Breaking: 26 Teachers and Staff of International High School at Prospect Heights Campus in Brooklyn refuse to give NYC ELA Performance Assessment Test

Oy! Can I get up that early tomorrow to cover this? Well, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale is still on tomorrow and it's right across the street. Maybe I'll have some sleepy video for you by Friday. Much irony in that so many PEP meetings take place in this building.

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: April 29, 2014

CONTACT:          Emily Giles, e.giles@ihsph.org, (917) 575-2936  

                         Emily Wendlake, emilywendlake@gmail.com, (413) 657-7255

                         Rosie Frascella, r.frascella@ihsph.org, (917) 767-1001

                         Anita Feingold-Shaw, afeingoldshaw@gmail.com, (510) 872-1712

**Media Advisory**

26 Teachers and Staff of International High School at Prospect Heights refuse to give NYC ELA Performance Assessment Test

WHEN: Thursday, May 1, 2014, 7:45-8:20am,

WHERE: International High School at Prospect Heights, 883 Classon Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225

WHAT: Teachers will hold a press conference to announce their refusal to administer the NYC ELA Performance Assessment. 26 teachers and staff at Prospect Heights International High School are refusing to administer a new assessment that is part of the new teacher evaluation system pushed by Bloomberg’s DOE and the UFT last spring.  50% of parents have opted their children out of the test. The high school serves almost exclusively recently arrived English Language Learners.  

WHY:  The test was constructed and formatted without any thought for the 14% of New York City students for whom English is not their first language. The level of English used in the pre-test administered in the Fall was so far above the level of our beginner ELLs that it provided little to no information about our students’ language proficiency or the level of their academic skills.

Furthermore, the test was a traumatic and demoralizing experience for students. Many students, after asking for help that teachers were not allowed to give, simply put their heads down for the duration.  Some students even cried.  

Teachers at Prospect Heights are drawing a line with this test.  Standardized, high stakes test dominate our schools, distort our curriculum and make our students feel like failures.  This test serves no purpose for the students,  and ultimately only hurts them.

26 Teachers have signed a letter to Chancellor Farina declaring that they will not give the exam.  The letter expresses gratitude for Farina’s immediate turn around of the DOE’s attitude toward teachers, and asks that the Chancellor reconsider the use of the NYC ELA Performance Assessment with English Language Learners.

WHO:  Teachers and support staff from the International High School at Prospect Heights.

RSVP: This event is open to press and coverage is welcome.

The International High School at Prospect Heights is a public high school located in Brooklyn, NY. Read their letter to Chancellor Farina at www.standupoptout.wordpress.com

###

Will the mainstream media - if they bother to pay attention - go after these teachers and ignore the issues being raised? Where will the UFT stand? Peter Goodman was whining on a list serve about this issue, urging moderation and for teachers to "encourage" the deformers to be reasonable.

MOREista and Change the Staker Jia Lee and 2 teachers from her elementary school also refused to give the tests. The Nation reported about their

--> "open letter from a group of “Teachers of Conscience” at the Earth School, an elementary school in Manhattan. Accompanied by a philosophical position paper detailing principles of a progressive education, the teachers declared their opposition to English language exams for third-to-eight graders." As did Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post.
Rosie and Emily Giles are active MOREistas. See video of Rosie at the Change the Stakes rally last week where in an off the cuff interview she elucidates the thinking of more and more teachers. Much of the test flux has come from elementary schools so it is important that this is coming from high school - there is a chain of international schools here in NYC that are linked and at some point this may spread.

Next GEM Meeting: Monday, June 20th-- Help Build a Campaign for Test-Free Teacher Evaluations!

The push for test-based accountability is out of control and seems to have no sign of slowing down. Standardized test scores have already been used in New York City to justify shuttering over a hundred public schools; often times that space is then handed off to education corporations known as charter schools. Now up to 40% of teacher evaluations in New York State could be based on tests, meaning that it would be next to impossible for a teacher to achieve a satisfactory rating with a poor grade on test-based measures.

We know that high-stakes testing narrows the curriculum and leads to teaching to the test. Instead of delivering the kind of challenging lessons which foster critical thinking and create thoughtful citizens, teachers feel pressured into teaching in ways we know are not effective: rote drills and memorization of multiple choice questions from previous exams. Students of color are most likely to fall victim to this kind of low-level instruction, which has become common-place in schools which are obsessed with raising test scores.

Join us for the next meeting of The Grassroots Education Movement to clarify our understanding of the ways in which the addition of test-based measures into teacher evaluations connects to the drive to privatize our public schools AND to build a campaign to advocate for test-free teacher evaluations!

Monday, June 20th, 5pm
CUNY Graduate Center
34th St and 5th Ave
(Please bring ID)

After the discussion on teacher evaluations we will break into action groups focusing on a variety of issues like planning the fight against next year's closings and co-locations, building Fight Back Friday for the fall, the Save our Schools march in July, and of course our test-free teacher evaluation campaign. Please join us! All are welcome!

Periodic Assessment Boycott by LA Teacher Union

I don't have to tell you boys and girls teaching in NYC, how things might be if we didn't have a collaborationist union in the UFT. Read below abot the LA Teachers union and weep.

Click http://www.utla.net/pab for more info on this struggle being waged by LA teachers.

Periodic Assessment Boycott

STARTING JANUARY 27th!

Don't turn in the tests!

Assessment should be between you and your students, not you and the bureaucracy!

*************************************

On January 27, we launched a boycott of periodic assessments.

UTLA is calling for a complete boycott of all periodic assessments, Open Court Assessments, and any other district mandated tests that are NOT required by State or Federal law, or that aren't needed to determine appropriate placement for a student, such as CELDT tests. We are boycotting the submission of the test data to the District.

LET US KNOW
If you, or somebody you know at your school, is written up, let us know. Fill out the "Written-Up" form, or call 213-637-5147.

BOYCOTT IDEAS
If you have some successful organizing ideas, send us your boycott organizing ideas and we'll soon post them on the UTLA site for other members to see.

Actions to Take

Additional Information

LET US KNOW If you, or somebody you know at your school, is written up, let us know. Fill out the "Written-Up" form, or call 213-637-5147. BOYCOTT IDEAS If you have some successful organizing ideas, send us your boycott organizing ideas and we'll soon post them on the UTLA site for other members to see.

Assessment Research United Teacher articles by Julie Washington and Janet Davis (page 13) Bargaining Flash: "Why I'm joining the protests" "Strength in Numbers" letter to members (2 pages) Explanatory letter from members to parents Explanatory letter from members to parents (in Spanish) Response letter from members to administrators (2 pages) California Education Code 60602 & flyer (2 pages) UTLA legal letter to LAUSD (2 pages) UTLA response to Superintendent Cortines' letter Q&A about Periodic Assessment Boycott (2 pages) Q&A about "Letters of Reprisals" Initial flyer Press Conference Media Coverage

We are taking this action for many reasons

1) We cannot waste money in a time of budget crisis
• The District is spending millions on periodic assessments while at the same time threatening to lay off teachers, increase class sizes, and cut important programs.
• LAUSD is facing a severe budget crisis. We can no longer afford to let LAUSD spend valuable resources on extra tests that don't help our students learn.
• The cost for the tests could be as high as $150 million a year when packaging, distribution, and personnel time are factored in, not to mention the loss of weeks of valuable instructional time spent prepping students for the tests instead of teaching. That's money that could go to other things, such as stopping teacher layoffs, that have a much bigger impact on student achievement.

2) These tests aren't useful and they waste valuable instructional time
• GIVE CONCRETE EXAMPLES: "Right now, middle school students are losing two weeks of English instruction to testing."
• Teachers teach, not tests. We don't need superfluous District-mandated tests to know whether the students we work with every day are learning
• Most teachers feel that the periodic assessments-which are mostly composed of multiple choice questions-produce useless "junk data" while taking away valuable time from teaching and learning.

3) Students will benefit from the extra instructional time
• The boycotts will not hurt student learning. Teachers will still be giving out multiple tests, class assignments, and homework, along with regular report cards.
• These tests are NOT required by state law. State law requires that District ensure that diagnostic assessment takes place, and the normal work of teachers in evaluating their student's progress meets the law's requirements.
• Every teacher has access to Teacher Guides that provide assessments at no cost.
• The state and federal governments have rigorous standards and testing requirements in place for our students. The tests we are boycotting are not part of these state or federal requirements.

4) How can I participate in this action?
UTLA recognizes and respects that some teachers may find some parts of the periodic assessments useful in helping them understand what their students are learning. It is up to teachers and individual departments to decide upon whether to administer the tests. If you choose to administer all or part of the tests, you can still participate in the boycott by refusing to turn that data in to the District.. Our battle is with the bureaucracy, not with each other. Don't feed the bureaucracy by turning in your results!

Send the Bureaucrats a Message:
Excessive Testing Hurts Our Kids and Our Classrooms!

Related: LA teachers sit in over layoffs

LA Teacher Union Urges Boycott of Practice Tests....

....but is warned the scores may go down.

Gee, ya think?

L.A. teachers' union calls for boycott of practice testing

These tests are all about practicing for THE BIG ONE. They take time away from doing real teaching. But they do serve the purpose of artificially inflating the scores. Sort of like lifting weights. I can actually make my puny biceps look like more than little lumps with a few sets of curls. Lasts a few hours before shrinking back to reality.

"The union Tuesday directed teachers to refuse to give them to students on the grounds that the tests are costly and counterproductive."

Here's a union that walks the walk. Not like the UFT which sets up a committee to study the testing issue for a year, comes out with a pretty good report (so they can say they have reservations about testing) but then endorses merit pay based on test scores and measuring individual teacher performance based on these tests.

[LATU Pres.] Duffy remains skeptical.

"The pig does not get fatter when you weigh it 10 times a day," Duffy said. "And if the test scores do go up, isn't it phony? Because what you are doing is teaching to the test, teaching a subject that has been narrowed down radically. We're not creating smarter kids. We're creating smarter test takers."

Duffy announced the boycott Tuesday at Emerson Middle School on the Westside, where teachers said the district tests were too burdensome on top of already mandated state and federal testing.

"We are supposed to be teaching, not testing," said Emerson English teacher Cecily Myart-Cruz. "We can come up with our own assessments in our classroom, and we do -- every day."

Teachers and schools actually seem to have some say, not like here in NYC, and Duffy may actually pull this off. The LATU showed off its biceps when most of the teachers in LA boycotted classes successfully for an hour at the beginning of the school day earlier this school year.

[Supt Ray] Cortines asserted that the assessments are part of teachers' assigned duties -- they are not optional. He also said he has and will amend aspects of the tests that need fixing. But he won't toss them out because, he said, they have contributed strongly to rising performance on the state's own annual tests.

I'm disappointed in Ray Cortines, who I always considered a good educator, for pushing these tests but all these guys are under enormous pressure to show results. But I think he is not arrogant like a Joel Klein and hopefully will try to make some changes. But even the best seem to be caving. How he will respond to a massive boycott will be interesting. If teachers ever started using their power enmasse.... ah, why even bring it up? In NYC the UFT is just one big obstruction with tiny biceps.


Related:
When Bronx teacher Doug Avella's 4 classes refused to take one of these practice tests, the DOE called out the hounds and he seems to have disappeared from the school system. Maybe they sent him to GITMO.

Articles on Ed Notes on the Avella story in chronological order beginning in May 2008.

Bronx Teacher Under Gun Due to Student Boycott of Test

Dear Joel Klein - Letters on Student Test Boycott

Where is Leo Casey and Edwize on Test Boycott?

Anti WASL Wins as Washington Education Superintendent

Juanita Doyon, a leader of the anti-high stakes testing movement in Washington State, founder of Mothers Against WASL (the state test), and author of Not with Our Kids You Don’t!: Ten Strategies to Save Our Schools, sent this good news:

We're celebrating here!! Big time!!!!!! Randy Dorn has been in touch throughout his campaign and is listening to our concerns. His speeches and debate responses were deja vu to my own campaign. He understands the pitfalls of high-stakes testing and the need for viable alternatives.

Juanita ran against Terry Bergeson, Dorn's opponent, a few years ago, so her celebration is well-deserved. I met Juanita at the ACT Now conference a bunch of test resisters from around the nation attended in Birmingham, AL back in March 2003. Juanita, whose buttons are featured on our side panel on the right, recently sent over 5000 anti testing buttons to the LA Teachers Union.

More NYC Students Boycotting Tests?

