Over 230 Texas School Systems Pass Resolution to Rein In High Stakes Testing

It's only fitting that the most sustained and widespread effort to stop the abusive testing frenzy would come from Texas, which is, after all, the birthplace of testing on steroids and the home of the only former American president who cannot travel abroad for fear of being arrested as a war criminal. 

The post below is by TASA's Jenny LaCoste-Caputo:

Testing resolution continues to gain steam

In her blog for Education Week Diane Ravitch once again focuses on the revolution that's caught fire in Texas and resonated with so many school leaders, teachers, parents and students.

Ravitch posted a blog post Tuesday titled "Stalking the Vampire in Texas" where she not only talks about the Resolution Concerning High Stakes, Standardized Testing of Texas Public School Students, but also touts TASA's visioning work and the attempt by superintendents across the state to transform public education in Texas.

The blog reads in part:

The Texas revolt was seeded by the efforts of nearly three dozen district superintendents who began meeting in 2006 and produced a joint statement about their vision for the future of education. The superintendents recognized that the state's relentless focus on standardized testing was not advancing their vision of the future. Their vision has inspired their colleagues, including Commissioner Scott.

Ravitch quotes liberally from Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas, links to it on TASA's website and urges her readers to read it in its entirety.

At last count, we were at 232 districts that have let us know they've passed the resolution and many more have it on their agendas in April. Remember, there is no deadline. Our goal is to get as many districts to pass the resolution as possible, so communities across the state are speaking with a loud, unified voice. At least one chamber of commerce has passed a similar resolution, and we're planning to draft a sample resolution for chambers and perhaps other groups soon. 

Beginning Wednesday, we're also going to begin posting the districts that have passed the resolution by region and come up with some "what now?" steps for districts to take once they've passed the resolution.

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