Field Trip Against Field Tests: Parent Protest Pearson: June 7 @ 11:00 am

Some parents opting out of Pearson field tests will bring children to June 7 Pearson to protest having them be guinea pigs. Some parents are sending Pearson an invoice for the use of their children as child labor.

There's lots of exciting stuff happening on the opposition to  high stakes testing front. I really can't keep up so you'll have to troll around my Daily Blog roll. Here in NYC I have been part of the GEM Change the Stakes group which has attracted some outstanding parents from around the city. We had another great meeting yesterday and the next focus is on the June 7 protest at Pearson described below. I expect to be there to cover it. Other groups involved include a dynamic new group, Parent Voices (www.parentvoicesny.org) and the old standby Time Out From Testing. And this is nation-wide.

High-stakes testing protests spread http://wapo.st/KR0O2Q
*In New York, parents are organizing to boycott the June administration of a “try out” test. Students will answer experimental questions so Pearson can select items for future tests, perhaps to be used in multiple states for more profits, as was “Pineapple.” The company already had included experimental questions on the May state tests.--Valerie Strauss

The AFT/UFT/Randi Weingarten clique is looking to climb on board the test resistance movement with an  AFT Resolution on Testing resolution at the AFT convention in Detroit in July. It doesn't go far enough and is just words with no real demands. But check it out for yourself. One thing I can say for sure, every single one of the 800 Unity Caucus people going to Detroit will support it no matter what amendments are made to give it teeth. Look for them to call the question, take up space at the microphones, etc. to stop any changes. Read it for yourself --- looks good on paper but is missing some essential elements like:

-- Full transparency of all tests.

-- Full audit of all test costs.

And more -- like some focus on how the common core, which the union supports, will increase testing and costs and test prep. That they support common core and this supposed reso on testing indicates how bogus this is. Call it the Cover Our Ass reso.

Of course, as to events like this below, the UFT seems to have little interest.

If you want a copy of the flier click on the graphic and download it or send me an email and I'll get you the pdf.

Public school parents from across the city are gathering outside the headquarters of test publisher Pearson to protest misguided testing in the public schools.

The demonstration is taking place on:

Thursday, June 7 at 11AM
1330 6th Avenue –  gathering on the corner of 54th street and 6th avenue

We all saw this year how bad the tests are, with ridiculous questions like “The Pineapple and the Hare.” And yet no one takes responsibility. The New York State Education Department has turned over control of the education system to a private for-profit company with no accountability and no oversight

It’s time for parents, educators and concerned citizens to say, enough is enough! We want a rich curriculum for our kids – not “teaching to the test.”

There is no school on June 7th, so we encourage parents to bring their children on a “field trip against the field tests”. We will have a marching band, fun chants, puppets and other activities for kids.

So please join us – and tell your friends. See the attached graphics for more information and distribution.


This demonstration is sponsored by a coalition of groups, including ParentVoicesNY, Time Out From Testing, Change the Stakes, Restore Education Funding, Class Size Matters, Edu4, Alliance for Quality Education, Coalition for Educational Justice. For more information, see www.parentvoicesny.org or www.changethestakes.org.

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FAIR Test run by the great Monty Neill is the major national group fighting high stakes testing. Just to be in the same room with Debbie and Diane is worth the price of admission. I just sent in my $75 for a ticket. And even if you can't go on Tuesday, send them something to keep up the great work.

FairTest to Honor Diane Ravitch with the Deborah W. Meier Hero in Education Award

http://fairtest.org/fairtest-honor-diane-ravitch-deborah-w-meier-hero

Date and Time: Tuesday, 5 June, 6:00-830 p.m.
Place: Julia Richman Educational Complex, 317 East 67th St., New York City

Diane Ravitch is an internationally renowned and respected historian of education. Formerly a supporter of testing, test-based accountability, and school choice, she had the courage to publicly renounce her previous position after seeing the wreckage caused by No Child Left Behind. For the past two years, she has tirelessly toured the nation, encouraging educators, parents and other citizens to stand up against the relentless encroachment of high-stakes standardized testing on the minds of children and the lives of educators.

Author of 10 books, editor of 14 others, and the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, Diane is a graduate of the Houston (TX) public schools and earned a BA from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in American Education History at Columbia University. She was on the faculty of Teachers College from 1975-1991. She then was Assistant Secretary for the Office of Education Research and Improvement in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. She was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board by the Clinton administration, serving from 1997-2004. She shares a weekly blog with Deborah W. Meier on Education Week’s website column, “Bridging Differences.” Diane lives in Brooklyn with her partner Mary Butz.

Order your tickets or place an ad in the Celebration Program using this downloadable form.

If you are unable to attend, we hope you will place an ad in the program or make a donation in honor of Diane here.

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The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.