Why My Family is Boycotting the Tests
There is nothing quite like that feeling when something theoretical turns personal. My husband and I both work in education. He is a high school English teacher and I work for an education non-profit group. Over the past few years, we have become increasingly concerned about the state of education, particularly the impact of high-stakes testing on schools.
But when I had to face this issue as a parent, my concern shifted from sadness to anger and, finally, to a resolution to act. Along with other parents at our school, P.S. 39 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, we are boycotting the field tests that begin in many schools across the city next week.
My evolution on the issue of high-stakes testing began several years ago when my daughter was in second grade. I asked her principal why she administered an optional test called E-PAL (Early Performance Assessment in Language Arts). She said it was for diagnostic purposes. I thought her second grade teacher was perfectly capable of diagnosing the students — as she did regularly. In third grade, I questioned why there was
But when I had to face this issue as a parent, my concern shifted from sadness to anger and, finally, to a resolution to act. Along with other parents at our school, P.S. 39 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, we are boycotting the field tests that begin in many schools across the city next week.
My evolution on the issue of high-stakes testing began several years ago when my daughter was in second grade. I asked her principal why she administered an optional test called E-PAL (Early Performance Assessment in Language Arts). She said it was for diagnostic purposes. I thought her second grade teacher was perfectly capable of diagnosing the students — as she did regularly. In third grade, I questioned why there was
