In the most recent EdWeek, Jane Owens calls us to “take back our profession, our integrity, and the education of our children.” Naturally, this demands the end of high stakes testing. Otherwise (under high stakes testing, that is) we forfeit our profession, forsake our integrity, and abandon the education of our children. Right? Who’s with me!?
Other Unnatural Consequences of High-Stakes Testing
When high school seniors with the required number of credits cannot receive diplomas because they are not good test-takers despite repeated attempts, do we rail against the powers that be who are holding our communityโs children hostage by a series of inflexible hoops that must be navigated to graduate?
To clarify for any confused Californians, by “inflexible hoops” Owens refers to an untimed test that asks for tenth-grade proficiency in English and eighth-grade proficiency in math.
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