Fair Test: Testing Resistance & Reform News: April 18-23, 2013

Every week seems to set a new record for coverage of the rapidly expanding national movement against high-stakes testing overkill. -- Fair Test

Except at Gotham Schools.

Read the idiot Gotham Schools piece supporting Pearson tests by Jennifer Borgioli who actually cites George W. Bush to support testing and makes other nonsensical points or as one activist states:  it is one of the worst edited pieces I have ever seen.  It is illogically constructed, badly written and the arguments are so weak as to be laughable, and read NYC Educator's piece critiquing it (Gotham Schools Defends High-Stakes Testing)

Let's show some muscle.  Change the Stakes RALLY Friday, 4PM: CLEANING UP the MESS of HIGH STAKES TESTING

Come out to Tweed on Friday from 4-5:30 to show how you feel about the child/teacher abusing use of highs takes tests.

Check this list from Fair Test's Bob Schaeffer:

Every week seems to set a new record for coverage of the rapidly expanding national movement against high-stakes testing overkill.  In addition to stories about resistance to standardized exams from a dozen states, many excellent commentaries were published in the past few days.

Remember that back issues of these updates are online at http://fairtest.org/news -- click on the red button at the top of the page to Donate to support FairTest's work making testing reform news and distributing it.

Overuse of High-Stakes Tests Feeds Cheating Explosion -- USA Today editorial response by FairTest
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/04/22/standardized-tests-cheating--editorials-debates/2104923/

High-Stakes Testing Exposed . . . Again
    http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=11240#more

Education "Reform" Missing Another "R" -- Results
    http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/education-reform-missing-another-r-word-results-rf9hgtc-202854471.html

How Do You Evaluate Teachers Who Change Lives? (not by "value-added" test scores)
    http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/04/17/28cella.h32.html

New York Parents: My Kids Not Taking Another Standardized Test
    http://news.yahoo.com/york-parents-kid-not-taking-another-standardized-test-025008171.html
Parents Outraged by Common Core Testing
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/education/common-core-testing-spurs-outrage-and-protest-among-parents.html

Error by Testing Giant Pearson Shuts 2,700 NYC Students Out of Gifted-and-Talented Classes
    http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exam-error-shuts-2-700-gifted-talented-programs-article-1.1322573

Chicago Students Plan Boycott of State Test
    http://www.wbez.org/news/students-want-boycott-state-test-106735

In Bid to Pare Exams, Texas Targets Pearson
    http://www.texastribune.org/2013/04/21/taking-aim-testing-firm-quest-pare-state-exams/
State Tests Impede Learning
    http://www.statesman.com/news/news/opinion/westerlund-state-tests-impede-learning/nXQR3/
Crash Test: A History of Texas Testing and the Growing Resistance
    http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/history-of-standardized-testing-in-texas

Portland Students Protest High-Stakes Testing
     http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2013/04/cleveland_high_school_students.html

Ohio School Administrators Under Investigation in Another Cheating Scandal
     http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/17/ohio-new-school-cheating-scandal

Testing Regime Fails Georgia Students
     http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2013-04-20/blackmon-testing-regimen-failing-georgia-students

Only Bubble-Headed Zombies Rely on Standardized Testing in North Carolina
     http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/04/13/2821145/our-bubble-headed-zombie-creating.html

Testing time: Anxious Kids. Angry Parents. Approaching Revolution
     http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/apr/20/testing-time-anxious-kids-angry-parents/

Teaching to Test Takes Away From Education
     http://www.seminolechronicle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/516ffd6a3ad3b

School Uses Bribes and Threats to Make Students Take Tests
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/22/school-warns-students-no-test-no-sports/

Standardized Testing: The Great Deception
     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-rhonda-joy-edwards-vansant/standardized-testing-the-_1_b_3118062.html

Testing Addiction is Real School Scandal
     http://www.toledoblade.com/Keith-Burris/2013/04/21/The-real-school-scandal-is-our-testing-addiction.html

How High-Stakes Testing Transformed My Job From Great to Infuriating
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/04/21/teacher-how-my-job-went-from-great-to-infuriating/

The First Race to the Top
     http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/opinion/sunday/the-first-testing-race-to-the-top.html