Susan Ohanian

Here's an unbelievable opinion piece from one of the most eloquent critics of standardized testing on the planet, Susan Ohanion:

http://www.susanohanian.org/show_commentary.php?id=285

Money quote:

The political mania for inflicting high-stakes tests on students has reached such insanity that a couple of years ago when a teacher revealed that Harcourt, publisher of the widely used Stanford 9 test, sends out instructions on what a teacher should do when nervous children vomit on the tests (soiled tests cannot be discarded but must be returned to Harcourt), it wasn't even a three-day wonder. No group stepped forward and demanded that schools discontinue practices that make kids vomit.

A few more highlights:

In Indianapolis, students were required to continue state testing on September 11 and September 12, 2001. Officials reasoned that students should be able to compartmentalize their emotions; children were asked to shove aside the emotions engulfing everyone else in the country and concentrate on doing work required by the state.

In Tennessee a first grade teacher received an official letter of reprimand—for comforting a sobbing child during the high-stakes state test. Now, teachers aren’t allowed to talk to children during test time in Tennessee.

The article is full of similar stories--stories that will make you sick. We've got to put an end to this insanity.