Category Archives: End High Stakes Testing

NYC teacher: “THIS is what the Common Core is doing to our children; it’s heartbreaking and wrong”

Bill, You yourself said the authoritative voice is that of the teachers. Read what this Brooklyn, NY teacher – whom I hold in high regard – has to say about your Common Core package. – Katie Lapham “Today after school … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Gates, Common Core, Common Core High Stakes Testing, Corporate Education Reform, End High Stakes Testing, High Stakes Testing, Standardized Testing, Testing, Uncategorized | 13 Comments

“What is the ranking of my child?”

Dear Bill and Melinda, “What is the ranking of my child?” This is a pretty common question that teachers get at parent-teacher conferences. It seems like a simple question that would result in a simple answer or number. And herein … Continue reading

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, Ranking Students | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas has already begun to catch-on. When will you?

 Race to the Top? “We would be foolish and irresponsible to place our children’s future in the hands of unelected bureaucrats and special interest groups thousands of miles away in Washington.” – Governor Rick Perry Mr. and Mrs. Gates, As … Continue reading

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Every single one of my students “failed” the state test this past school year, and only 1 student passed in the entire 3rd grade at my school. Does this mean my colleagues and I are poor teachers?

Mr. and Mrs. Gates, “You can lead a horse to water, but cannot make him drink.” This old saying pretty much sums up the education profession. Teachers and other education professionals devote their lives to imparting knowledge to children day … Continue reading

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, Measuring Effective Teaching, Special Education, Standardized Testing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Testing just gives him another reason to call himself a failure.

Dear Bill and Melinda Gates, For 19 years, I have taught middle school students. About ten years ago, I created a program at our school to address our neediest students: those at risk of dropping out of school even though … Continue reading

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, Failing Students, High Stakes Testing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Principal: “The part of the story that has been kept from our public is that the cost of being ranked No. 1 are the 2,000 students who have been denied their high school diploma over one state math standard.”

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gates, We have come to a very dangerous crossroad in our state of Washington, and perhaps in other states across the nation. We have non-educators writing educational policy in isolation.  You have built a fortress and … Continue reading

Posted in Assessment, End High Stakes Testing, End of Course Exams, High Stakes Testing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Socrates’ Ghost: “As a teacher, see each child’s mind as a bottle that has traveled across the sea.”

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gates, I am proud to be a teacher. I have taught middle school and high student students for 19 years. I have tutored all ages from early elementary through college. I have degrees in English, education, … Continue reading

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As for your opinion on the almighty test, I’m wondering, sir, why you feel that standardized testing will improve education?

“It may surprise you–it was certainly surprising to us–but the field of education doesn’t know very much at all about effective teaching.” ~ Bill Gates Dear Mr. Gates: Since you have never taught in a public school, I would love … Continue reading

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Why is our country spending billions of dollars on exams, scoring, test preparation materials, and extra instruction that demoralizes and disenfranchises the very students they were intended to help?

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gates, I have been teaching for 32 years. The students I teach are mostly from lower socio-economic backgrounds and also have learning differences. For many of my early teaching years, I advocated for improved services for … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Education Reform, End High Stakes Testing, Profit | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Special Ed Teacher: High stakes testing is not the way to assess student progress or teacher effectiveness.

Dear Mr. Gates and the Gates Foundation, High stakes testing is not the way to assess student progress or teacher effectiveness. The tests currently in use – and worse, the ones coming, such as the PARCC test – have little … Continue reading

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, Junk Science of High Stakes Standardized Testing, Measuring Effective Teaching, Special Education, Teacher Evaluations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments