$17 million SBAC testing money should be used to prevent the terrible cuts to programs that actually help children. (Guest Post by CT Educator James Mulholland)
A moratorium on the state’s standardized testing frenzy would provide the funding need to maintain critically important education and human service programs for Connecticut’s most children.
As Connecticut policymakers confront a large and growing state budget deficit, veteran Hartford educator James Mulholland correctly recommends that the $17 million in taxpayer funds that are being wasted on the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing scheme should be used, instead, to stop the disastrous cuts that will actually hurt and limit opportunities for Connecticut’s poorest children.
James Mulholland writes;
As Connecticut’s lawmakers wrangle with the budget in the coming days, one area of the budget they have not yet considered for cuts is the state’s SBAC testing program. The state estimates it will spend $17 million developing and administering standardized tests during the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years. Advocates of standardized testing in general, and the SBAC in particular, have provided two primary justifications for the testing. The first is to identify underserved subgroups and thereby better address their educational needs. Advocates contend that the disparity in test scores, often referred to as the “achievement gap,” provides political leverage and forces politicians and other stakeholders to respond to the needs of historically underserved subgroups such as African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students.Although the final numbers are still being debated, the state’s recent proposed budget cuts as reported by the CT Mirror include almost $24 million from the Office of Early Childhood and the departments of Social Services, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Public Health, and Children and Families. In addition $16.3 million would be cut from the Department of Education,$17 million SBAC testing money should be used to prevent the terrible cuts to programs that actually help children. (Guest Post by CT Educator James Mulholland) - Wait What?:
