post about that here.
One of the reasons that there is growing opposition to high-stakes standardized tests is that increasingly states are requiring districts to evaluate teachers based on the test scores of their students, an assessment method that experts say is unreliable.
Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser, a social studies teacher at Garfield, wrote the following email to me to explain her position about the boycott and standardized testing. Anybody who thinks the
School superintendents urge Obama to act on gun violence
Here is a letter that the National Superintendents Roundtable, a nonprofit organization of nearly 100 school superintendents in 30 states, just sent to President Obama in support of efforts to protect schools from gun violence. The group's Steering Committee -- which includes the superintendent of Alexandria City Public schools, Morton Sherman -- decided unanimously over the holidays to issue a statement on the need to reduce gun violence in the country, and last week, every member signed a letter insisting on meaningful action. It has been sent to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and every governor, according to the roundtable's executive director, James Harvey.
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School superintendents urge Obama to act on gun violence
Here is a letter that the National Superintendents Roundtable, a nonprofit organization of nearly 100 school superintendents in 30 states, just sent to President Obama in support of efforts to protect schools from gun violence. The group's Steering Committee -- which includes the superintendent of Alexandria City Public schools, Morton Sherman -- decided unanimously over the holidays to issue a statement on the need to reduce gun violence in the country, and last week, every member signed a letter insisting on meaningful action. It has been sent to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, all members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and every governor, according to the roundtable's executive director, James Harvey.
Read full article >>