Image credit: D Sharon Pruitt
There are pitter patters of change clicking through school hallways. The test refusal tide is swelling in places outside of New York. Parents’ voices are finally resonating. Teachers pleas are taken seriously. And administrators are focused on students first.
There is no disagreement that testing has gone haywire in American schools. Everyone but Arne Duncan sees it, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s spent time in classrooms other than for photo opps. Anyone who has proctored a high stakes test, in elementary school especially, knows what a painful experience it is. I’m not venturing far out on a limb to deem the experience developmentally inappropriate at best, abusive at worst.
Well, folks, people are paying attention.
It turns out those “suburban moms” mocked by Secretary Duncan have some clout after all. I’m proud to serve on North Carolina’s statewide task force on summative assessment. It’s extraordinary that our state is spearheading such an initiative. North Carolina education leaders have come together to closely examine testing and its impact on students and teachers at all levels. The task force is comprised of an exceptional group of superintendents, principals, teachers, and parents. I specifically focus on elementary school since my third grade 8-year old son exercised civil disobedience in refusing the test last spring. I anxiously await the findings and recommendations from the middle school group since my older son is in sixth grade.
While we all wear different lenses on this task force, one thing is clear; we are all focused on the students first. There’s no political gaming or showboating, and opinions are regarded with respect. At a time when politics are woefully adversarial and a general malaise seeps into public opinion about bureaucracy, this task force collaborates with purpose and ease.
Our task is to make recommendations on what testing and accountability would like in our state. Perhaps we’re all donning rose colored glasses, but so far the insights and recommendations leave me feeling hopeful. You can read more about our preliminary recommendations here. There are details to cover and the proverbial i’s to dot and t’s to cross. We are getting there.
A.L. “Buddy” Collins, vice chair of the North Carolina State Board of Education, says it all, “So much of this testing has been the result of some policy somewhere we’re complying with, rather than what was best for kids in the classroom.”
I’m pretty sure NEA President Lily Eskelsen García would concur. In her recent call to reauthorize ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, aka No Child Left Behind…more on that below) she said, “In order to do this, we must reduce the emphasis on standardized tests that have corrupted the quality of the education received by children, especially those in high poverty areas. Parents and educators know that the one-size-fits-all annual federal testing structure has not worked. We support grade span testing to free up time and resources for students, diminish ‘teaching to the test,’ expand extracurricular activities, and allow educators to focus on what is most important: instilling a love of learning in their students.”
And this nugget from the North Carolina State Board of Education website rings true today: “Throughout the 1990s, North Carolina received national recognition for its accountability efforts and educational progress, and Governor James B. Hunt concluded that “if North Carolina can lead the nation in education progress, we can lead the nation in education, period.”
Boom.
A word on reauthorization of ESEA (This is mom advocate Ilina here, and these comments are my own, not sanctioned by the task force. I want to encourage you to use your voice and your right to participate in our governance. Our collective voices will be heard. )
Congress is trying to accelerate the long-delayed reauthorization of ESEA. On Wednesday, January 21 there’s a Senate education committee hearing on testing and accountability. Tell your Senators that you want to see ESEA reauthorized and high stakes testing eliminated.
See the draft of Senate Education Committee chair Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) bill.
Sen. Alexander has offered two options for testing in a newly authorized ESEA. Option 1 empowers states to determine their own testing and accountability, while Option 2 looks like the current testing climate without using test scores to evaluate teachers.
This is where you come in. Use your voice.
Contact your Senator and Congressional representatives today and ask for them to support state flexibility in selecting appropriate assessments, Option 1 of Sen. Alexander’s ESEA bill.
Tell Chairman Alexander what you think about his proposal. fixingNCLB@help.senate.gov.