Fwd: [ARN-state] letter to a 3rd grade teacher

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Michelle runs the Resistance in Nev and Gloria does in Fla.

Susan

Begin forwarded message:

  From: Michelle_Nevada <Michelle_Nevada@comcast.net>

  Date: Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:29:26 PM US/Pacific

  To: <ARN-state@yahoogroups.com>

  Subject: Re: [ARN-state] letter to a 3rd grade teacher

  Reply-To: ARN-state@yahoogroups.com

  B”H

  It is situations like this for which my son, Connor, invented the perfect
  answer.

  I will repeat as often as necessary until we can teach everyone who wants to
  avoid the test what to do:

  DRAW A LINE ON TESTING

  Here’s how it’s done.  Get the answer sheet.  Fill in your name and all the
  information they want you to answer (so you get credit).

  Now, draw a line straight down the test sheet, making sure you do not fill in
  the bubbles.

  Done.

  The computer can’t score you, the school can’t ask you to change your
  “answers” or the testing company will void all of the tests, and your kid
  doesn’t have to get tested.

  When we did it, we received a wonderful note from the testing company
  congratulating my son for passing the test!

  :)

  M

  On 4/16/08 4:45 PM, "Gloria Pipkin" <gpipkin@knology.net> wrote:

  Shortly before the FCAT was administered last month we had a parent contact
  FCAR who was interested in holding his daughter out of the grade 3 testing.
  His daughter is an English learner (her mother speaks little English), but
  she's had ESL support for two years--Florida's ridiculously low notion of how
  long it takes to gain academic competence in a second language. His daughter
  was scoring low on the ubiquitous practice tests, but the father discovered
  that when he took the booklet apart so that she had the text beside the
  questions, she had little or no difficulty. He asked the school for similar
  accommodations on the FCAT, but his request was denied.

  One of our FCAR board members is a longtime, well-connected homeschooler, and
  she gave him all the info about homeschooling. Another of our board members
  who's a school counselor in his district talked to him for an hour and a half
  and gave him advice about how to navigate the district office bureaucracy and
  seek help there. He finally decided just to keep his daughter at home, but in
  order to avoid make-up testing, he had to keep her out of school for two
  weeks. To avoid truancy charges, during the second week he took her to
  school, left her for a few minutes, and then went back and checked her out.
  Here's part of his message to our list after that strategy:

  The Elementary School Principal and the school councilor along with a truant
  officer came to my house and told me that I am violating federal laws by
  keeping my student out of school, and it is not an option for a Lake George
  student not to take the FCAT they must by law... If I do not want charges
  pressed she must arrive at school no later than today or social services will
  step in along with the truant officer.

  His wife was hysterical at the prospect of having her daughter taken away, so
  the father took her back to school, where she took the FCAT. We encouraged
  but didn't pressure him to go public with the story, but the family was too
  traumatized. He talked of moving to New York, and we haven't heard from him
  in a while.

  Gloria

  -----Original Message-----

  From:  ARN-state@yahoogroups.com [mailto:ARN-state@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
  Of  Peter Campbell

  Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 3:11  PM

  To: ARN State

  Subject: Re: [ARN-state] letter to a 3rd  grade teacher

  On Apr 16, 2008, at 12:16 PM, Monty Neill wrote:

  Finally, one powerful reason to boycott is because  schools have become
  test-prep programs. True, the immediate boycott does not  directly address
  that - but it addresses the most immediate cause. And in  publicly stating
  the reasons for boycotting, the fact that schools are  becoming test prep
  programs is probably the single most important argument,  because people have
  clearly indicated in surveys they don't like this and  worry about it. That
  is, the boycott has its power not only in the actual  extent of boycotting,
  but in the uses of the boycott for political  education. David Wasserman who
  boycotted in Madison WI raised that (along  with stress on kids and other
  important  issues).

  I agree with your line of thinking, Monty.

  So perhaps the question is not "How do we massify?" (I love this word),  but
  "How do we multiply?" In other words, it might be more practical to help
   foster lots of testing boycotts all over the country instead of trying to
   organize and lead one giant boycott.

  Monty - does FairTest have any materials on how to lead and organize a  test
  boycott?

  Juanita - do you or Mothers Against WASL have any such materials?

  Maybe one of the goals of state ARN coordinators would be to promote  these
  materials and encourage people in their states to take action.

  Peter

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