Kindergartener Test Inappropriate

According to the Washington Post, Maryland State Education Association is calling on the State Board of Education to suspend its new Common Core Kindergarten Readiness Assessments, arguing that teachers lose too much instructional time administering the new computer based tests and are not receiving useful data to improve teaching and learning. Betty Weller, the president of the teachers union, said the MSEA fielded numerous complaints from teachers after they started administering the test this fall. The union wants the state to halt the testing until issues surrounding the assessments and its implementation are resolved. “Our students in all grades and especially those in kindergarten, which for many is their first formal educational experience are counting on the adults to get it right and provide them with an education in which they have adequate time to learn and their teachers have adequate time to teach. We cannot afford to waste valuable instructional time without ensuring that new initiatives have been thoroughly piloted, communicated and are useful to our practitioners.” Weller said the union conducted a
survey after hearing teachers complaints about the tests. The survey found that 91 percent of responding kindergarten teachers do not believe that the assessments will help improve instruction.

Parents that are concerned about this excessive testing can refuse future testing for their children. For a Maryland Opt Out/Refusal Guide go to:

http://unitedoptout.com/state-by-state-opt-out-2/maryland/

Francis Gebhart
Berlin.MD

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/md-teachers-union-wants-kindergarten-tests-halt

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