Article 4

The Leadership team of the Badass Teachers Association released a statement 2 weeks ago regarding Reauthorization of ESEA (http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/…/dear-senator-alexander…). In our letter to Senator Alexander we stated that as practitioners in the classroom, we see daily the detrimental effects that testing and accountability have on our children, families, and communities. We remain concerned that many choose to ignore the prevalent research that shows how poverty and inequality play defining roles in the achievement of our children in school. We made it clear that no matter what tools used in a school - such as grade span testing, accountability, technology, or merit pay, children still walk through the door poor, marginalized, and in need of resources that are becoming increasingly scarce in our schools (specifically our children of color). We strongly stated that neither Option 1 nor Option 2 are solutions to us because they continue to rely on "testing" as a measure in which to gauge the health of a school. Although we support grade span testing, we want to see it used in random sampling which provides statistically valid results with less time, and money, spent on testing. We must move away from the model of Federal control of education and expensive false measures of accountability that in any way ties annual testing to the support a schools need to succeed. We firmly believe that funds needed for children are diverted to profits for testing companies and their products.