Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders:

Testing madness leading to massive retention of 3rd graders

by Mike Klonsky

“The children all knew if you didn’t pass, you weren’t going on. A lot of them gave up. They weren’t trying to do any work. The attitude was, ‘What’s the difference? I failed.’”  -- Paula Peterson, principal at Charles Fairbanks Elementary in Indianapolis

The testing madness, unleashed under No Child Left Behind and  still running amok under Race To The Top, is having devastating effects on hundreds of thousands of children and their families.  WaPo's Lindsey Laytonreports that many states are now requiring children to pass a reading test in third grade or be held back from fourth grade. 

But in an accountability era ushered in by the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, the new retention policies offer little wiggle room. Decisions are based on test scores, not the subjective judgment of teachers and administrators. Parents have little recourse. And