Urgent: Tell President Biden to Stop the Tests - Network For Public
Education
Urgent: Tell President Biden to Stop the Tests
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/
