Obama’s Get Rid of the Test Smoke and Mirrors

Obama’s big announcement! Get Rid of the Tests – 

President Obama and the Department of Education released a Testing Action Plan, calling on states to cut back on “unnecessary testing” that consumes “too much instructional time” and creates “undue stress for educators and students.”

What I find so ironic about this big announcement, is that, it sounds so much like what we heard from Republicans and Democrats alike, when they were working in lock step to pass HB5 in Texas. Which used the false narrative to get rid of the tests to usher in the pathways to graduation and a dumbing down of Texas education.

Remember, in Texas we said NO to the Common Core National Standards(CCSS). We even passed HB462, a meaningless piece of legislation, which says that the SBOE (State Board of Education) cannot mandate that public schools (Charter and Traditional) adhere to the CCSS. While, at the same time, there are no consequences for districts using the same learning theories based on the philosophy of Russian behaviorist Lev Vygotsky, that is used in the professional development of teachers, being forced to use the CCSS.

In the 2013 legislative session, HB 5 was passed, which like the Common Core is a dumbing down of American children. It is basically, a tactic to access students, to set up the School To Work/Workforce Development model of education in full force.

Your children are now Human Capital for the State. What Obama wants to do is now make them Human Capital for the Federal government.  Texas was the pilot!! This new push, coupled with the passage of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act,) would seal the deal. Giving Obama his legacy, of Fundamentally Transforming Education in America. 

While attending the SXSW Ed U back in 2014 I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion titled: Votes Matter More Than Money: Grassroots Advocacy

SXSW- with Thomas Ratliff and Jimmy Don Aycock- A case study of civic advocacy in education (TAMSA)

The panel description: As the US faces the challenges of an increasingly global market and fast-paced technology evolution, educating our children is paramount. However, in recent years, our nation and state have moved toward high-stakes testing in lieu of innovative, project-based education. To meet these demands, educators are pressured to focus on testing, not teaching. Nationwide, parents have expressed backlash in opposition to this approach and, in response, Texas recently passed into law a major education reform bill, House Bill 5. The new law was defined with considerable input from parents and educators. Grassroots involvement ensured that legislators knew voters strongly supported reducing state-mandated tests. This panel will discuss: 
• how voters can make a difference at the legislative level
• a case study of civic advocacy in education (TAMSA) 
• why now is the appropriate time to strike a better balance between testing and engaging students with more course flexibility and relevance. –

Now, if you asked any teachers or moms what HB5 was about they will say… It is about getting rid of teaching to the test and those big bad High-Stakes STAAR tests.

The reality is, that is not what HB5 was really ALL about. According to Houston ISD- “This year’s eighth-graders —the Class of 2018 —will be the first to experience a whole new path to graduation under a new law designed to personalize learning. Students will identify career fields that interest them, and will take courses that will prepare them for success in college and the job market.”

The Workforce Development (HB5) just like the Common Core National Standards, expands the target from K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) to a P-20 (Pre-school through College, Trade or Graduate School) system in order to control the economy and control our children by funneling them into certain career pathways.

Parents are you really okay with that? Your children are now “HUMAN CAPITAL” FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT?  

The real question parents need to start asking is…. What is going to replace those Big BAD, PAARC AND SMARTER BALANCE AND IN TEXAS STAAR EOC (End of Course) tests?

The Common Core/Workforce Development Assessments shift from the “Mental” (Academics and Knowledge Based Tests) to “Behaviors”(Performance Standards and Competency for the workforce).

How will parents know what their children are being taught in class? Will they actually have a solid “Education of Opportunity” (Equal Opportunity) because they can read well, write well, do math and know history? Or will they have a progressive “Education of Equity” (Equal Outcomes) based on attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors?

As I told a mother, when she asked can we opt. our children out of the devices they use to track and collect data on our children, when I posted about HB5? “You can, but the problem is, they are implementing the technology TEKS (Texas Essential  Knowledge and Skills) standards through Math, English and other classes. That is why, I was so upset about the I-Pads and Chrome books being used. The new assessments that will replace the National PARCC and Smarter Balance and in Texas the STAAR EOCs will be assessing our children daily through the curriculum. Yes- PARCC, Smarter Balance and STAAR are all bad, but what they will replace it with is Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and behavioral and psychological profiling of students by creating an individual portfolio on a student, for the workforce. Basically, Pick Your Childs Poison!   

There is a fundamental “SHIFT” occurring in education today. Some will say it is 21st Century Learning. The truth is, there is nothing 21st Century about it. It is the same battles that were fought in the late 60′s and early 70′s and again in the late 80′s and early 90′s. It is what was coined back then- Outcome Based/School to Work education. What pushed it out in the past?

PARENTS!!

Why, because parents understood just how harmful this is to their child. 

The “SHIFT” is NOT liberal vs conservative. Many liberal parents and educators are horrified by what they are seeing in the classrooms. The fundamental shift in education we are talking about is changing from a transmission of knowledge, that parents still expect from our schools, to an emphasis on altering the students world-views, their values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.