#Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing

[Zepp]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/340-187/17525-seattle-
teachers-students-win-historic-victory-over-standardized-testing

Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing

By Democracy Now

21 May 13

After months of protest, teachers, students and parents in Seattle,
Washington, have won their campaign to reject standardized tests in
reading and math. In January, teachers at Garfield High School began a
boycott of the test, saying it was wasteful and being used unfairly to
assess their performance. The boycott spread to other schools, with
hundreds of teachers, students and parents participating. Last week, the
school district backed down, announcing that the Measures of Academic
Progress, or MAP test, is now optional for high schools, but those
refusing the test must find another way to gauge student performance. We
speak with Jesse Hagopian, a high school history teacher and union
representative at Garfield High School.

AMY GOODMAN: We end today's show looking at the victory for teachers and
students in Seattle, Washington, where, following months of protest, high
schools there will no longer have to conduct standardized tests in
reading and math. Superintendent José Banda says the Measures of Academic
Progress, or MAP, test is now optional for high schools, but those
refusing the test must find another way to gauge student performance. In
January, teachers at Garfield High School began a boycott of the test,
saying it was wasteful and being used unfairly to assess their
performance. The boycott spread to other schools, with hundreds of
teachers, students, parents participating.

For more, we go to Seattle, where we're joined by Jesse Hagopian, a high
school history teacher and union rep at Garfield High. He also served as
the Black Student Union's faculty adviser and is a founding member of
Social Equality Educators.

Jesse, welcome back to Democracy Now! Talk about this victory.

JESSE HAGOPIAN: Well, thanks again for having me on the program today.

And this is really a stunning victory for us here in Seattle at Garfield
High School and across the city of the high schools boycotting the test.
You know, a week ago today, an announcement went out saying that the test
would be optional at the high school level, and it led to an eruption of
celebration at Garfield, with fist bumps and high fives of teachers and
students. And we were celebrating this long struggle. You know, we were
threatened with a 10-day suspension without pay, and other consequences.
And this was a real vindication.

We were celebrating the fact that our students will no longer have to sit
in front of the dull glow of a computer screen, looking at questions that
they were never prepared for because the test was not aligned to the
state-mandated curriculum. And we were celebrating because our English-
language learners will no longer have to be humiliated by a test that is
linguistically and culturally inappropriate for them. Our special ed
students will no longer have to take a test where their IEPs, or
individual education plans, will no - are not respected.

And, you know, we were celebrating, I think, too, because Washington
state ranks number one in the nation in high-stakes testing. And we spend
over $100 million a year on these tests. And Garfield High School
teachers and teachers around Seattle who have joined the boycott of the
MAP test have said that we would rather spend that $100 million on
reading coaches and on tutoring programs, things that can actually help
elevate our students and get them where we know they need to be.

AMY GOODMAN: Jesse Hagopian, Garfield High School didn't start this
boycott. Explain the origins of it and how it links in with other
protests against high-stake testing around the country.

JESSE HAGOPIAN: Well, we've seen movements against high-stakes testing
all over the nation, you know, from parents opting their students out of
these tests across the country to the principals' associations in New
York state saying we've had enough of these high-stakes tests.

But I think, in a way, you're right: Garfield didn't start the boycott.
In my view, the boycott of the MAP test really began with the elite
private schools, who never give these tests. They want their students to
have access to critical thinking skills and creativity. They want their
students to be prepared to be leaders in the world today, and so they
don't inundate their students with these high-stakes tests like they
expect to be done in the public schools. So, in that way, you could say
this boycott really began of the elite schools. But, in actuality, you
know, Garfield, I think, was the first school to unanimously vote, of all
the faculty, "we refuse to give this test."

And it's a real crisis, I think, for these corporate education reformers,
people like Michelle Rhee, who wrote an editorial in The Seattle Times
against our boycott. And I think it's a crisis for them, because their
whole system of ed reform rests on these data points, on reducing
teaching and learning to a single score that they can use to close
schools, like you're seeing being proposed in Chicago and Philadelphia,
that they can use these data points really to degrade education and
profit from it and privatize our schools, turning them into charters. And
this boycott represents a threat to their ability to reduce teaching and
learning to a single score. And I think that's why you see Michelle Rhee
and these corporate education reformers so upset that we stood up to
their tests and refused to give them. And I think that's why so many
teachers and parents and students across the nation are celebrating this
victory, including the Garfield High School PTSA that voted unanimously
to support us.

