Voices in Education“The  assumptions  that  underlie  common  core  advance  the  idea  that  education  lifts  all  boats  and  that  a  supply  of  educated  workers  will  lead  to  greater  opportunity  across  incomes  and  social  strata  yet,  the  most  current  data  contradict  this  thinking.”  Ali  Hangan,  economics  teacher  

http://diverseeducation.com/article/54960/#  

“We  have  high  functioning,  genius  IQ  autistic/Aspergers  kids  who,  despite  demonstrated  giftedness  in  math,  will  never  be  able  to  answer  this  question  due  to  their  brains’  inability  to  process  anything  symbolically….let  alone  stuck  at  a  desk  in  front  of  a  computer  screen.  This  is  cognitive  child  abuse.”    Dr.  Gary  Thompson,  child  psychologist

 http://whatiscommoncore.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/dr-­‐gary-­‐thompson-­‐this-­‐is-­‐cognitive-­‐child-­‐abuse/

“The  promoters  of  the  standards  claim  they  are  based  in  research.  They  are  not.”  Edward  Miller  and  Nancy  Carlsson-­‐Paige,  renowned  authors  and  professors  in  education

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-­‐sheet/wp/2013/01/29/a-­‐tough-­‐critique-­‐of-­‐common-­‐core-­‐on-­‐early-­‐childhood-­‐education/

“Despite  being  used  for  several  decades,  test-­‐based  incentives  have  not  consistently  generated  positive  effects  on  student  achievement.”  National  Research  Council,  2011.

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12521

“We  are  all  in  the  midst  of  another  civil  rights  crisis.  We  are  staring  at  a  national  catastrophe,  and  for  the  sake  of  our  children,  we  need  to  ask  ourselves,  what  we  are  doing  about  it?  Our  children  are  being  abused.  Do  we  really  want  to  sit  idly  by  and  do  nothing?”  Bestselling  children’s  author,  Phil  Bildner

Parent  Guide  to  Common  Core  and  High  Stakes  

Testing

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO?

Opt  Out  Let  your  child’s  school  know  you  do  not  wish  to  have  them  tested.  Your  child  will  NOT  participate  in  any  state  or  federal  testing.    Additionally,  request  that  your  child’s  data  is  NEVER  stored,  given  away  or  sold.    DO  this  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  and  request  your  child  be  assessed  using  a  portfolio.    Teachers  will  keep  a  cile  of  your  child’s  work  all  year  long.    This  cile  will  need  to  be  used  at  the  end  of  the  year  if  there  is  any  question  about  promotion.    

Know  the  Law  Opt  Out  guides  have  been  prepared  and  are  available  for  every  state  on  www.unitedoptout.com.    EVERY  parent  has  the  right  to  make  decisions  about  their  child’s  education.  You  will  be  bullied  by  the  school.    Be  prepared.    There  are  many  experts  available  to  help  you.    

Stop  the  Data  By  opting  out  and  clearly  refusing  to  allow  your  child’s  data  be  stored,  you  are  helping  to  stop  Common  Core  and  High  Stakes  Testing.  InBloom  has  the  power  in  many  states  to  store  AND  SELL  your  child’s  personal  data.    ALL  DATA.    This  will  allow  colleges  and  employers  in  the  future  to  buy  information  on  every  single  aspect  of  your  child’s  education  successes  and  struggles.  

Support  your  Teachers  The  stress  and  pressure  teachers  are  under  right  now  is  tremendous.    They  are  being  bullied  and  pushed  from  every  direction.    The  corporations  behind  this  “reform”  are  working  to  discredit  them  and  the  profession  they  have  dedicated  their  lives  to.    Great  teachers  are  leaving  the  profession  in  droves.

Call  your  Representatives  Call  and  ask  that  Common  Core  be  repealed  in  your  state.    Call  your  Governor,  State  Board  of  Education,  and  even  the  Secretary  of  Education,  Arne  Duncan  and  tell  him  we  will  not  turn  education  over  to  corporations  who  want  to  make  money  off  of  our  children.

SPREAD  THE  WORD!  TELL  EVERY  PARENT  YOU  MEET  WHAT  IS  HAPPENING  AND  HOW  TO  HELP!

United  Opt  Out  National

www.unitedoptout.com

Parents Are the KeyHigh Stakes Testing and Common Core Destroys Childhood AFFECTS  SOCIO-­‐EMOTIONAL  WELL-­‐  BEING:  Our  system  of  constant  testing  is  designed  to  produce  anxiety  and  depression.  Stress  at  this  level  affects  the  normal  processes  of  the  brain,  ultimately  causing  irreversible  damage  to  memory  (www.cogneurosociety.org/cortisol_memory/).

KILLS  CURIOSITY  AND  LOVE  OF  LEARNING:  Actually  limits  and  reduces  the  amount  of  QUALITY  learning  experiences.  Rather  than  focusing  on  a  child’s  natural  curiosity,  HST/CC  emphasizes  (and  drills  in)  knowledge  rather  than  creating  environments  that  stimulate  a  child’s  imagination.  The  CC  standards  from  K-­‐8  have  been  deemed  developmentally  inappropriate,  expecting  children  to  do  things  their  brains  are  not  ready  to  do  (www.allianceforchildhood.org/standards).

ACTUALLY  REDUCES  A  CHILD’S  CAPACITY  FOR  ATTAINING  NEW  KNOWLEDGE:  If  they  cannot  actively  make  meaning  out  of  what  they  are  doing,  they  do  not  learn  or  remember.  But  most  standardized  tests  are  still  based  on  recall  of  isolated  facts  and  narrow  skills.  (www.fairtest.org).

HIGHER  ORDER  THINKING  IS  RE-­‐  PLACED  WITH  SKILL,  DRILL  AND  KILL:  Most  tests  include  many  topics  that  are  not  important,  while  many  important  areas  are  not  included  on  standardized  tests  because  they  cannot  be  measured  by  such  tests.  Teaching  to  the  test  does  not  produce  real  and  sustained  gains  on  independent  learning  measures.  (www.fairtest.org)

COMMON  CORE  IS  OPENING  THE  DOOR  TO  “TEACH  FOR  AMERICA”:  TFA  teachers  are  college  graduates  who  are  offered  teaching  positions  with  only  5  weeks  of  training  (how  to  teach  to  the  test).  In  return  these  teachers  make  a  minimum  salary  and  have  a  portion  of  their  college  loans  forgiven.    After  two  years  they  are  free  to  leave  teaching  for  their  desired  profession.

High Stakes Testing and Common Core Destroys Our Public SchoolsNARROWS  THE  CURRICULUM:  A  loss  of  a  rich  and  full  curriculum.  Forget  art,  music,  PE,  dance,  and  recess  (in  spite  of  the  decades  of  research  that  correlates  student  overall  school  achievement  to  participation  in  these  experiences).  State-­‐wide  testing  focuses  only  on  math  and  reading.  Teachers  are  forced  to  focus  only  on  those  learning  strategies  that  reclect  the  way  material  is  presented  on  the  tests.

MOVING  FROM  PUBLIC  TO  PRIVATIZATION  OF  ALL  SCHOOLS:  80%  of  all  schools  are  anticipated  to  fail  meeting  their  AYP  (yearly  progress)  goals  by  2014.  Schools  that  are  shut  down  are  bought  out  by  private  sector  charter  schools.  Tax  money  from  federal  govt.  intended  for  public  schools  gets  funneled  to  for  procit  business  run  charter  schools.

DIVERTS  GREATLY  NEEDED  FUNDS  FROM  SCHOOLS  TO  BUSINESS:  The  Department  of  Education  has  invested  350  MILLION  dollars  in  developing  new  tests  while  millions  of  schools  have  cut  art,  music,  and  suffer  from  limited  resources  including  clean  drinking  water  or  air  conditioning.  Nearly  100%  of  Race  to  the  Top  grant  money  is  paid  out  to  private  companies.  Very  little  is  used  for  the  benecit  of  schools  or  teachers.

TEACHING  TO  THE  TEST:  Schools,  grades  K-­‐12,  on  average  spend  10-­‐12  WEEKS  before  the  testing  solely  on  test  preparation,  replacing  meaningful  hands-­‐on  instruction  with  skill  and  drill.  Teachers  are  often  expected  to  keep  all  students  at  the  same  place  in  the  curriculum,  down  to  the  day.  This  leaves  no  room  for  pacing  those  who  need  extra  time,  those  who  are  English  language  learners  or  those  who  may  have  learning  disabilities.    The  point  of  Common  Core  is  sameness.    Our  children  are  not  the  same.    They  are  unique  and  they  all  learn  at  different  speeds.    

High Stakes Testing and Common Core Undermine our Constitutional and Privacy Rights VIOLATES  THE  1st  and  14th  AMENDMENTS:  The  14th  amendment  right  to  religious/spiritual  freedom  and  the  federal  law  that  supersedes  state  in  regards  to  having  control  over  their  child.  Federal  law  supersedes  state  law.  School  administrators  will  try  to  intimidate  parents  due  to  the  federal  and  state  requirements  for  school  site  participation  in  order  to  receive  funding.

VIOLATES  FAIR  LABOR  STANDARDS  ACT  OF  1938:  If  a  child  is  given  work  or  assessments  to  do  in  the  classroom  that  will  eventually  determine  the  income  of  a  teaching  professional,  that  student  is  providing  the  catalyst  for  the  pay.  This  breaches  the  Fair  Labor  Standards  Act  (FLSA)  of  1938,  which  states  that  sixteen  is  the  basic  minimum  age  for  employment.  It  also  says  that  when  young  people  work,  the  work  cannot  jeopardize  their  health,  well-­‐being,  or  educational  opportunities.

VIOLATES  ALL  CHILDREN’S  RIGHTS  TO  A  FREE  AND  APPROPRIATE  EDUCATION:  High  stakes  testing  leads  to  underserving  or  mis-­‐serving  all  students,  especially  the  most  needy  and  vulnerable,  thereby  violating  the  principle  of  ‘do  no  harm.’

CHANGES  MADE  TO  FERPA  TO  FIT  COMMON  CORE  DATA  COLLECTION:  The  federal  Family  Educational  Rights  Privacy  Act,  or  FERPA,  was  enacted  in  1974  to  protect  the  privacy  of  education  records.  In  2008  and  2011,  amendments  to  FERPA  gave  third  parties,  including  private  companies,  increased  access  to  student  data.  In  2008,  the  amendments  to  FERPA  expanded  the  decinitions  of  “school  ofcicials”  who  have  access  to  student  data  to  include  "contractors,  consultants,  volunteers,  and  other  parties  to  whom  an  educational  agency  or  institution  has  outsourced  institutional  services  or  functions  it  would  otherwise  use  employees  to  perform."  

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