Opt-outers tend to consider themselves “progressives” so they don’t like to see themselves as the privileged few who put their kids’ comfort ahead of the needs of other school children. But it turns out that’s exactly who they are. According to this recently released national survey about opt-out conducted by the Teachers College at Columbia University: The typical opt out activist is a… Read more →
Michael Goot in the upstate New York Post Star reports on a website called the Wall of Shame that currently highlights 15 school principals and superintendents, most from Long Island, who have expressed support for standards and assessments. In response, the coalition called High Achievement New York sent a letter to several New York State legislators asking them to “ help us… Read more →
The next round of standardized tests for third- through eighth-graders begins April 4. The high-pressure lobbying to opt out has already started. The pressure is mostly coming from the well-organized and -funded opt-out movement, and the tactics are exposing the lie that this is a parent-led push. It’s teachers unions and members fighting with all their might to destabilize standardized testing in New York in pursuit of their own goals.
OMG. This is so cool. Newsday reports today that “opponents of Common Core testing plan an ‘Opt Out, Shop Out’ event at Roosevelt Field Mall on Saturday morning to encourage boycotts of state standardized tests being given in April to students in grades three through eight.” I love Roosevelt Field. When I lived on Long Island during high school it… Read more →
Years ago, I joined other parent leaders in my community to lobby our school board for a full-day kindergarten program, not because it would benefit my kids (it wouldn’t) but because it was an important investment toward closing the achievement gap in my economically and racially diverse community. And I still remember this mom, a white stay-at-home mom, who argued… Read more →
I get it, I really do. Parents want the very best for their children. If they’re in a position to exploit any kind of competitive advantage they have at their disposal, they will gladly do so. Instinct dictates they seek the very best opportunities for their children. But this winner-take-all desire runs afoul of social justice, of what it means… Read more →