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ail biting, stress head-
N
aches, sleepless nights
or all of the above. Standard-
ized testing and its side
effects has been part of the
U.S. public education system
for decades.

HITS But lately, the Common Core


curriculum and revamped tests
are coming under fire. Critics
say the new tests put too much
pressure on kids, waste

THE ROAD TO COMMON

EDUCATIONAL

STANDARDS IS BESET

WITH OPPOSITION,

CONFUSION

BY K ATHERINE
REYNOLDS LEWIS
PHOTO CREDIT
THINKSTOCK

42 BACK TO SCHOOL | FALL 2016 3


43
T E S T I N G

TESTING
BY THE
NUMBERS

Percentage of high
Grading school graduates who
have taken the ACT
practices are and meet all four
college-readiness
uneven ... benchmarks (English,
from school to reading, math and
science)
school, from
state to state.
KATI HAYCOCK, CEO of the
Education Trust Number of
high school gradu-
ates who cant pass
the Armed Forces
Qualification Test

2013-14 school year, while giving


states the prerogative to define
proficiency and decide which tests
to use. States have fallen short Number of manda-
of this goal, with Massachusetts tory standardized
instructional time and encourage educators to picketing schools and urging parents to opt growing concern about racial doing the best at only 50 percent tests the average U.S.
emphasize rote memorization teaching to their children out of tests. inequity in education and the of students proficient this year. student in a big-city
the test in lieu of meaningful learning. Celebrities are taking on the issue from both U.S. falling behind international Low-performing schools risked
public school will take
between preschool
By several measures, the K-12 school system sides: Actor Matt Damon, the son of an educa- competitors, President George losing students to a better public
and high school
is failing many of our children: tor, and comedian Louis C.K., who tweeted W. Bush signed the No Child Left school, or even closure. graduation
Only 28 percent of the high school about his childrens stress over testing, have Behind Act (NCLB) into law in 2002. Over time, educators realized
graduates who have taken the ACT meet all spoken against the over-reliance on standard- It was the most sweeping reform that the law encouraged schools
four college-readiness benchmarks (English, ized tests; actress Eva Longoria and musician of education since 1965, the to focus on two numbers scores
reading, math and science), according to a 2015 John Legend are among those who helped year President Johnsons War on on rudimentary English, language
report by the Iowa City, Iowa, organization that fund an ad in support of standardized testing. Poverty created the Title I program arts and literacy, and math tests
manages the testing program. Whats a parent to do? Heres the history and significantly expanded federal which often meant drilling basic
Nearly 1 in 4 high school graduates cant behind standardized testing, so parents can funding for education. skills and facts at the expense of a
pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test, a decide on which side of the debate they stand. NCLB required states to test stu- broader education.
Number of students
standardized test that measures math and dents in math and reading every When you teach to a test or
in 29 states and
reading skills to meet the minimum academic year from third through eighth even prep for a test, educators Washington, D.C.,
standards required to enlist, according to NO CHILD grades, and at least once from are taken away from some of the who took Common
2002
an analysis by the Education Trust, a non- LEFT BEHIND grades 10 through 12, with results good work they could be doing Core-aligned tests
profit group advocating for higher educational broken out by race and subgroups, helping students learn, says
achievement. such as English-language learners Elizabeth Green, author of Building
These stats are proving political fodder dur- For years, states designed and administered and students with disabilities. The a Better Teacher and co-founder of
THINKSTOCK

ing an election year, with both parties advocat- standardized tests without much interfer- law called for states to bring every Chalkbeat, a news site covering
ing for education reform. Critics of testing are ence from the federal government. But amid child to the proficient level by the education.

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T E S T I N G

with a strong opt-out


SHOULD movement, you can
YOUR CHILD write to legislators and
government officials
OPT OUT to voice your opinion.
OF TESTS? Or connect with
activists in your area
Parents following news through groups such
about the opt-out as FairTest (fairtest.
movement naturally org) and United Opt
ask: Should I refuse to Out (unitedoptout.
allow my child to be com) that organize
tested? people to protest the
First, understand standardized test.
where your state and The consequences
school district fall in vary from state to
the Common Core state, but few are felt
continuum. Do local by individual children.
teachers and principals Opting out may hurt
oppose your childs school funding and
standardized tests? Or deny school districts
have they found ways data needed to ad-
to make them work for dress gaps in educa-
your school? tion or achievement.
If you dont live Katherine
in a school district Reynolds Lewis

