The new anti-testing police
I am awash in analysis of the Obama administration’s walk-back of testing. See, from the NYT.
This is a somewhat hopeful shift in focus for an administration that has exponentially increased the amount of testing in the last several years. But this increase in testing would not have occurred unless this administration did not possess a legion of pawns stationed in various high-profile districts throughout the country. In what should have been plainly obvious to anyone with experience in bureaucracies (not saying I’m one of them), there began a struggle in schools across America to win the trophy of the most compliant.
States, Districts, and schools were incentivized for maximum compliance and lauded for the speed at which it was achieved. Teachers were in turn evaluated and scrutinized excessively for their compliance, micro-managed to the point where wall-hangings are subjected to detailed checklists. After years of pushing testing, the test-pushers are all in positions of power, from superintendents to school principals. They have no other compelling vision for education. The data and its meticulous measurement are all they know.
We cannot expect any changes in the very near term as a result of this announcement. Additional details won’t even be released until January. As far as I’m concerned, this school year is a wash in terms of any improvements in the test and punish culture. Despite this announcement, teachers will not see any improvements or changes in their jobs on Monday. As the context is clearly shifting around us, and the The new anti-testing police | @ THE CHALKFACE:
