Category Archives: Special Education

Common Core Tests: Educational Malpractice for Students with Special Needs

Posted on May 4, 2014 by

Dear Mr. and Mrs Gates: This is what is gong on in every county across the country as students with disabilities are forced to take tests they are not yet ready for and have not learned the content: In about … Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core High Stakes Testing, Educational Malpractice, Special Education, Special needs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

High Stakes Testing, Special Education: A False Picture of Failure

Posted on February 24, 2014 by

  Dear Bill and Melinda, I am a retired teacher from the Rhode Island School for the Deaf.  I taught English Language Arts in the middle school and high school until retiring in the fall of 2011. One of the … Continue reading →

Posted in High Stakes Testing, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

My name is Andrea Rediske, and I am Ethan Rediske’s mother. Please Pass #EthansAct! #EyesOnDOE

Posted on February 19, 2014 by

Dear Bill and Melinda, A national wave of empathy and outrage was created when the state of Florida demanded a child named Ethan Rediske take the FCAT high stakes test.  Despite the fact that Ethan was on his deathbed at … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrea Pratt Rediske, Ethan Rediske, High Stakes Testing, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

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?

Posted on July 13, 2013 by

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

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

Posted on July 9, 2013 by

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

“[Persons with Autism] are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” – Paul Collins

Posted on July 9, 2013 by

Mr. and Mrs. Gates, My mother is a powerful and passionate woman, who, for my entire life, has never taken “no” for an answer. I come by this trait naturally. If, by now, it is not apparent that I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, End High Stakes Testing, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Harry’d pass your silly high stakes tests if he chooses to!

Posted on July 8, 2013 by

Hey Bill, I want to tell you about Harry. He was one of my students in the Financial Literacy course I teach. All students in New Jersey have to complete this semester long course in personal finance in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in End High Stakes Testing, Special Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment