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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTesting revolt brews in Florida as Miami schools chief urges delay in new exams
Testing revolt brews in Florida as Miami schools chief urges delay in new examsIn Florida, the state where former governor Jeb Bush (R) pioneered the use of high-stakes standardized tests for school accountability purposes, a testing revolt is unfolding.
Late last month, the Lee County school board voted to drop all state-mandated tests as an act of civil disobedience, though the vote was rescinded because of fear that students would suffer the consequences.
Then Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho (who was, incidentally, named the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year) blasted state testing policy and called for a delay in administering new high-stakes standardized tests across the state, saying in this statement:
The state must own and address over-assessment. Instructional time is too precious to spend it assessing students on duplicative measures. Assessment of students should serve the strict purpose of informing instruction, not simply provide a variable into a teachers performance evaluation formula, as is the case of the new state-mandated, district-designed end-of-course K-12 exams.
And the Florida School Boards Association has begun considering motions that would call on the state to change its testing policies.
Not just teachers fighting back. Administrators, principals joining the fray now. In fact as early as 2011 many NY principals starting protesting these policies.
658 NY school principals revolt against Obama's school policies.
As of last night, 658 principals around the state had signed a letter 488 of them from Long Island, where the insurrection began protesting the use of students test scores to evaluate teachers and principals performance.
It is hard to overstate how angry the principals who signed are. Mario Fernandez, principal of Stillwater High School near Saratoga, called the evaluation process a product of ludicrous, shallow thinking.
Katie Zahedi, principal of Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook in Dutchess County. said the training session she attended was two days of total nonsense.
I have a Ph.D., Im in a school every day, and some consultant is supposed to be teaching me to do evaluations, she said. It takes your breath away its so awful.
Also from the link, the words from the principal of one of the highest ratest schools.
Its education by humiliation, Mr. Kaplan said. Ive never seen teachers and principals so degraded.
msongs
(67,420 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,694 posts)pnwmom
(108,980 posts)RKP5637
(67,111 posts)public education, they morph it into the 'common profit' for private corporations to rake in more $$$$$. Damn, it gets tiring.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)They are setting the curriculum, and they know it.
They are the deciders of what our kids learn now.
Thespian2
(2,741 posts)contribute to education by being one of the important causes of high school students dropping out of school. Also, the process is a giant aid for businesses who want to steal the states treasury through useless charter schools and vouchers.
Retired teacher.
littlemissmartypants
(22,694 posts)RKP5637
(67,111 posts)littlemissmartypants
(22,694 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)It's out of control.
rpannier
(24,330 posts)to tell us that these administrators are also among the lazy who just want the summer off
that Duncan/Obama reforms have the support of hard working teachers, it's just the lazy one's that oppose the administration (that was from some one in WI a few years back)
you never liked Obama
you don't care about the kids
etcetera
etcetera
and so on
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)My favorite.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Heard that one before.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Thank you, madfloridian. I'm happy to see that teachers and administrators standing up to this crap.