August 19, 2014
To Members of the Lee County Board of Education:
We, the undersigned, current and future parents and caregivers of students in the Lee County School System, as well as, taxpayers and residents of Lee County, petition and support the Lee County School Board to vote to ignore all unfunded and underfunded high-stakes testing mandates for Lee County Public Schools and to refuse to administer these exams, including the associated practice and progress monitoring tests.
We support this petition for the following reasons:
1. Testing exists to serve our students. Our children do not exist to serve testing. These high-stakes tests offer NO benefits for our children.
2. Results from these high-stakes tests cannot be used as tools to improve teaching and learning since no one is allowed to see the graded test and scores arrive well after the student has finished his/her instruction for the year;
3. Money to administer these tests is diverted from real educational activities, to the detriment of our children, our schools, our District, and our community;
4. By design, these tests fail approximately 43% of all children in grades 3-8 and approximately 50% of our children in grades 9-12;
5.These test fail 85% of non-gifted Exceptional Student Education children, with learning differences like dyslexia;
6. These tests damage our children’s self-esteem and educational growth;
7. These tests are punitive in nature. They do not support improved learning.
8. The narrow focus of teaching to the tests deprives our children of their rights to a Constitutionally-required Free Appropriate Public Education;
9. The culture and structure of the systems in which students learn must change in order to foster engaging, well-rounded school experiences that promote joy in learning, depth of thought and breadth of knowledge;
10. Research has shown that children who are retained in the third grade due to testing suffer emotional damage and receive no educational benefit;
11. The practice of preparing for these tests offers no time or funding for the use of research-based instruction to help children learn to read;
12. Children who are denied a standard diploma solely on the merit of one test, will struggle to achieve their potential;
13. The practice of evaluating educators on the basis of scores from these flawed tests is invalid and degrading to the teaching profession;
14. The practice of grading a school based on these flawed tests is damaging to our property values.
Therefore, we, the undersigned, petition the Lee County Board of Education to vote to ignore unfunded and underfunded high-stakes testing mandates for our public schools in Lee County and to refuse to administer high-stakes tests, including the associated practice and progress monitoring tests, to our children.
Signed,
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
August 22, 2014
August 21, 2014
I was looking over the comments left here tonight and my heart just sinks thinking about how many kids are being forced into these testing cycles that serve absolutely no one. There is so much going on behind the scenes with local contacts who are finally starting to admit that the money diverted away from the classroom is a disaster but they still act like their hands are tied by these mandates.
August 21, 2014
I really never thought this would gain this much steam but here we are and honestly it feels like people are finally waking up to the absurdity of these tests. My coffee is cold and I have been staring at the screen for hours because reading the stories you all are leaving about your own kids in these classrooms is just heavy but it keeps me going.
Reached 100 supporters
August 20, 2014
August 19, 2014
I was just looking at the count and we are hovering right near that hundred mark which feels like a real turning point for us even if it is just a start. Could you grab the link and blast it out to a few people you know because honestly the board needs to see that we are not going to just sit quietly while these tests eat up all our time and money.
11 Comments
Glad to see people finally waking up to what is happening. Keep the pressure on the board members.
My son comes home in tears after these testing weeks. He used to love school and now he just hates it. Enough is enough.
Chris Patricca, thanks for your comment. We live in a country that encourages debate from both sides. I welcome you to go start your own petition, rather than trying to convince informed citizens that they don't know what they're talking about, when in fact, they do. We've all seen your disgusting comments at the board meeting, we get it, you like the cool-aid.
FINALLY. Someone needs to stand up to the state and say no. Our kids are more than a data point.
I hope that at some point we can do away with all the testing that does nothing but give ammo to the "schools aren't working" crowd. Standardized testing is a tool for people who have an interest in killing public school because the tests are designed to fail average student. This makes teachers look like they are not performing. This is then used as a justification , by those who want to kill our public schools, to reduce teacher compensation.
Why people aren't signing this petition?
It is time to end this abuse of our children
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August 19, 2014
To Members of the Lee County Board of Education:
We, the undersigned, current and future parents and caregivers of students in the Lee County School System, as well as, taxpayers and residents of Lee County, petition and support the Lee County School Board to vote to ignore all unfunded and underfunded high-stakes testing mandates for Lee County Public Schools and to refuse to administer these exams, including the associated practice and progress monitoring tests.
We support this petition for the following reasons:
1. Testing exists to serve our students. Our children do not exist to serve testing. These high-stakes tests offer NO benefits for our children.
2. Results from these high-stakes tests cannot be used as tools to improve teaching and learning since no one is allowed to see the graded test and scores arrive well after the student has finished his/her instruction for the year;
3. Money to administer these tests is diverted from real educational activities, to the detriment of our children, our schools, our District, and our community;
4. By design, these tests fail approximately 43% of all children in grades 3-8 and approximately 50% of our children in grades 9-12;
5.These test fail 85% of non-gifted Exceptional Student Education children, with learning differences like dyslexia;
6. These tests damage our children’s self-esteem and educational growth;
7. These tests are punitive in nature. They do not support improved learning.
8. The narrow focus of teaching to the tests deprives our children of their rights to a Constitutionally-required Free Appropriate Public Education;
9. The culture and structure of the systems in which students learn must change in order to foster engaging, well-rounded school experiences that promote joy in learning, depth of thought and breadth of knowledge;
10. Research has shown that children who are retained in the third grade due to testing suffer emotional damage and receive no educational benefit;
11. The practice of preparing for these tests offers no time or funding for the use of research-based instruction to help children learn to read;
12. Children who are denied a standard diploma solely on the merit of one test, will struggle to achieve their potential;
13. The practice of evaluating educators on the basis of scores from these flawed tests is invalid and degrading to the teaching profession;
14. The practice of grading a school based on these flawed tests is damaging to our property values.
Therefore, we, the undersigned, petition the Lee County Board of Education to vote to ignore unfunded and underfunded high-stakes testing mandates for our public schools in Lee County and to refuse to administer high-stakes tests, including the associated practice and progress monitoring tests, to our children.
Signed,
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
August 22, 2014
August 21, 2014
I was looking over the comments left here tonight and my heart just sinks thinking about how many kids are being forced into these testing cycles that serve absolutely no one. There is so much going on behind the scenes with local contacts who are finally starting to admit that the money diverted away from the classroom is a disaster but they still act like their hands are tied by these mandates.
August 21, 2014
I really never thought this would gain this much steam but here we are and honestly it feels like people are finally waking up to the absurdity of these tests. My coffee is cold and I have been staring at the screen for hours because reading the stories you all are leaving about your own kids in these classrooms is just heavy but it keeps me going.
Reached 100 supporters
August 20, 2014
August 19, 2014
I was just looking at the count and we are hovering right near that hundred mark which feels like a real turning point for us even if it is just a start. Could you grab the link and blast it out to a few people you know because honestly the board needs to see that we are not going to just sit quietly while these tests eat up all our time and money.
11 Comments
the amount of money we are wasting on these stupid tests is criminal. put it into the classrooms and stop the madness
Glad to see people finally waking up to what is happening. Keep the pressure on the board members.
My son comes home in tears after these testing weeks. He used to love school and now he just hates it. Enough is enough.
Chris Patricca, thanks for your comment. We live in a country that encourages debate from both sides. I welcome you to go start your own petition, rather than trying to convince informed citizens that they don't know what they're talking about, when in fact, they do. We've all seen your disgusting comments at the board meeting, we get it, you like the cool-aid.
FINALLY. Someone needs to stand up to the state and say no. Our kids are more than a data point.
I hope that at some point we can do away with all the testing that does nothing but give ammo to the "schools aren't working" crowd. Standardized testing is a tool for people who have an interest in killing public school because the tests are designed to fail average student. This makes teachers look like they are not performing. This is then used as a justification , by those who want to kill our public schools, to reduce teacher compensation.
Why people aren't signing this petition?
It is time to end this abuse of our children
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the amount of money we are wasting on these stupid tests is criminal. put it into the classrooms and stop the madness