Testing Resistance & Reform News: July 11 - 17, 2013

It's mid-summer, so news about about assessment reform must surely have slowed down . . . NOT! 

Here's the latest collection of great stories and commentaries to use as ammunition both now and when school resumes in a few weeks.  Sorry that it is so "fat," but the size reflects the great work so many of you are doing.

The Trouble with Testing Mania -- NYTimes Editorial Moves Away From Test-and-Punish Embrace
     http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/opinion/sunday/the-trouble-with-testing-mania.html

FairTest Responds with the Lead Letter to the Editor
     http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/opinion/better-teachers-and-better-tests.html

Indiana Super Brings Fresh Perspective to Teacher Evaluation
     http://hechingerreport.org/content/indianas-new-education-chief-is-changing-the-game-on-teacher-evaluation_12416/

California Opposes Obama-Duncan on Test-Based Teacher Ratings
     http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-education-clash-20130715,0,2274338.story

A Principal Writes to Bill Gates: 2,000 Wash. State Kids Denied Diplomas By Grad Tests
     http://teachersletterstobillgates.com/2013/07/11/principal-the-part-of-the-story-that-has-been-kept-from-our-public-is-that-the-cost-of-being-ranked-no-1-are-the-2000-students-who-have-been-denied-their-high-school-diploma-over-one-state-math-s/

The Brave New World of High-Stakes Testing by FairTest Board Member Judith Browne Dianis
     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-browne-dianis/the-brave-new-world-of-hi_b_3587120.html

How Garfield High Defeated the MAP Test
     http://www.seattlemag.com/article/how-garfield-high-defeated-map-test?page=0,0

Texas' Weak Oversight of Pearson Contract: No Accountability for Test-Makers
     http://app1.kuhf.org/print-articles/1373995419-State-Auditors-Find-$460-Million-Contract-With-Testing-Company-Needs-More-Oversight.html

Time to Test the Test-Makers
     http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Evaluators-need-to-be-tested-too-4666622.php

Test Scores Should Inform Not Punish Students
     http://www.providencejournal.com/opinion/commentary/20130711-diane-kern-and-lynne-derbyshire-test-scores-should-inform-not-punish-students.ece

The Perils of Giving Kids IQ Tests
     http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/the-perils-of-giving-kids-iq-tests/277715/

More Parents Are Opting Kids Out of Standardized Tests
     http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/158159/parents_are_opting_kids_out

Florida's School Grade Problems Are Warning to Other States -- Jeb Bush's Phony Legacy
     http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/13/v-fullstory/3498921/other-states-eye-floridas-school.html

• Board of Ed Admits School Grades Are Flawed http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-school-grades-change-broward-20130716,0,404742.story
   
• See FairTest News Release: "Florida School Grades Are Politically Manipulated Scam" http://fairtest.org/FL-Grades-Scam-Release-July2013

How Mad Are Some Teachers
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/12/how-mad-are-some-teachers-this-mad/

Why Top Teacher Ignores Latest "Reform" Directives
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/16/the-worlds-most-famous-teacher-blasts-school-reform/

Open Letter to Pres. Obama: Listen to Experienced Teachers
     http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/07/paul_hortons_open_letter_to_pr.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS2

FairTest Report on the Spring 2013 Testing Resistance Uprising
     The-Spring2013-Testing-Reform-Uprising.pdf

Cheating: How Test Score Bonuses Ruin Education for Everyone
     http://afsaadmin.org/cheating-how-test-score-bonuses-ruin-education-for-everyone/

Common Core Testing Costs Could Bust State Education Budgets
     http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2013-07-09/story/testing-national-common-core-standards-could-cost-more-georgia-has

A Different Narrative for U.S. Education
     http://realmrfitz.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-different-narrative-of-american.html

Testing Is a Poor Gauge of Student Abilities
     http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130714/OPINION/307149980

GPA, SAT, ACT, RIP: Time to End Fixation on Standardized Testing
     http://thegallupblog.gallup.com/2013/07/gpa-sat-actrip.html

The Secret to Finland's Success
     http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/07/the-secret-to-finlands-success-with-schools-moms-kids-and-everything/277699/