Thompson: The Times They Are A Changin

Diane Ravitch complains "The Obama administration's answer to the problem that I pose—the shrinking time for non-tested subjects in an environment of high-stakes testing—is this: Test everything."  Ravitch  notes that the craze in Value Added Models will double standardized testing. It doesn't take a statistical model to calculate the minutes in a school year, and the number of tests, and realize that schools that "win" the Race to the Top will have time for little but test prep.  A rebellion by students, parents, and teachers is coming.  Will occur in time for the fall elections? 

Comments

[melody]

The logistical and other issues associated with basing teacher value-added measures on standardized testing in every subject are nightmarish. State and district administrations can barely handle the testing burden now. Now double or quadruple that and add the further challenge of pinning every kid to an instructor. Next, how are they going to police against cheating when every teacher now has a vested interest in doing so, especially the "bad" ones whom the concocters of these schemes are most interested in getting rid of?