The wave of testing pushback

Standardized exams aligned with the Common Core are now in the political cross hairs, reports Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times. In virtually every state, tests will be tougher than before, prompting fears that scores will plummet as happened in New York. In New Jersey and elsewhere, test arrival has been met with organized opposition, television attack ads, and spiraling parental anxiety. Colorado's Board of Education voted in January to allow districts to skip portions of state tests, only to be told by the state's attorney general that it lacked this authority. Almost every state has an "opt-out" movement, but its size nationally is hard to gauge. Facebook, school board meetings, and anti-testing documentaries have been sites of protest and won attention from education officials. Still, vocal groups on social media are diffuse and changeable, making it hard to know how many will actually refuse tests for their children. There are currently few repercussions in states for students who don't take tests, but if more than five percent of a student body at a school or district opts out, districts risk greater monitoring and loss of federal monies. In the end, many skeptics of the standardized tests are likely to have their children take them. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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