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

Peter Greene tweeted a link to Andy Spears’ blog post about a preposterous bill passed by the Tennessee House and Senate that has the effect of mandating retention for 62% of current 3rd graders unless the cut scores change. Spears’ blog post is fittingly titled “I Don’t Even Have a Headline”. The one I offered above seems fitting after reading his post. The Tennessee legislature wants to make sure very child gets a wonderful education but doesn’t want to pay for it… so it implements a law that defies the realities of child development, ignores the realities of the impact of poverty and race on public school students, and relies on cheap, easy-to-administer-off-the-shelf standardized tests to determine if 8 year olds are “ready” to go into 4th grade. If they “fail” based on this test, they DO have a fall back: they can go to summer school.

Like Andy Spears, I have difficulty finding the words to describe the absurdity. But here’s what I’m willing to wager: the Tennessee Education Department (or whatever it’s called in that State) will tinker with the cut scores to make certain that 62% of the kids DON’T fail which will beg the question of why they are using a test that can be easily manipulated…. but that question has been around for two decades. I keep hoping the pandemic will be an opportunity to change the dominant paradigm of public education… but GOP legislatures keep beating a path to the good old days of NCLB-style accountability. Ugh!