OPT OUT NEWS: Newspapers (in other states) are promoting parental Opt Out of state testings
As the first phase of Chicago's Opt Out movement ends with the final days of the ISAT testing program, news from across the USA shows that in more and more states opposition to both state testing programs and the so-called "Common Core" corporate testing program is growing.
WORCHESTER MASSACHUSETTS NEWSPAPER:
According to Diane Ravitch:
"The Worcester Telegram commended parents who choose to opt out of state testing and reminded parents that they--not the federal government, not the GatesFoundation--are the ultimate controllers of their children's education. The paper laments the fact that Massachusetts dropped its successful state standards to chase federal dollars.
"After reviewing the genesis of Common Core,the newspaper concluded:
"'Thus, the purity of the motives at play, and the content of Common Core and PARCC, are important issues, but not the first ones that must be addressed.
"'That first issue is the unprecedented and illegal wresting of the core of public education from the hands of local players. Parents, teachers, and local school boards alike must first understand that what is happening is authorized by no law, and has no basis in the Constitution.
"Just as importantly, they must understand that they have the power to wrest it back. We urge them to start by rejecting Common Core and PARCC. Massachusetts should return to its own proud and successful traditions � the civil disobedience embodied by Henry David Thoreau, and the independence in public education pioneered by Horace Mann. In so doing, we can set an example for every state."
"The School Committee of Worcester gave parents the right to opt out of PARCC pilot testing, but Mayor Joe Petty is pressuring the School Committee to reverse its vote. Politicians who deny parents their right to say "no" should be voted out of office. If they don't listen to parents, who will? I mean YOU, Mayor Petty..."