AMY GOODMAN: Jesse, can you explain what you're coming up with in its
stead?

JESSE HAGOPIAN: Yeah, I mean, it's important to know that we are not
against assessment or testing at Garfield High School or any of the
boycotting schools across Seattle. What we are against is assessments
that are not culturally relevant, assessments that are not aligned to our
curriculum, and assessments that don't promote the type of skills we
believe are necessary in the world today.

So we actually formed a teacher work group on assessment, and we had some
very dedicated teachers who took time out of their week, every week for
the last couple months, to do research, to collaborate and to come up
with what we would replace the MAP test with. And it's an incredible
document. People should go to scrapthemap.wordpress.com and take a look
at what we would replace the MAP with, and this is assessments that are
related to our curriculum, assessments that actually measure many
different skills rather than just your ability to fill in a bubble A, B,
C or D, assessments like performance-based assessments, what you do when
you get a Ph.D. You do research; you defend that research in front of a
panel of experts. And I think that can be adapted for all grade levels
and all subjects. And you get at a lot of different skills that you don't
get at with the simple standardized testing. And I'm really -

AMY GOODMAN: Jesse Hagopian, we're going to have to leave it there, but I
want to thank you so much for being with us, high school history teacher,
union rep at Garfield High School.

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Not dead, in jail or a slave? Thank a liberal!

[Steve]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:25 +0000 (UTC), Zepp <de...@gone.com> wrote:

>http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/340-187/17525-seattle-
>teachers-students-win-historic-victory-over-standardized-testing
>
>Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing
>

Gonna make sure the laziest non-achievers get their diploma, eh?
Leftism at it's finest specifies that even failure is rewarded

[Mr. B1ack]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:25 +0000 (UTC), Zepp <de...@gone.com> wrote:

>http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/340-187/17525-seattle-
>teachers-students-win-historic-victory-over-standardized-testing
>
>Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing

Yea ... "historic" alright ... it's the day that will live in
infamy, the day American Education was pronounced
dead.

Of course tomorrows students won't be able to read
that history. If it isn't converted to a Cliffs-Notes
govt-approved speech they can hear on their iPod-10
implants then it may as well be given the Farenheit 451
treatment ...........

Probably will be burnt ... printed Truths endure while
governments want more ephemeral, mutable, useful
truths.

[Liberal Here]

On May 21, 10:15 pm, Mr. B1ack <nowh...@nada.net> wrote:

> On Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:25 +0000 (UTC), Zepp <d...@gone.com> wrote:
> >http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/340-187/17525-seattle-
> >teachers-students-win-historic-victory-over-standardized-testing
>
> >Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing
>
>    Yea ... "historic" alright ... it's the day that will live in
>    infamy, the day American Education was pronounced
>    dead.
>
>    Of course tomorrows students won't be able to read
>    that history. If it isn't converted  to a Cliffs-Notes
>    govt-approved speech they can hear on their iPod-10
>    implants then it may as well be given the Farenheit 451
>    treatment ...........

Huh?

Problems in education are due to the lack of pay to attract high
quality teachers, decayed physical structure, lack of jobs in future
(minimizing value of education), higher income potential for athletes,
morons like you ignoring actual problems

[Salty Stan]

More incentives for a school voucher system.

