faulker062

The children and citizens of Chicago are being subjected to radical de-investment of their public schools. Why does the mayor hate democracy and public education? Call the Mayor's Hotline here:  312-744-5000

Standardized testing advocates won’t tell you what teachers already know. Standardized testing is an inherently unfair instrument to assess children’s educational growth and a horrible ordeal for many children. Why? The most egregious objection to high stakes testing is the standard error of measurement innate to all standardized testing events. Imagine a child with neurological or psycho-emotional conditions or any child for that matter , whose thinking capacities will naturally be hurried and confused during a timed, high stakes test taking event. Adult designers of the tests utilize semantic trickery in the selected response format to fool children who will know the content presented to them in regular classroom settings, but experience confusion and toxic stress caused by the deception built into the test. Significant numbers of children are going to answer incorrectly on these tests and they and their schools will lose out when the cut scores are selected and test scores fall sho...

The United States is in grave danger. The Pavlovian pedagogy and high stakes standardized test based education system  imposed on it's young citizenry is rotting this democracy from the inside out. Wondering who  infiltrated state and federal government in order to push Pavlovian test training on American children? Why were parents, communities and child development experts not consulted when these reforms masquerading as educational upgrades were pushed through?

I participated in discussion with a high stakes testing advocate on the Daily Kos diary: Chicago Public Schools Meltdown . Here is a portion of what I wrote after the advocate asked me for data supporting my claim that high stakes testing is a poor way to assess children. "Prove to me...that standardized testing is good for America. Last time I checked, after 30 years of standardized education and 12 years of high stakes testing, 26% of children in America are living in poverty, gap between rich and poor is the largest it has ever been, US wages have stagnated while productivity has dramatically increased and creative learning opportunities in our schools is on the decline." Standardized tests ensure that the child is central to the decision-making process, because we test the child. ManhattanMan this statement reveals a deficit in your understanding of what it takes to optimize learning experience for a group of heterogeneous learners. It also reveals you are an advocate for...

Why has there been no comprehensive investigation into Michelle Rhee's test cheating scandal and subsequent cover-up? If a comprehensive investigation is good enough for the Atlanta Public Schools, then DC under the odious  Rhee should be a prime target.  Michelle Rhee got away with taping her student's mouths shut during her first years as a teacher. After demoralizing children and staff at D.C. public schools, she is now making millions of dollars as an edushyster  collecting money from test publishing companies that would divert tax dollars away from public schools and experienced teachers  so that more money can be spent on standardized testing. David Coleman, architect of the Common Core Standards, high stakes standardized testing advocate and Bill Gates lackey says "...nobody gives a shit what you (students) feel or what you think," wants to tape children's mouths shut so they will passively comply with their mind numbing education predicated on test prep....

The top 1 percent have the means and the influence to deprive children of high quality, multi sensory,  learner centered educational experiences and create the illusion that test prep is good for your child.

The experience of standardized, data driven learning experience is dehumanizing. The process tends to dull the mind and debilitate the natural desire to learn. Consequently, children often disengage from their learning experiences as chronicled in the High School Survey of Student Engagement. Before 2001, significant numbers of American teachers were on track to utilize the latest advances in neuro-cognitive research to augment their curriculum and instruction efforts. Developing personal and socially profound learning experiences within sensory stimulating learning environments and augmenting the psycho-emotional-kinesthetic realm is a critical aspect of profound, meaningful, transformative learning experience. That idea all changed after the United States Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act and George W. Bush signed it into law. Now teachers must focus their instructional efforts on high stakes testing, test prep and data outputs. The end result of NCLB is the micro managing...