Teacher standoff stokes debate over standardized tests
SEATTLE |
(Reuters) - A boycott by Seattle teachers a widely-used standardized test has attracted national attention and given new momentum to a growing protest movement that seeks to limit standardized testing in public schools.
The revolt by Seattle public school teachers and students elsewhere comes at a time of bitter political wrangling over how best to reinvigorate a $525 billion public school system that leaves American children lagging their counterparts in countries like Finland and South Korea.
Standardized tests have played an ever-more prominent role in public schools over the past decade.
Yearly testing in reading and math for elementary school students required by former President George W. Bush's 2002 landmark testing law, known as "No Child Left Behind," exposed stark achievement gaps in many schools, mainly along racial and economic lines, and spurred interventions to help struggling kids.
Sandy Kress, a former advisor to Bush on the law, and lobbyist for