"My students refused to take the tests seriously for several reasons: the weather (so hot), the timing (last week of school) and the fact that they KNOW these are practice exams, despite me straight-up lying to them, saying that our school would use their grades to place them in their English class next year. The fact that these test scores may be used as data about the capabilities of NYC students is truly frightening; these tests do NOT reflect what my students are capable of." - a NYC teacher

This teacher was required to administer 2 days of standardized testing during the last week of classes (last week) during English class to 9th grade. 10th grade had 4 days of standardized testing last week. The teacher was told by admin that these tests were city-wide. Anyone know if that is true?

Some speculation:

Will kids be leading the way in boycotting tests in the future?
Will teachers be blamed as Doug Avella was?
(Note this teacher, unlike Doug, tried to lie to the kids -- I can see why, given possible repercussions, but in the long run the kids need to trust the teacher.)

Are they being used instead for the teacher evaluation study/ scheme/ to rate teachers on their annual gains in test scores – for the purposes of eventually using this for tenure decisions, contrary to the supposed restrictions in the contract?

ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY ISSUE

CONTINUE TO DEFEND ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND FREEDOM OF SPEECH
ASK THE UFT TO MAKE THE TESTING BOYCOTT A PRIORITY ISSUE

We ask that you continue to write e-mails to Chancellor Klein in support of a teacher who teaches critical thinking.

We are also asking the UFT to make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority. Please e-mail UFT President Randi Weingarten rweingarten@uft.org and Vice President Leo Casey lcasey@uft.org asking the UFT to continue to defend teacher rights in this matter and to make this issue a priority for the UFT.

A sample letter is below:

Dear Leo Casey and Randi Weingarten,

As a member of the UFT, I ask that the teachers' union continue to be proactive in the struggle to defend the academic freedom of public school teacher Douglass Avella, who wanted his students to think critically about their education.

As an educator concerned with the abuse of standardized tests, I also support the 160 8th grade students who used their freedom of speech to boycott the practice test to demonstrate how excessive testing has taken away valuable learning time from the classroom.

Because of the large amount of support from teachers, educators, organizations, parents and students, I ask that our teachers' union make this issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech a priority.

Sincerely,

____________________
Teacher/UFT Member

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Supported by:
Center for Immigrant Families, NYCoRE, Teachers Unite, Time Out From Testing

Where is Leo Casey and Edwize on Test Boycott? UPDATED

Fred Klonsky at PreaPrez wants to know how the UFT has responded in supporting the teacher in the student testing boycott case? He writes:

One of their leaders, Leo Casey, seems to have no problem finding time to writing on EdWize, the UFT blog, long, very long theoretical critiques of G. William Domhoff’s analysis of the power elite. This is something I’m sure his rank-and-file members have been salivating to read. Yet not a word about Doug Avella and the students of I.S. 318.

We're sure the UFT is doing what it always does in cases like these: provide a rep and inform the teacher of his rights, which as a probationary teacher are few. They will claim they are negotiating behind the scenes and therefore must remain quiet.

Students need support too

WHAT DID MR. AVELLA SAY AND WHEN DID HE SAY IT?

Coming soon: Waterboarding as a staple of DOE investigations

What about the public aspect of the situation? That a teacher discusses an issue with his classes, the kids take some action, and the teacher is immediately blamed and sent to the rubber room. Remember. The kids have supposedly taken 22 standardized tests this year and this was one of those practice types that ARIS, which is not working effectively, is supposed to deal with.

It seems the UFT should use its pulpit to shout about this case loud and clear. They may very well argue that publicity would hurt the teacher. I disagree. His best chances would seem to come from embarassing the DOE to the extreme over the use of Gestapo tactics against the kids and teacher.

“We’ve had a whole bunch of these diagnostic tests all year,” Tatiana Nelson, 13, one of the protest leaders, said Tuesday outside the school. “They don’t even count toward our grades. The school system’s just treating us like test dummies for the companies that make the exams.”

Sounds like no harm, no foul.

Sources tell us the children were threatened with No GRADUATION or PROM if they didn't comply and rat the teacher out and Avella's program is being covered by a substitute. Is it a good thing for the kids to lose a popular teacher at this point in the year? And what of the bigger lesson of threats and intimidation? Where's the outrage at the violation of these children by the system? Anyone out there in the regressive reform movement who are so concerned about achievment gaps in the abstract?

