Oregon Teachers' Union Supports Opting Out, Calls for Congressional Hearings on Testing
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| unitedoptout.com/ |
Today we have the fourth report this month contributed by teacher union activists, who have followed democratic processes in their unions to engage in active resistance to high stakes testing. Two weeks ago the Chicago Teachers Union rejected the Common Core. The same week, teachers representatives in the Connecticut Education Association also voted to push back against the Common Core and support the Network for Public Education's call for Congressional hearings. And yesterday we learned that representatives of the Massachusetts Teachers Association had passed resolutions fighting the abuses of high stakes tests. These stories reflect the experiences and viewpoints of the teachers who wrote them. One swallow does not make a spring, but today, the fourth swallow has arrived from the state of Oregon, and it appears spring is here.
Guest post by Kathleen Jeskey.
A few weeks ago at the Oregon Education Association Representative Assembly, the largest gathering of teacher representatives in the state, Oregon's teachers gave an emphatic thumbs down to high-stakes testing in general and the new tests scheduled to be will be rolled out next year by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium in particular. One resolution stated that "...the Smarter Balanced Assessment and other mandatory high stakes testing are detrimental to students." Another stated "...Assessment outcomes that accompany the Common Core State Standards (such as the Smarter Balanced Assessment) disrupt student learning. Tremendous amounts of time and resources are dedicated to test preparation and administration and ... decisions regarding assessment content are held in secrecy."
Among the new business items introduced were one stating,
That OEA shall1) Support the rights of parents/guardians to collaborate with teachers to determine appropriate options for assessment of students' proficiency if opting out of statewide standardized assessments. OEA will advocate for their right to do so without retaliation.2) Encourage its local affiliates to work alongside students and parents and leadership groupsOregon Teachers' Union Supports Opting Out, Calls for Congressional Hearings on Testing - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: