Feds cut funding, but the tests will survive

Sent to the Washington Post, Feb. 22, 2013
“U.S. schools brace for federal funding cuts,” Feb. 21, did not mention that despite anticipated cuts of $1.3 billion in federal funding of education, there are no plans to cut back on the common core standards, accurately described by Susan Ohanian as “a radical untried curriculum overhaul and … nonstop national testing.”
The common core requires that all students be connected to the internet in order to take the tests that enforce the standards. This represents an investment of billions. New York City and the State of Florida have budgeted about a half a billion each just to set up internet connections for all students, and you can be sure that as soon as the infrastructure is in place, it will be declared obsolete, resulting in a never-ending flow of taxpayer money to computer and testing companies.
The Post reported that most of the cuts will affect programs for poor children and students with disabilities. The feds are decreasing funding for teaching and learning but continue to demand that districts and states fund testing, investing in weighing the animal rather than feeding it.
Stephen Krashen

Sources
Susan Ohanian: http://www.dailycensored.com/woo-hoo/
New York funding: New York Times, "In city schools, tech spending to rise despite cuts," March 30, 2011.
Florida funding: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/time-hardwire-florida-schools-senate-ed-chairman-says