In December of 2019, candidate Joe Biden promised that if elected, he would stop standardized testing. Yet the U.S. Department of Education has announced that states must test students in the midst of the pandemic. That is a wrongheaded policy that puts data first and children last. Write Joe Biden. Tell him to step in and cancel the tests.
1. Please call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414.
Here is a suggested script.
“My name is (name) from (state). I am calling to ask the President to keep his promise about eliminating standardized testing. Forcing schools to administer annual tests undermines the administration’s call to support our students’ social-emotional and mental health in this time of crisis. The tests must be canceled. Period.”
2. Then call the U.S. Department of Education at this number 800-872-5327. Press 3.
Here is a suggested script.
“My name is (name) from (state). I strongly oppose Mr. Rosenblum’s recent letter that forces schools to administer annual tests this year. All of our schools’ efforts must be used to support our students’ social-emotional and mental health in this time of crisis. Test results will be meaningless. Please tell Dr. Cardona that tests must be canceled. Period.”
3. Finally, send an email to the White House by clicking here (letter prepared by our friends at NYC Opt Out).
Shame on the Thomas B. Fordham Institute for deliberately misleading the public.
A recent study published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute was sent to policymakers across the country. When the Fordham Institute sent out its mass email, its subject line read: “New report finds charter schools pose no fiscal threat to local districts.” That subject line is a blatant falsehood unsupported even by its own deeply flawed study. The Walton Foundation and The Fordham Foundation, the Fordham Institute’s related organization, funded the study. The Fordham Foundation sponsors eleven charter schools in Ohio, for which it receives administrative fees.
Read my analysis of the study on Valerie Strauss Answer Sheet here.
You can find and share my complete analysis on our website here.
Fordham’s distribution of the report to State Boards of Education, Commissioners, and other policymakers with a deliberately misleading headline does a serious disservice to public schools and taxpayers alike.
We are delighted to announce that Peter Greene will now be curating a blog for the Network for Public Education.
Diane Ravitch will no longer be re-blogging the blogger community’s excellent work but will concentrate on her own commentary instead. As she announced on her blog, while the direction will shift, and she will slow down a bit, she loves this community and wants to keep us all in her living room. In the days ahead, we will be adding new features such as automatic subscriptions to the blog. For now, you can find us re-blogging your great work at: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/best-posts/.
Now get to work making those calls!
And thank you for all that you do.
Send your Email to the White House: Stop the Tests!
In order to email the White House, you must fill out a short form with your message. You will find that form here.
Here is a message you can cut and paste and bring with you to that form, or create your own.
Dear President Biden,
I am writing today to ask that you do everything in your power to reverse the February 22, 2021 guidance on testing waivers sent by Ian Rosenblum (USDE) to chief state school officers.
I join many, many other parents/guardians, students, educators, and concerned citizens who adamantly reject the idea that ESSA’s decree of annual standardized testing should stand in a year that has been anything but standard.
Forcing schools to administer the tests, which is the gist of Mr. Rosenblum’s guidance, undermines your administration’s call to support our students’ social-emotional and mental health in this time of crisis. Rosenblum’s offer of a “flexible” testing window would not mitigate the impacts of the tests. The tests must be canceled. Period.
In a good year, standardized, one-size-fits-all tests do little more than show us where resources are lacking and where affluence congregates. This year, the global pandemic illuminates these systemic inequities in broad relief. By releasing states from the mandate to implement the tests, you will enable teachers to draw on their expertise to assess their students and allow the funds attached to the tests to be redirected to services needed most immediately on the ground in communities now.
Why was Mr. Rosenblum allowed to issue guidance that runs contrary to the promises you made regarding standardized testing? It is not too late to pull back Mr. Rosenblum’s guidance.
Can I count on you to bring your influence to bear, so that happens?
Thank you.
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/send-your-email-to-the-white-house-stop-the-tests/