OPT OUT NEWS: The panic of the plutocracy against the Opt Out movement sounds like a resurrected 'Domino Theory'
By the time most of the administrations of the ISAT (Illinois State Achievement Testing) testing program had ended on March 11 and March 12, 2014, the evidence was still incomplete about the panicky response by the Chicago administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his hand-picked Board of Education and schools "Chief Executive Officer". But it was clear that in many -- if not most -- parents of children in Chicago public schools had faced a lot of bullying if they chose to opt out their children from the lame duck ISAT testing. But not all parents and not all schools faced the widespread bullying. Preliminary information shows that CEO Barbara Byrd Bennett ordered that most of the bullying take place in schools where the majority of children were Black and Latino -- with parents who were working class or very poor.
Sarah Chambers, leader of the teachers at Chicago's Saucedo elementary school, spoke to the rally on behalf of Opt Out and the teacher boycott at the March 10, 2014 rally at the school. Substance photo by Sharon Schmidt.By March 7, the organizations "More Than A Score" and "PURE" had acquired assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to protect the rights of parents to opt out their children and the right of teachers to boycott the tests. Despite attempts by Chicago and Illinois officials to create pretexts for the continuation of children's participation in the tests, the largest number of children in history opted out of a Chicago testing program, and the longer the testing program moved forward the more children were opted out despite the pressure.
First, the national report, provided on March 11, 2014 by Fair Test, showed the widespread impact of resistance to high-stakes testing across the USA:
Across the nation, parents and teachers are resisting the testing mania imposed by the U.S. Department of Education and Congress. It is a good time to remember that education is not mentioned in the Constitution, and that it is traditionally considered a state and local function. The federal government provides only 10% of the funding.
The test resistance ranged from teachers in clown suits in Maryland to parents facing down threats from school administrators in Colorado. And Chicago was the epicenter of the resistance, with thousands of children (including the two sons of this reporter) being opted out of the ISAT tests, while dozens of teachers stood and said they would not give an unethical and wasteful testing program, the ISAT.
Here is FairTest's roundup of the latest resistance to high-stakes testing:
Testing Resistance & Reform Spring is taking off across the nation. This week's stories include articles about protests against standardized exam overkill in a dozen states plus several excellent commentaries. Be sure to post your events and take advantage of the resources available to support your work via the new, simpler URL: http://www.resistthetest.org -- as always, feel free to use or adapt the many useful fact sheets at http://www.fairtest.org
Test Skeptics Aim to Build Support Through Opt-Out and Boycott Strategies
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/12/24boycotts_ep.h33.html
Educators Boycotting Chicago Exam Spend Day Teaching Not Testing
http://www.wbez.org/news/saucedo-teachers-spend-day-1-isat-teaching-concerns-raised-about-intimidation-109815
National Leaders Support Chicago Test Boycott
http://dianeravitch.net/2014/03/09/leading-educators-support-chicago-test-boycott/
Resources for Supporting Chicago Parents and Teachers Protesting the ISAT
http://morethanascorechicago.org/2014/03/03/isat-opt-out-support-kit/
Dressed in Clown Suits, Maryland Teachers Protest Excessive Testing
Maryland Super Tells Parents State Test is Useless
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2014/03/joshua_starr_to_parents_upcomi.html
Florida Ed Commissioner's Arrogant Letter Angers Mother of Recently Deceased Disabled Child
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/ethan-rediske-act_n_4899010.html
Testing Fixation Drives Florida School Board Member to Quit, Fight on Larger Battleground
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/06/the-drive-to-test-test-and-re-test-leads-famous-school-board-member-to-quit/
Worcester Mass. School Committee Will Allow Students to Opt Out of Common Core Pilot Exam
http://www.telegram.com/article/20140307/NEWS/303079875/1116
More Massachusetts Education Leaders Criticize Double-Testing
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140310/NEWS/140319857
New York Protests Intensify as Common Core Tests Loom
http://www.longislandpress.com/2014/03/10/common-core-tests-loom-intensifying-debate-in-ny/
Rochester, NY, Teachers Association Brings Suit Against "Value Added" Evaluations
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/teachers-union-sues-over-evaluations/Content?oid=2346958
Connecticut Educators Want to Reexamine Test-Based Teacher Evaluation Model
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/teacher_union_wants_to_revisit_teacher_evaluation_method
Connecticut Parents Seek to Opt Children Out of Common Core Tests
http://www.ctnow.com/news/hc-parents-opting-out-20140228,0,1363518.story
The Brave New World of "College and Career Readiness" Testing
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/the_brave_new_world_of_being_college_and_career_ready
North Carolina Families Opt Out of Standardized Tests
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/03/09/3682922/opting-out-of-standardized-testing.html
Penn. Parents Join Forces to Opt Kids Out of Standardized Tests
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/parents-join-forces-to-opt-kids-out-of-standardized-tests/article_88aff918-a643-11e3-aa64-0017a43b2370.html
Arkansas Professor Urges 11th Graders to Opt Out of Literacy Test
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/03/10/ua-prof-calls-for-students-to-opt-out-of-11th-grade-literacy-test
Tennessee Teacher Sue Claiming "Value-Added" Assessment is Arbitrary and Unconstitutional
http://tnedreport.com/?p=753
Virginia Lawmakers Seek to Reduce Number of Standardized Tests
http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Va-Lawmakers-Aim-to-Reduce-Number-of-Standardized-Tests-249339961.html
Nashua, New Hampshire Board Backs Delay of New Test
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/1030167-469/majority-of-nashua-school-board-members-back.html
NEA Pushes Bill to Reduce Federal Testing Mandates
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2014/03/nea_pushes_legislation_to_redu.html
When Education is Nothing But a Test Score
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23mcgill.h33.html
13 Ways High-Stakes Exams Hurt Students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/13-ways-high-stakes-standardized-tests-hurt-students/
Believing We Can Improve Schooling with More Tests is Like Believing You Can Make Yourself Grow Taller by Measuring Your Height
Accountability and Motivation -- Test-Driven Policies Get it Wrong
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2014/03/accountability_and_motivation.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW
Common Core Testing Further Undermines Educational Equity
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/10/the-myth-of-common-core-equity/
I Opted My Kids Out of Standardized Tests, Then Learned a Thing or Two
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/03/standardized_testing_i_opted_my_kids_out_the_schools_freaked_out_now_i_know.html
Testing Diverted The War on Poverty -- By FairTest Board member Deborah Meier
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/03/05/23meier.h33.html
Parent to Pres. Obama: Why Don't Private Schools Adopt Test-Driven "Reforms"?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/05/parent-to-obama-why-dont-private-schools-adopt-your-test-based-school-reforms/
What the U.S. Can Learn From Finland
http://www.npr.org/2014/03/08/287255411/what-the-u-s-can-learn-from-finland-where-school-starts-at-age-7
Activists Call for Congressional Hearings on Standardized Test Misuse
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/04/activist-calls-for-congressional-hearings-on-standardized-testing-gets-unexpected-support/
Critics Give SAT Revisions a Failing Grade
http://www.mintpressnews.com/critics-give-new-sat-reforms-failing-score/185941/
The Real Reason the SAT is Changing: Competition from ACT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/05/why-the-sat-is-really-changing-its-facing-tough-competition-from-the-act/
College President: SAT is Part Hoax and Part Fraud
http://time.com/15199/college-president-sat-is-part-hoax-and-part-fraud/
FairTest News Releases
http://fairtest.org/fairtest-questions-college-board-plans-new-sat and http://fairtest.org/node/2964
Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 fax (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org
