Rep. Jamaal Bowman Leads Effort to Reverse Federal Stance on Testing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Rep. Jamaal Bowman Leads Effort to Reverse Federal Stance on Testing | Diane Ravitch's blog

Rep. Jamaal Bowman Leads Effort to Reverse Federal Stance on Testing

Before he became a member of Congress, Jamaal Bowman was principal of a middle school in the Bronx. He knows what kids need: more support, not more testing. He is now vice chair of the House Education Committee. In New York, before entering Congress, he was an active member of the opt-out of testing movement. He is now spearheading an effort to roll back the Biden administration’s refusal to grant waivers to states from the mandated federal testing.

He wrote a letter to Secretary Miguel Cardona and gathered signatures from other members of Congress. What is remarkable is how few members signed his letter.

Bowman said that requiring testing this year would add stress to kids who are already traumatized and divert school administrators’ resources and attention away from reopening safely. 

“We absolutely should not be doing this now in the middle of a pandemic,” he said in an interview, adding that it CONTINUE READING: Rep. Jamaal Bowman Leads Effort to Reverse Federal Stance on Testing | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC Public School Parents: Letter from members of Congress to Sec. Cardona asking him to waive the tests; and how to have your voice heard

NYC Public School Parents: Letter from members of Congress to Sec. Cardona asking him to waive the tests; and how to have your voice heard

Letter from members of Congress to Sec. Cardona asking him to waive the tests; and how to have your voice heard

See the letter sent today by members of Congress to our newly-confirmed Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, asking him to grant waivers so that states do not have to give students the federally-mandated exams this year, in the midst of the pandemic.  This letter was spearheaded by newly-elected Representative Jamaal Bowman from the Bronx and Westchester, and a former Bronx middle school principal.  More on this here.

On Feb. 22, the  letter from the US Department of Education, rejecting state waivers before Sec. Cardona even took office was signed by Ian Rosenblum, an acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education and the former executive director of the pro-testing organization, Education Trust-New York.

As Rep. Bowman points out, “Mr. Rosenblum, with all due respect, has never been a teacher or school administrator in his life, and it’s important that our parents and educators know that these decisions are being made by people who do not have the experience to make those decisions. That’s unacceptable in and of itself.”

A few days ago, Diane Ravitch posted on her page a list of the organizations that signed a previous letter on Feb. 3, urging the US Education Dept. not to grant waivers for testing.  This letter was led by Rosenblum's previous employer Ed Trust.  Diane also including information we had gathered on the many millions of dollars these organizations had received by the pro-testing, billionaire-led Gates and Walton Foundation.  She also posted the list of organizations and the millions of Walton and Gates funds given the organizations that signed onto a press release on Feb. 23, also led by Ed Trust, posted the day after Rosenblum rejected the waivers, urging the Department not to grant states any flexibility in this regard:

"The Department must not, as part of its promised state-by-state “flexibility,” grant waivers to states that would allow them to substitute local assessments in place of statewide assessments or to only assess a subset of students. 

If you want to have your voice heard over the insistent shouts of the billionaires and the groups that they fund, you should call the US Dept. of Education at 800-872-5327 from 9 AM-5 PM; press #3, and tell them to cancel the tests.

NYC Public School Parents: Letter from members of Congress to Sec. Cardona asking him to waive the tests; and how to have your voice heard

Ed Notes Online: Jamaal Bowman connects charter movement to anti-labor, anti-union privatization - it takes an educator who suffered the negative impact of charters

Ed Notes Online: Jamaal Bowman connects charter movement to anti-labor, anti-union privatization - it takes an educator who suffered the negative impact of charters

Jamaal Bowman connects charter movement to anti-labor, anti-union privatization - it takes an educator who suffered the negative impact of charters

One of the things that irk me about Democrats from all wings of the party and progressives to the left is how the charter schools are often avoided in so many discussions - I think that is intentional because they don't want to alienate segments of the non-white community who support charters. 

Those of us who have been involved in fighting ed deform over the past 25 years see charters as the point of the spear aimed at privatization of fundamental public services. Anti union, anti labor.

I'm watching a webinar from the Democratic Socialists with Jamaal Bowman, Naomi Klein and SARA NELSON International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. (Call her the anti-Randi of the progressive labor movement). The goal of the webinar is to link green new deal to labor struggles and jobs by urging passage of the PRO-ACT. Dems who won't support the pro labor act are giving in to their corporate sponsors. The PRO Act gives unions tools to overturn the right to work laws in their states.

Bowman spoke eloquently, as usual, and made that charter school connection and how they must be fought to stop that CONTINUE READING: Ed Notes Online: Jamaal Bowman connects charter movement to anti-labor, anti-union privatization - it takes an educator who suffered the negative impact of charters

National Town Hall on Suspending High Stakes Student Testing | Cloaking Inequity

National Town Hall on Suspending High Stakes Student Testing | Cloaking Inequity

NATIONAL TOWN HALL ON SUSPENDING HIGH STAKES STUDENT TESTING

Register now – National Town Hall on Suspending High Stakes Student Testing on 1/26 at 6 p.m. EST w/ Congressman Jamaal Bowman , Dean Julian Vasquez Heilig , Professor Jack Schneider and many more. MC’d by Bob Schaeffer of FairTest and @ilana4regent – register for free here.

See all of Cloaking Inequity posts about high-stakes testing here.

There is much more work to do, and no doubt, there will be more challenges ahead, but I am convinced that we will refuse to allow adversity to stop us from pressing forward and making an unmistakable and lasting impact.

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National Town Hall on Suspending High Stakes Student Testing | Cloaking Inequity