Why students and teachers are opting out of school testing.

Published in the Denver Post, March 6, 2015
 

Re: “Educator’s refusal to give PARCC called into question by district,” March 1 news story.

Your article fails to present the reasons for the success of the opt-out movement. Here are a few:

1) Students are being tested more than any time in history. The tests have bled huge amounts of class time from real instruction.

2) The new tests have no scientific validity: No studies have shown that the new tests will be helpful, and no studies are planned.

3) The cost of the current testing program is gigantic, especially because the tests must be given online. Billions are being wasted that are desperately needed for legitimate educational purposes.

All educators understand the need for assessment, but the current nonstop and unresearched approach to assessment is wrong. It is PARCC that should be called into question by Aurora Public Schools, not educator Peggy Robertson.

Stephen Krashen

The writer is a professor emeritus of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/