BRING AVELLA BACK TO HIS KIDS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR FOR THE SAKE OF THE KIDS!

Where's the NY press which is always talking about how much money is being wasted by the rubber room? Do you get a clue why teachers need tenure? If Avella had tenure he would be in a much stronger position. In fact, when Joel Klein and the regressive ed reformers try to make the case for the elimination of tenure, respond with these two words: Doug Avella.

Dear Joel Klein - Letters on Student Test Boycott

Thanks to Susan Ohanian for sending these letters along after putting a shout out on her web site. And don't forget to check out her new book.

Stephen Krashen writes: I have just received, and read, Ohanian's When Childhood Collides with NCLB. It is the kind of book that you read immediately, and easily. It provides an incredible amount of ammunition, at just the time we need it.

http://susanohanian.org/show_nclb_outrages.html?id=3344

Hi Joel—

Thank god for principled teachers like Douglas Avella, who is teaching his students critical thinking. He is exactly the kind of teacher we need. And his students are the kind of students we need, who have seen through the farce that is the testing madness, and who know there are better ways to evaluate both individuals and programs.

Shame on everybody in your administration who discourages this kind of teaching and learning. Avella should be lauded as Teacher of the Year. You will be the laughing-stock of the country if you punish him in any way. Be a man; stand beside him to confront and resist the testing madness.

— Susan Harman, Ed.D., CalCARE
5/23/08

jklein@schools.nyc.gov

Dear Chancellor Klein,

Rumor has it that the teacher, Doug Avella, whose students boycotted the test is about to be fired. If this is true, I would like to ask you to please reconsider. There are so many reasons to celebrate this teacher and the students in his class. Here is just one:

Hooray, they have broken the apathy barrier! Right or wrong (and weren't we there ourselves once?), right or wrong they have actually done something which will empower them for the rest of their lives. Will these students be among the 40 percent who do not vote? I bet not. Will they only look to others to take care of them? I doubt it. Will they go out into the world with excitement in their hearts and minds because they did something? Definitely.

Consider for a moment the course they may take if you fire this brave teacher. They will be given the message that it is not worth it to try. They may feel that peaceful resistance is ineffective. They may decide to let the achievement gap widen on their account to pay back a system which misunderstood and devalued them.

What do I know about this? I am the teacher who recently in Seattle refused to administer our state's test. Luckily, my district saw fit to only suspend me for two weeks. My place is in the classroom and so is your rebellious teacher's. Please show some wisdom and courage, and pay attention to your student's voices and the voices of concern from people who are supporting them and your teacher.

Sincerely,

Carl Chew
6th grade science
Eckstein Middle School
Seattle, WA
5/23/08

Dear Chancellor Klein,

This is one educator who is proud of the direct action the students of the South Bronx Middle School. They see clearly that putting the cow on the scale AGAIN won't make them any smarter. The misuse of standardized tests are corrupting public education and THE only benefactor of testing is the test publishing companies.

It is sad to put the blame solely on their teacher. But even if he was the impetus for the idea, it was a good idea. However, as a professional educator, I know from first hand experience that middle schoolers aren't likely to be led in this action, but are much more likely to be the leaders. Perhaps they are tired of taking tests that do nothing but highlight their socio-economic status and fail to enhance the quality of their education in any way.

Perhaps when the leadership of the New York City schools recognize that schools aren't a worker delivery factory system, but rather a place of education to prepare students for participation in our democratic republic, then perhaps the requirements for teachers to commit educational malpractice will also cease.

Sincerely,

— Sean Michael Black, M.A., Ed.S.
Greeley, CO
5/22/08

Dear Joel Klein,

The fact that Douglas Avella from IS 318 may be fired for the decision made on the students' part to boycott the end of the year tests is unjustified and unconscionable. The fact is, the state and city of New York have mired these kids in an entanglement of testing that delves into the realm of sickening abuse. Twenty three standardized tests throughout the year, the loss of recesses, extra test practice time, the loss of physical activity in some cases, and the narrowing of the curriculum has created an educational nightmare for families. As an educational leader, you are supposed to lead the teaching community with CLARITY and WISDOM about what is BEST for kids learning, as they develop into creative human beings that will be adult citizens of this country. The broad stroke of NCLB, the collective pressure from profiteering test companies, and those who wish to privatize education has nearly destroyed our public school system. The fact is too many studies have shown that the NCL

But the law is NOT working, standardized tests do NOT improve learning, and that children, when faced with these test anxieties, have dramatic brain changes that block them from truly learning and RETAINING information. Those students at that school were tired of the testing and the military regimentation of the curriculum that they were facing. You need to realize this as these students were brave enough to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Do NOT fire this teacher for the actions of students in pain.

