Accountability is code for high stakes testing. Their are many reasons to object to high stakes testing, however the most egregious is the standard error of measurement. Imagine any child with neurological or psycho-emotional pre-dispositions that may know the correct answers on a test, however, because the test is timed and the selected response format is designed to trick children, the confused child incorrectly answers the question(s). Then there is the matter of the cut score. Who loses out by the slimmist margin of percentage points caused by trickery? How many children are penalized whose score is a false indication of their classroom performance? I haven't even gotten into the issue of school privatization, lost opportunities for self determination, wasted experiences in creativity development or marginalization of democracy in education. These tests, not designed by the teachers whose children are being tested, should not carry the weight that they have.
Contact your congressman today and tell them to end high stakes testing and restore equitable funding for all public schools.
More talking points from Northeast Friends of Public Education
Introduce yourself then say: I am a (parent, teacher, concerned constituent).
I want Rep. ____ to push to eliminate the federal requirement for yearly standardized testing in the ESEA bill; and eliminate the federal role in prescribing how teachers should be evaluated.
Instead, the bill should focus on equity: by requiring that states submit plans showing how they will improve equitable funding in their schools, and by omitting ANY restriction on the amount of Title II funds that can be spent on class size reduction. Smaller classes are a proven strategy to increase equity, and there is no better way to give all children a better chance to learn.
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