Alternet

Standardized Tests Hurt Kids and Public Schools: Teachers, Parents Take a Stand Against Corporate-Backed Test Regime

Teachers, parents and activists are organizing to fight standardized testing in schools -- and the big companies that profit from the tests.

Early January is back-to-school time—students preparing for a new semester, a year half over. For many students, that means getting ready for a seemingly endless stream of standardized tests – tests meant to measure their progress, their teacher's competence, their school's quality, and their own
readiness to take the next step in their education.

This January, though, a group of teachers, parents and activists are organizing against the tests. They have called the first national Opt Out Day for January 7, a day of actions across the country loudly withdrawing consent from a testing regime they say is hurting kids.

Peggy Robertson, a Colorado-based former teacher who is one of the founders of United Opt Out and a Save Our Schools March steering committee member, told AlterNet, “In our opinion, an act of civil disobedience is paramount to stop this.”

“It's very clear that this testing is being used to dismantle the public school system,” she added. More