Lewiston Mom Knocks it Out of the Park – Save Maine Schools

Lewiston Mom Knocks it Out of the Park – Save Maine Schools:

Lewiston Mom Knocks it Out of the Park

The following letter, written by Karen McClure-Richard of Lewiston, Maine, appeared in our local newspaper this morning.  It was written in response to the superintendent’s call for an improved state test, and it’s awesome.

This is a response to Bill Webster’s guest column about the MEA tests (June 18). I find his change in opinion on that test very interesting. As a parent, I have spent the past five years advocating that school leaders take a hard look at the over-testing of students. Much of what Webster discussed in his column could have come directly from the many emails I have sent the Lewiston School Committee through the years.

Sadly, while so much focus has been on the one state-mandated test, I have been seeing an increase in the amount of time being spent on numerous assessments that are used multiple times per year, starting with even the youngest students in kindergarten.

Parents do not have access to that information. Teachers continue to say that little, if any, of the data gleaned from those assessments helps guide their instruction, as there are far too Lewiston Mom Knocks it Out of the Park – Save Maine Schools: