Refuse the test

Over the years, I’ve tried to talk to many teachers about the state of education reform. What I’ve come up against time and time again is fear; long-standing, well-established fear of retribution from administrators. It is a thing, and it’s an obstacle to high-quality public education.

But times they are a changing, and teachers across the nation are realizing the dangers of their silence. Teachers in Seattle are fed up and standing up to boycott the new Smarter Balanced Assessment, which tests the Common Core standards.

This year, the SBAC Field Test is merely a test of the test. It won’t be scored, teachers won’t know how well they’ve implemented Common Core and, worse, kids won’t learn if their hard work, frustration and test anxiety has paid off. The field test benefits the testing company only.

Teachers across the nation see this and are risking much to do something about the corporate-driven, high-stakes testing that has corrupted public education since No Child Left Behind. Parents must support them as they stand for our children by refusing to comply with what is arguably an abusive testing system. We must all refuse the test.

Breann Treffry

Spokane