— Joseph Lucido
Fresno, CA
5/22/08

Dear Chancellor Klein:

As a longtime middle school teacher, I applaud what happened at Intermediate School 318. When children of this age examine a problem and then organize to effect change, then we know that citizenship in a democracy is indeed alive and well. It is indeed gratifying to see students able to break out of the factory model for schooling and stand up for a good education. I would be proud to be their teacher. Our nation needs more teachers like Douglas Avella.

Sincerely,

Susan Ohanian
Charlotte, VT
5/22/08

Support for Doug Avella Builds

PLEASE WRITE TO CHANCELLOR KLEIN IN SUPPORT OF A TEACHER WHO TEACHES CRITICAL THINKING

To all those in favor of critical thought,

You have most likely heard about the situation in the Bronx at IS 318. On May 13 six classes of 8th graders staged a boycott in protest to being forced to take another standardized test, one of over two dozen this year. They boycotted one of the practice tests. An 8th grade social studies teacher, Douglas Avella, was falsely accused of instigating the students to boycott, and he is already in the rubber room and likely to lose his job entirely. Over the past week, a number of news articles and editorials have come out, including coverage from Juan Gonzalez and on WBAI's Democracy Now, and there has been a huge outpouring of concern and support for the teacher and the students. Recently, there have been a few other cases of testing boycotts in other U.S. cities, but this is the first one that we have heard about that was initiated by students. The students of I.S. 318 thought critically about their education, organized with each other, and then decided to take action. Their actions should be celebrated. The students and their teacher should be applauded and their message of urgency about the current state of high-stakes testing in our schools taken seriously.

We need to let the DOE know that we need more teachers like Douglas Avella. We need more educators who listen to their students, take their ideas and experiences seriously, and make it possible for them to respond thoughtfully and critically to their world.

The students of I.S. 318 stood up for what they thought was right. They have been taught by a beloved teacher whose job is now in jeopardy. It is critical that we stand up right now and show our support for Doug Avella and his students. Please send an email to Chancellor Joel Klein at

jklein@schools.nyc.gov.

Let him know that we demand the immediate re-instatement of Douglas Avella to his teaching position at IS 318 and the removal of any negative letters or ratings in his file in connection with the test boycott.

also, please cc your letter to UFT President Randi Weingarten at rweingarten@uft.org

Thank-you!

Sam Coleman and Geoffrey Enriquez, on behalf of NYCORE
Priscilla Gonzalez and Donna Nevel, on behalf of Center for Immigrant Families
Jane Hirschmann, on behalf of Time Out From Testing
Sally Lee, on behalf of Teachers Unite

Bronx Teacher Under Gun Due to Student Boycott of Test

Updated Thurs, May 22, 10 PM

The Resistance to the Standardistas grows

Teacher Doug Avella from IS 318 in the Bronx is in the Rubber Room (let's hear it from the peanut gallery in the press and the national teacher bashers about only incompetents being in the RR) for doing exactly what? Talking about testing to his kids? And 160 kids in 6 classes just pick themselves up and boycott the 22nd standardized test they took this year?

You mean a teacher in middle school in the Bronx actually got 160 kids to do what he wanted them to do? Someone has got to be kidding if they think it is that easy to move THAT mountain.

Question on ICE-mail: Will the UFT back up this teacher?

Jeff Kaufman responds:
You're kidding, right? The UFT will backup this teacher right into the unemployment line. Sure, they will provide an advocate to represent him at the discontinuance and U rating appeals but do you think they will file an Article 78 in Court challenging his dismissal? Not a prayer.

Joining teachers from North Carolina (video) and Washington State.

Maybe it's a trend.

Hey, TFA people! If you are going to leave after 2 years anyway, why not go out in style?

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2008/05/21/2008-05-21_bronx_8thgraders_boycott_practice_exam_b-1.html

Dan Brown's take at the Huffington Post.