Network Schools – Wayne Gerseny to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/03/magazine/thomas-piketty-interview u w B l.html?h I’ll smid=url-share the Is for

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This Chalkbeat article describes a struggle the Illinois State Board of Education is facing, a struggle that nearly all states will face soon. Because of the pandemic that closed schools in the spring, Illinois was unable to give their annual standardized tests and, as a result, they have no test results to report on their so-called “Report Card”. The underlying issue, though, is money:

However, Ayala said she was concerned about the possible loss of federal funds if the test requirements are waived. “There are millions of dollars in terms of resources in federal grants that could be at stake if we decide to take a position of not giving the assessment,” she said.

The pandemic has exposed many broken elements in our country, and the Federal government’s insistence that funding be tied to the administration of standardized tests is one of the worst elements of the unfair and counterproductive way our country funds schools. Maybe the inability of schools to administer these tests for two consecutive years will drive a stake through the heart of the testing vampire for once and for all.