[Mr. B1ack]

On Fri, 24 May 2013 12:53:23 -0700 (PDT), Liberal Here
<liber...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On May 21, 10:15 pm, Mr. B1ack <nowh...@nada.net> wrote:
>> On Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:25 +0000 (UTC), Zepp <d...@gone.com> wrote:
>> >http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/340-187/17525-seattle-
>> >teachers-students-win-historic-victory-over-standardized-testing
>>
>> >Seattle Teachers, Students Win Historic Victory Over Standardized Testing
>>
>>    Yea ... "historic" alright ... it's the day that will live in
>>    infamy, the day American Education was pronounced
>>    dead.
>>
>>    Of course tomorrows students won't be able to read
>>    that history. If it isn't converted  to a Cliffs-Notes
>>    govt-approved speech they can hear on their iPod-10
>>    implants then it may as well be given the Farenheit 451
>>    treatment ...........
>
>Huh?
>
>Problems in education are due to the lack of pay to attract high
>quality teachers, decayed physical structure, lack of jobs in future
>(minimizing value of education), higher income potential for athletes,
>morons like you ignoring actual problems

There used to be plenty of high-quality teachers, quite
willing to work for (relatively) low pay because they
thought they were doing something good and worthwhile.

Then the 'liberals' put the little barbarians in charge.

That's where the "actual problems" started.

[Zepp]

Let's see: I'm opposed to standardized testing and always have been. I
have absolutely no use for "zero tolerance" and regard it was one of the
most idiotic ideas Americans have come up with. I have no use for locker
searches, police on campus, guns on campus, or any of that. And I'm a
liberal.

Did you score correctly on any of my opinions?

[Mr. B1ack]

I agree about "zero tolerance" ... administrative cowardice
taken to the n-th degree.

Standardized testing however is a GOOD idea. Takes
the "relative" out of the equation very nicely. There had
been far too much "relative" ... so much that the idea of
standardized testing was born and developed.

> and regard it was one of the
>most idiotic ideas Americans have come up with. I have no use for locker
>searches, police on campus, guns on campus, or any of that. And I'm a
>liberal.

I've posted advice on how to pervert and undermine
ZT for a long time.

>Did you score correctly on any of my opinions?

Only ZT.

ST ... not in the least. GREAT idea - and the better
the ST the better, so to speak.

For personal, professional and political reasons - standards
tend to slip and slip. Can't have that anymore. There should
be a nationwide standard ... let Republicans and the military
write it. Encourage them to be hard-asses.

[Steve]

Zepp does, however, favor unions on campus, which is much of the
problem.

[Steve]

On Sat, 25 May 2013 02:56:52 -0400, Mr. B1ack <now...@nada.net>
wrote:

Zero tolerance is what the teacher want. Most teachers do not have
the brains to make intelligent decisions on tolerance.

[Mr. B1ack]

On Sat, 25 May 2013 06:16:50 -0400, Steve <steven...@yahooooo.com>
wrote:

>
>Zero tolerance is what the teacher want. Most teachers do not have
>the brains to make intelligent decisions on tolerance.
>

Umm ... no, it's not so much a matter of "brains" nowadays,
it's fear of the lawsuit artists - one of the plagues of our time.
Any decision that turns out to be wrong, even a little, and has
some kind of unpleasant consequence opens up both the
teachers and administrators to a flood of lawsuits. Even if
they ultimately win, the psychological damage has been
done and they'll be gun-shy foreverafter.

ZT is the one-size-fits-all "fix" .... makes anything that seems
like a problem just "go away".

Since other laws now give the little barbarians the right to
run riot - threaten, assault, rob, rape and how DARE you
undermine their pwecious self esteem by intervening ...
well, ZT is in some cases the ONLY tool remaining.

Some schools have taken up one alternative ... instead
of attempting any discipline or intervention themselves
they call the police - even over relatively minor issues -
and have the kiddies arrested. This often has a poor
outcome because the police don't exist to handle
8-year-olds having temper tantrums.

Once again though, it's just a way for teachers and
admiinstrators to avoid having to make a decision ;
a way so THEY don't have to DO anything personally.
Defer the risk, let the police get sued instead.

A return of good Republican discipline to the public schools,
and the laws to back it up, are what's needed. 'Liberals'
have completely (or intentionally) mis-read how kiddie
thugs think and act. 'Civilized' solutions are seen as
weakness, exploitable, and the little thugs rule the day.

Back to the hickory stick. It worked. None of this other
bullshit works.

