New York Educator & Parent Just Says No to Standardized Tests

By Chris Cerrone | Cross posted at Buffalo News

Chris Cerrone is a parent and social studies teacher who opposes high-stakes testing.

My family has recently taken an important step regarding the education of our children: our third-grader will not be participating in the New York State Assessments in ELA or math this spring. This decision was reached with much thought and research, along with our own experience as educators playing a major role.

Last school year, my son brought home a benchmark test from his kindergarten class. This packet was clearly a mass-produced exam tailored to prepare for standardized tests. This school year, I have seen a parade of these same practice tests in both of my children’s take-home folders.

I do not blame their teachers one iota; these fine, caring educators are just following expectations set by school administration. My children have had excellent teachers, but the current reform movement has forced their hands and made these resourceful teachers into test preparation instructors. I know they, like many of my own colleagues, would like to have more lessons that involve creativity and critical thinking, but their hands are tied by the system.

We are taking this necessary opt-out step because we know that standardized testing is harming public education. Some people may say that these exams are “just a test,” but as an educator I can say that administrators over the last several years have emphasized raising ELA and math test results as the paramount objective for our schools. The high-stakes exam has become the primary focus of public education. When I hear elementary teachers in my children’s school state, “when we have time, we will squeeze in social studies and science,” I cringe.

High-stakes testing proponents claim these exams are vital tools for assessing our children and their teachers. I do not need a test to determine if my children are progressing with their education. By simply listening to them read regularly and checking their work, I can establish their strengths and weaknesses. My children’s teachers can conclude if they need extra reading or math assistance within a few weeks from the start of the school year. We do not need the expensive testing systems to make that determination.

Like any other parent, I want the best teachers for my children. I do not need a test score to determine the quality of my children’s teachers or school. I know the teachers my kids have had at their public school are highly effective. I look for an educator who is caring, creative, organized and communicates well with parents.

Some of the practice exams my children have taken prove that using state tests to determine if our teachers are doing a good job is unreliable. Many times they have received a three or even the maximum score of a four, but on occasion they dropped to a two. If my kids happen to have a bad day of testing during a small snapshot of time, does that prove that they need academic assistance and that the teachers are ineffective?

We need to return to a system where parents and teachers are involved in educational decisions and remove the corporate reformers and politicians from our schools. My children’s district is facing drastic budget cuts to vital programs in the arts, and class sizes will soar because we are spending scarce financial resources on standardized testing and expensive data systems.

I will not expose my children to the pressure to perform on a meaningless exam that is not required for promotion or graduation. My children are human beings and not a piece of data or number from one to four.

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Connect with other New York parents and educators who are opting out of testing at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutNewYork  You can replace "NewYork" with the name of any state for the group where you live.

Not Letting Teachers “Friend” & “Follow” Kids Online? Think Twice!

Guest post from Michelle Luhtala | Cross posted at Bibliotech.Me

Editor's Note: This was written in response this post on The Innovative Educator blog.

flickr.com/photos/digitas

Almost 70% of 18-34 year-olds expect 2012 presidential candidates to have a social media presence (Digitas, 2011). A 2008 study by Cone’s, Business in Social Media Study,revealed that 93% of social media users expect companies to have a social media presence, and 85% expect the businesses to interact with their clients via social media – it is safe to say that that percentage has increased in the past four years. Almost 60% of Fortune 500 companies maintain active corporate Facebook and/or Twitter accounts (Sociable360.com). As a school librarian, when I want to check out a publisher or book distributor, I look them up on Facebook and Twitter. I skip the website, because I know that the content will probably be six months old, at best, whereas the social media profile will be current. For customer support, I will choose Twitter over a phone tree, any day.

Seventy percent of American colleges admit to factoring prospective students' Facebook profile into the college admissions process (Schools.com). My employer checks prospective candidates' Facebook profile before hiring them. Does yours? Ask.

What are we doing to prepare students to function in this landscape? It is imperative for them to understand that their digital profile matters - that it is, to a large extent, permanent, and that there are adults who can teach them how to use social media for productivity and learning. They need guides and mentors, and like everywhere else, they need supervision. We would never leave a cafeteria full of adolescents unsupervised. That doesn't mean that we monitor every conversation that occurs in that cafeteria. We just make sure that there are adults around. This helps youngsters keep their behavior in check. The same principle applies in virtual space. They need to know we are there.

On Facebook, we let people know we are there by “friending” them. Preventing teachers from“friending” students is shortsighted. For one thing, it reinforces the false notion that social media is exclusively social. As the above statistics indicate, it isn’t. It also denies students the chance to connect with vetted mentors, those who have expertise supervising and guiding children, and those before whom students are practiced at exhibiting their very best behavior. Interacting with teachers encourages students to learn how to use social media constructively – as tool for communication, collaboration, and productivity – as they will ultimately use it in the workplace.

Very often, students don’t want to be Facebook friends with teachers, parents, relatives and other adults. The most logical explanation for that is that they are doing things online they don’t want the adults in their lives to see. But digital profiles are increasingly looked at as resume extensions. Kids should not post what they don’t want the adults in their lives to see, and the best deterrent for irresponsible posting is to have a wide array of adults present in students’ online world.

So yes. Prohibiting teachers from “friending” students is a problem for students. It is also aproblem for teachers. Since when is it okay to impose policy and regulations that dictate whom adults can and cannot befriend - in real life or otherwise? Teachers are certified to work with children face-to-face for at least six hours per day, but for some reason, they are not qualified to interact with them online?

We are in the business of education. It is our job to facilitate, not impede learning. Encouraging teachers to engage learners supports that effort, regardless of the platform. Social media policies that prohibit online teacher/student interaction are presumably enacted to prevent misconduct from one, or even a handful of teachers. But they deny entire student communities excellent learning opportunities – learning communication, collaboration, contribution, and participation – all fundamental 21stCentury learning skills.  These policies embody the very opposite of what education stands for. Education should celebrate learning and preparing students for academic and professional advancement, not prevent it.

There are plenty of instances where misguided teachers behave inappropriately in face-to-face interactions with students. And truthfully the impact of that kind of misconduct can be far more traumatic than inappropriate online interaction. Yet I don’t see administrators and legislators drafting policies that prevent teachers from interacting with students face-to-face. Vilifying social media as a vehicle for misconduct perpetuates the myth that people behave badly there. This gives children license to do just that, whereas showing them how to use it responsibly debunks the myth and encourages appropriate use.

Restrictive social media policies in education – those aimed at avoiding potential scandal and litigation will ultimately fail. By trying to explicitly address all potential scenarios involving social media, districts increase their vulnerability. Lawyers, of course, will say otherwise. That’s how they generate business. In all likelihood, overly restrictive policies will beget more litigation than they avert. Better to omit the mention of social media and focus on general conduct – conduct that explicitly demands responsible and respectful behavior from teachers and students alike, whether it be in real life or online. Chances are, for every school in America, policies like that have been in place for decades.

Making a case for opting out of harmful standardized testing

Here in New York where I work everyone knows that schools shut down during the last couple weeks of April and are transformed into testing torture mills that kids are forced to enter and endure. Suddenly once vibrant classrooms are stripped of memories of learning and children's work across the year. That's all torn off the walls so children under fluorescent lights can only stare at blank walls for days on end. Technology has no place in the testing chambers. Connection to the outside world is forbidden.  There are tears and vomiting and test booklet instructions on how to handle each.  


It's the 21st century Milgram Experiment where teachers are paid to do something that at some point they realize is terribly wrong. However, like with Milgram, where teachers in training were paid to administer deadly shocks to their victims, although many are very uncomfortable administering these tests, and even though nearly all have paused and questioned this sick experiment on our children, most go through with it. There are some that do decide to give up the money they are paid to inflict such torture and pursue interests more alignment with their ethics and morals...but still the torture goes on. 

There is a phenomenon referred to as The Stockholm Syndrome in which people who are held captive begin to align with the captor and take on the captor’s ways rather than show empathy for their own suffering or the suffering of other captives. Sadly, many parents who have handed the control of their children over to the government, seem to be showing such empathy for those who cause their children's suffering. In fact over and over they acknowledge the testing torture is wrong, but they don't want the "school to suffer" so they send their children through the doors. The children become victims who are forced to sit for hours taking this test, even if they don't speak the language... even if they can not read it... even if it makes them sick. 


Here's the thing. Many of the smartest people in the field of education know this is wrong. They are shouting it out like Will Richardson and I have done. They are writing it out. They are tweeting it out. Somehow the government's demands have been able to dismiss these warnings and the schools continue to force students to drill, kill, and bubblefill.  


Informed parents are the key to affecting change and opting their children out of tests. This sends an important message of support for teachers and indicates the parental desire to do what they know is best for their children. To follow are materials I've been reading to make the case against standardized testing.

Opting Out
Educator and parent Will Richardson explains why he is opting his children out of standardized testing.

Late-night Twitter Chat about the detriments of standardized tests
Here is a conversation I was involved in with amazing educators such as Joe Bower, Will Richardson, Gary Stager, Mary Ann Reilly, John T. Spencer, and others

Third Grader's Angst--Test Month Is Here
J. Richard Gentry, Ph.D., an expert on childhood literacy, reading, and spelling wrote to me several times to ask that I please share his important article with educators. 

The Over Testing of America and Halt the Testing Madness Gary Stager wrote these fantastic pieces in 2001 and 2003 respectively. God this insanity has been growing strong on for a LONG time. Stager also created a website called PencilsDown to help coordinate standardized testing opposition in communities around the country. There you'll find a great opt out letter as well as plenty articles outlining the perils of standardized testing. Visit this link and this one. 

12 Most Unconventional Reasons to Opt Your Child Out of Standardized Testing 

Lisa Nielsen (that's me) challenges the system with 12 reasons that an educator opposes standardized testing.

A pep rally for tests? What we need is a "prep" rally

Parent, author, speaker, instigator, blogger Will Richardson discusses testing in the Huffington Post

Parents and educators, you know the truth. It is time to get up and stand up to the forces that you know are not good for children. If you are a teacher, pick your favorite article from above and share it with children. If you are a parent, do not subject your children to this. Do something that matters. Go on a family vacation, bond with your kids, learn through exploring the world. 


Whomever you are, you can unite with others in your state to opt out of testing. Concerned educators and parents have come together to create brand-new, easy-to-find, state-by-state groups on Facebook where anyone who cares, can come together to mobilize and take back control of their children’s freedom to learn. You can join others interested in opting out in your state in two ways:

1) Go to Facebook and type in the search: Opt out of State Standardized Tests — Your State i.e. Opt Out of State Standardized Tests – Ohio
2) Go to the page url: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutYourState i.e.https://www.facebook.com/groups/OptOutOhio

As more and more parents get on board and take back control of what is best for their children, new possibilities will arise and we can finally restore to our children the freedom to learn about what matters to them rather than what boosts the egos of politicians and lines the pockets of publishers.