COMMON college and the working world. Proponents


2009
CORE sought to increase the level of rigor in
classrooms and develop students conceptual
understanding and critical thinking skills, to
While the reforms of NCLB were taking hold, rival other countries educational systems.
another movement was gathering steam. The standards were published in 2010; as of
Unlike most developed countries, the U.S. 2016, all but eight states and Puerto Rico have
had never required that every child acquire a adopted them.
specified set of skills and body of knowledge. The bipartisan Common Core concept
So a third-grade math curriculum in Mas- soon became a political one with President
sachusetts could look quite different than one Obamas signing of the American Recovery
in Tennessee. But with young people in Asia, and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a law the White
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe pulling ahead House says is designed to boost the economy
of U.S. students on international measures by investing in critical sectors, including
of achievement from the 1990s until today, a education. Tucked into the bill, which became
bipartisan group of governors and educational law less than a month after Obama took office
leaders in 2009 launched an effort to write a in 2009, was the Race to the Top grant program,
set of curriculum standards for English and which would provide more than $4 billion to
math. Thus, the Common Core was born. motivate states to adopt common standards,
While many people equate the Common facilitate public charter schools and begin
Core with the new wave of standardized tests, evaluating teachers and principals based on
it was actually a separate initiative. The idea students performance.
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was to create a voluntary set of standards for Meanwhile, congressional reauthorization


curriculum that would prepare students for of the NCLB law had stalled. In an attempt

46 BACK TO SCHOOL | FALL 2016


T E S T I N G

to ease tension while lawmakers children to take standardized tests.


debated the law, the Obama In New York state, a whopping 20
administration decided in 2011 to percent of eligible students opted
give states waivers that exempted out, as did students in Colorado,
them from consequences for Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico,
low-performing schools, with Oregon and Washington. And the
three conditions. First, they had When you movement is gaining traction in
to focus more resources on the
lowest-performing 5 percent of
teach to a test Florida, Indiana and Texas.
Im opting my students out
schools and those where a segment ... educators of standardized testing because I
of the student body was lagging. think its the lazy way to figure out
Second, they had to implement are taken away whats happening in the school,
higher standards for all children, says Ronda Belen, a Denver mother
which lent support to the Common from some of of Faruq, 15; Amir, 11; Fatima, 5;
Core effort. And third, schools
had to begin evaluating individual
the good work and Ihsaan, 3. This past spring, the
only one of her children subject to
teachers using test data. they could be standardized testing Amir sat
Now, in addition to pressure out. Given that scores arent
on schools, there was pressure on doing helping available until well after the school
teachers. Thats when the backlash
started, says Dana Goldstein, a
students learn. year ends, she feels the test results
add no value to her kids education.
journalist and author of The Teacher ELIZABETH GREEN, There should be more individual-
Wars: A History of Americas Most author and co-founder of Chalkbeat ized instruction, she says.
Embattled Profession. In order to Firm numbers for how many
get at the weakest of the weak students opted out in spring 2016
teachers, we ended up scaring the wont be available until later
other 95 percent. OPT-OUT this year. Reasons for opting out
2015
Educators were in a no-win MOVEMENT vary across the country, with
situation. They didnt yet have tests many activists concerned about
that would assess students against test-writing corporations driving
the more rigorous standards, and The average U.S. student in a the process and others protesting
teachers and schools were facing big-city public school will take 112 a rush to administer tests before
penalties for students falling short. mandatory standardized exams teachers have a chance to digest
You still had these bad, dumbed- between pre-K and high school and implement new curricula.
down NCLB tests but they had high graduation, which breaks down to Adding to the complicated
stakes for teachers, Goldstein says. roughly eight tests per year many picture, last year Congress reautho-
This is the era where we begin to of them redundant taking a total rized NCLB, renaming it the Every
see teachers unions and parents 20 and 25 hours, according to a 2015 Student Succeeds Act, which gave
say: Theres too much testing; bad study by the Council of the Great states more flexibility in choosing
tests; and theyre too high-stakes. City Schools, which represents curriculum standards and deciding
In response, advocates of tests the nations largest urban school how to measure student learning
say they provide important data districts. About 12 million students and progress. Notably, it eliminated
to hold schools accountable for in 29 states and Washington, D.C., the tie between teacher evaluations
educating all students and closing took Common Core-aligned tests and student outcomes.
the achievement gap. last year. Chalkbeats Green sees irony in
Grading practices are uneven Some parents are saying no to the turmoil caused in implement-
from teacher to teacher, from testing. Theyre backed by teachers ing common standards, which aim
school to school, from state to unions opposed to tying students to reduce chaos in the long term.
state, says Kati Haycock, CEO of test results to teacher pay and Its a really good thing that were
the Education Trust. If you dont career progress. elevating standards, she says.
also have an objective independent Last year, this opposition co- There definitely have been costs
measure of how your child is doing, alesced into opt-out protests across along the way as we figure out as a
you dont have everything you need the country when parents refused country the best way to implement
to argue for your kid. to allow more than half a million this goal.

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