Alas this idea that ZT or discipline-by-cop just makes
problems "go away" is faulty reasoning. The little thugs
do NOT just "go away" ... they're still out there, ready
to rob/rape/beat/murder good citizens. Their BEHAVIOR
and THINKING have to be changed, the earlier the
better, or nothing is solved, nothing has "gone away".

[Liberal Here]

Nope, o historically challenged....it was civil rights legislation
that backfired. Women were no longer limited to low paying teaching
and nursing jobs. So, ya see what I meant by "morons like you ignoring
actual problems"...?

Conservative school boards had a pool of highly intelligent women to
staff schools and, other than backbreaking factory work, women had no
alternatives, Colleges routinely refused acceptance of women applying
for training outside of teaching and nursing courses.

>
>    That's where the "actual problems" started.

Only in your two digit IQ mind.

[Mr. B1ack]

Gee, what sexism ! Definitely a 'liberal' ....

I'd say roughly half my teachers in the grade schools
were men. They too were willing to take a little less
pay than 'industry' jobs because they felt they were

doing something good and worthwhile.

Far fewer, of any gender, seem to feel that way now in
this age of self-esteem, lawsuits and zero discipline.
"Liberalism" drove out everybody with the skills to GET
out.

[Liberal Here]

No, you conflate your lack of historical knowledge as the same as
reality. Try reading a book about the history of teaching in America.
Male teachers were often considered homosexual.

>
>    I'd say roughly half my teachers in the grade schools
>    were men. They too were willing to take a little less
>    pay than 'industry' jobs because they felt they were
>    doing something good and worthwhile.

Not to mention a teaching job was not subject to layoffs, as long as
population increased and birth control illegal or at least unreliable.
Grades K through 4, females dominated; grades 5+, males could be
successful.

BTW, didn't you ever learn that personal anecdotes aren't reliable
historical proof?

>
>    Far fewer, of any gender, seem to feel that way now in
>    this age of self-esteem, lawsuits and zero discipline.
>    "Liberalism" drove out everybody with the skills to GET
>    out.

"Self-esteem" issues? Might that have had something to do with
outright racism and the physical state of "black" schools that proved
white America found minorities inferior and told them so. Such as
blacks, no matter what GPA, always put in "industrial arts"??
Lawsuits....be a tad specific here, what kind of suites do you refer
to?

Zero discipline??? Might it have something to do with "self-
esteem" (see above) and more recently, the lack of employment
opportunity despite a high school diploma...and no financial chance at
college (unless a gifted athlete)?


You're of the fuckin' fascist asshole class who yesterday broke
everyone else's legs and today wonders why everyone is too lazy to run
a race.

[opel]

On 5/30/2013 12:20 PM, Liberal Here wrote:
> You're of the fuckin' fascist asshole class who yesterday broke
> everyone else's legs and today wonders why everyone is too lazy to run
> a race.

You're a typical paranoiac hyper-emotional libitard who wants to make
the state all powerful.

[Mr. B1ack]

Are you old enough to remember when "liberals" HATED
the all-powerful State ? Power to the PEOPLE ? Death
to Big Brother ? Turn on, tune in and drop out ? In the
mid/late 60s, a "liberal" had more in common with
anarchists than with marching in lockstep behind
Maximum Leader. When's the last time you heard
Steppenwolf's "Monster" on the radio ?

What the fuck HAPPENED ?????

Because most of what they said about the evils of
the State megamachine were TRUE. Doesn't
matter if the tag on their suit says "Dem" or "GOP",
hand any group of people THAT much power,
THAT much money, THAT much micromanagment
discretion and they WILL become monsters.

[Steve]

On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 16:43:42 -0400, Mr. B1ack <now...@nada.net>
wrote:

What leftists like Zepp want is a government that treats them like a
good mom... Gives them spending money, and lays down rules, then
doesn't push too hard to enforce them, but is a fierce protector
against everyone else, and most importantly, picks them up when they
fall down and kisses their boo boos away.

[Mr. B1ack]

On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 19:53:35 -0400, Steve <steven...@yahooooo.com>

Hate to break it to him, but the Monster ... it eats people.
Once it doesn't need 'em anymore, they become nothing
but snacks. Leftie, rightie, whomever ... just as tasty.