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Friday, September 30, 2016

Attention Connecticut:  SATs are WORTHLESS – A report by whistleblower Manuel Alfaro - Wait What?

Attention Connecticut:  SATs are WORTHLESS – A report by whistleblower Manuel Alfaro - Wait What?:

Attention Connecticut:  SATs are WORTHLESS – A report by whistleblower Manuel Alfaro


Tomorrow, October 1, 2016, thousands of Connecticut children will – once again – be taking the SATs in the hopes of acquiring a high enough score that they can attend the college of their choice.
However, more and more colleges and universities are going test optional.  According to Fairtest, the national test monitoring entity, more than 900 colleges and universities across the country have dropped the requirement that students provide an SAT or ACT test score with their application. Colleges have taken this step because they recognize that it is a student’s grade point average – not their standardized test score – that is the best predicator of how well a student will do in college.
Meanwhile, it was just last year that Governor Dannel Malloy and the Connecticut General Assembly mandated that every Connecticut high school junior take the SAT, despite the fact that the overwhelming evidence is that the test is unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory, not to mention, it is designed to fail a vast number of children.
Instead of promoting a sophisticated student and teacher evaluation program, Malloy and other proponents of the corporate education reform agenda have been pushing a dangerous reliance on standardized testing as a the state’s mechanism to judge and evaluate students, teachers and public school.
Below are two statements that were recently posted by Manuel Alfaro on his LinkedIn account.  Alfaro is an outspoken whistleblower and critic of the College Board and their SAT.
Before coming forward to report the College Board’s unethical, and arguably illegal activities, Alfaro served as the Executive Director of Assessment Design & Development at The College Board (The SAT).
Considering Connecticut’s public officials made a profound mistake by mandating that schools use the SAT scores to evaluate students and teachers, Mr. Alfaro’s information and warnings are particularly important.
Manuel Alfaro Post #1
Residents of CO, CT, DE, IL, ME, MI, and NH, the heads of the Department of Education of your states have failed to protect the best interests of your students and your families, opting instead to protect their own interests and the interests of the College Board.
Over the last five months, I have written about several serious problems with the redesigned SAT. The problems include: