Category Archives: NCLB

High stakes testing is strangling America’s public schools. #EndHighStakesTesting

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

Dear Bill Gates, High stakes testing is strangling America’s public schools. I have been a teacher for 10 years, all of them in high-poverty schools. Early in my career, when NCLB was just getting started, I knew even then that … Continue reading →

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, NCLB, Race to the Top | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mr.and Mrs. Gates: This experiment should be put to rest for once and for all…

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gates, For years now, you have joined forces with Michelle Rhee to drive and enact your education reform agenda. The cornerstone of this agenda states that the greatest single factor effecting student achievement is to place a … Continue reading →

Posted in Corporate Education Reform, High Stakes Testing, NCLB, Race to the Top | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

High Stakes Tests hurt kids! High Stakes Test results are JUNK Science!

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

Dear Bill and Melinda Gates, I write to you as a very concerned parent and public school teacher. The high stakes tests that you swear by are causing so much stress to young children. I have heard stories from concerned … Continue reading →

Posted in High Stakes Testing, Junk Science of High Stakes Standardized Testing, NCLB | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bill, please consider how would the test have evaluated you and decided YOUR future as a teen?

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

  Dear Mr. Gates, My name is Alaina and I used to be a teacher. I came from a truly disadvantaged background, worked my way through college, sometimes even collecting cans to pay my tuition before I got a scholarship, … Continue reading →

Posted in High Stakes Testing, NCLB, Poverty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NCLB and RttT are removing our final hope of an equal education…experienced teachers.

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

Dear Bill and Melinda, I retired last year – three years earlier than I’d planned – after teaching in an urban high school in Providence, Rhode Island for almost two decades. The faculty had been working hard since the mid-90s … Continue reading →

Posted in High Stakes Testing, NCLB, Race to the Top, Teacher Resignations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our students with disabilities did not make AYP (Annual Yearly Progress).

Posted on June 23, 2013 by

From an anonymous reader’s comment on Diane Ravitch’s blog post: An Amazing Website: Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates: Dear Bill and Melinda, I truly believe you started with good intentions. As mature adults who make mistakes, it is time to … Continue reading →

Posted in Annual Yearly Progress, AYP, NCLB | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 12 Steps to Recovery for Teachers Under the Influence of Corporate Education Reform

Posted on June 20, 2013 by

Dear Bill and Melinda, There is a disease in public education. Some of us are now addicted to corporate education reform. For those wondering how to tell whether you are suffering from this disease, we recommend the following self-assessment: A … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Gates, Common Core High Stakes Testing, Common Core State Standards, Corporate Education Reform, Edreform, Education, Melinda Gates, NCLB, Resistance, Standardized Testing, Teachers' Letters to Bill Gates, Testing, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 11 Comments