Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center and professor of education at the University of Colorado in Boulder, writes here about the “testing pods” created by enthusiastic parents. Welner recently published a book of satirical essays called Potential Grizzlies.
Parents Rush to Form “Testing Pods”
Throughout the nation, anxious parents are worried that the pandemic will prevent their children from being sufficiently subjected this spring to the usual battery of state assessments. Some of these parents are taking the initiative and forming “testing pods” with neighbors and friends.
The pods typically include a testing proctor hired by the parents, who is tasked with ensuring that the students sit still, don’t interact with one another, and quietly focus on the days-long succession of test questions.
The nation’s children themselves have been fretfully yearning to experience testing again, after last spring’s cancellation of the incomparable CONTINUE READING: Kevin Welner: Parents Thrilled with Return of Testing! | Diane Ravitch's blog