Dear Teacher,

Johnny is Skipping

the Test

Carlie Stigler

Main

Poin

ts

NY field tests Boycott field tests Parent activist groups

against emphasis on

high-stakes testing Ruins students school

experience Determines too much

Against profit Pearson is

making Goal join forces with

struggling schools Sitting out of real

exams creates problems

http

://ww

w.yo

utu

be.co

m/w

atc

h?v=

AB

Fu9qoiM

RM

Diana Zavala's son during a

protest in Washington this year

that marched on the White

House.

Discussion

Questions

Final T

houghts

…

Beth Bonita Springs, Florida

As a mother and former principal and teacher, I

have been waiting for the parents to take the

leadership and protest. Thank you to all those

groups. We need one test for the country, that

is diagnostic not evaluative. What doesn't

Johnny know? Then teachers will get the

information they need to fix problems on an

individual level not for comparison to other

children. If all the children have the same

problems, then we can look at the curriculum,

not the teachers. One test would be cheaper -

the cost of fifty states developing tests is

ridiculous especially now that 47 states have

adopted the core curriculum. We could also use

these tests to indicate whether the core

curriculum is appropriate at any given level.

Current expectations in many states do not take

into consideration child development. For

example, boys' small muscle development lags

behind girls. (Average age for girls is five and

for boys seven) Expecting kindergarteners to

write on lined paper is unfair to boys and many

girls, since five is the average age for girls.

Let's get sensible and save some money!!!

Bib

liogra

phy

Sangha, S. (2012, October

12). Dear, teacher johnny

is skipping the test. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2

012/10/14/education/dear

- Wagner, K. (2012,

September). The state

education department /

the university of the state

of new york / albany, ny

12234. Retrieved from

http://www.p12.nysed.gov/

assessment/ei/2013/nystp-

ft-13.pdf