Please sign this petition to suspend standardized testing in FL.

[OrlandoDem2]

https://www.change.org/p/florida-parents-suspend-florida-standardized-testing-for-the-2020-2021-school-year?utm_campaign=support&utm_medium=copylink&utm_source=share_petition&recruited_by_id=a8668eb0-4775-11e9-a1fb-234ca00d1300

[Phoenix61]

1. I think that's a mistake. They need it for assessment

purposes.

[OrlandoDem2]

4. Testing is beyond ridiculous in FL.

And the state uses tests to bludgeon public schools and teachers. They give vouchers to private schools which aren’t held to the same testing standards. It’s a scam on many different levels.

[Phoenix61]

5. They are going to have to figure out where

the students are academically. That doesn't mean they need to make passing the test mandatory for passing the grade.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. A certain amount of standardized testing is useful. But it seems to have gotten out of control

in recent decades.

I recall back when No Child Left Behind was passed, people who actually read it said that it was set up as to virtually guarantee that all schools would be failing schools in about 15 years.

As for high stakes testing to graduate high school, I say let the GED be the basic test. Pass it and you get a diploma or at least a certificate of accomplishment. Those who want to can take things like the SATs (especially the subject exams) or the ACT.

[OrlandoDem2]

3. Yes, testing is out of control. In most FL counties, students even

take pre-tests to predict how they will do on the actual test.

We have FSAs, end of course exams, SATs, ACT, AP amd IB exams. I’m sure there’s more.

[Phoenix61]

6. SAT, ACT, AP, and IB are taken in every state.

Final exams in high-school are pretty standard.

[OrlandoDem2]

8. I'm not sure you really understand how big the testing industry has become.

In the middle of a pandemic when we may ultimately be teaching online there is no way we can continue with the testing regime we have.

SAT, ACT, IB, and AP are valuable tests. They are also for high school kids only. Those same kids have FSA, EOC, and CFE tests. FSA is for grades 3-10.

There are PMAs in some counties to prep for FSAs.

I’ll explain the jargon and initials if you REALLY want but it’s out of control. That’s the short story. I’ll be glad to give you the long story sometime if you want.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. I will put in a bit of a brag here.

My older son, who graduated high school in 2001, was very good on standardized tests.

As a high school freshman he took biology, then took the SAT test in biology. When the scores came home, he had a 770. Wow! (I'm sure you know the highest score is 800). So I told him he needed to phone his biology teacher and thank her. Yes, I know he worked hard, but she clearly had taught him a lot.

Sophomore year he took chemistry, then the chemistry SAT test. When the scores came home, he had a 780. Wow! So I told him he needed to call his chemistry teacher and thank him.

Junior year he took physics, then took the physics SAT test. When we got the scores, he had an 800. My son said, "Oh. There was one question I wasn't sure of. I guess I got it right."

I am also extremely good at standardized tests. For one thing, I'm a fast reader, and I have actually been known to finish tests that you aren't supposed to be able to finish. So I score even higher than whatever my real knowledge/ability/IQ might be. Others, who are essentially every bit as smart as I am, and can probably do things I can't begin to do, don't do so well on these kinds of tests. The problem is that the tests are designed by people like me, who are good at them, and who lack even the minuscule insight that I have that these tests may not be as useful as purported.

Something else to consider: For generations now, Vo-Tech has had a bad name. I don't understand why. In this country we pay lip service to the notion that all young people must go to college. Really? This is exactly why so many young people graduate with unconscionable debt and cannot get a job because, how many jobs are out there for anthropology majors? What we really need are enough plumbers and electricians and car mechanics.