The testing-industrial complex is not giving up easily

Posted as a comment  on "Opt-out activities aim to build on momentum in states,"  Education Week.  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/14/opt-out-activists-aim-to-build-on-momentum.html

The opt-out movement seems to have worked: the new education law did not increase the amount of required testing (except for adding some science tests), and the president supports limits on the amount of testing done.

But the testing industrial complex is not giving up easily, working eagerly to establish what could mean testing every day. It is called competency-based education.

Competency-based education (CBE) is a radical and expensive innovation that replaces regular instruction with online "modules" that students work through on their own. Students take tests in order to move to the next module. It is being pushed by computer companies without consulting educators and without a proper research base.  

The new education law specifically encourages competence-based education and testing (sections 1201 and 1204).

Want to read more about it?  Start here:

Steven M. Singer, Standardized Tests Every Day: the Competency Based Education Scam. http://tinyurl.com/j8s2tuh

Emily Talmage,  Warning: Gates is Infiltrating Opt Out. http://emilytalmage.com/2016/01/05/warning-gates-is-infiltrating-opt-out/

Morna McDermott, Reading between the lines. http://educationalchemy.com/2015/10/25/reading-between-the-lines-obamas-testing-action-plan/)

Peggy Robertson, Opt-out revolution, the next wave.   http://www.pegwithpen.com/2015/10/opt-out-revolution-next-wave.html