Save our Schools

On my Twitter avatar I have chosen to show support for American educators who rightfully see corporate reform efforts to link their pay to student test scores and eliminate tenure as a direct assault on their profession. 

The Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action will be held July 28-31, 2011 in Washington, D.C & Nationwide.

You can follow Save Our Schools on Twitter here.

For a taste of what this group stands for, here is an excerpt from the Save Our Schools site on High-Stakes Testing:

The primary and most important purpose of assessment is to find out what learners know and can do so that teachers can develop their strengths, support the areas where they struggle, and promote the learning process. High-stakes testing, however, distorts and undermines that process. By directing our focus to the scores instead of the learning process, high-stakes testing makes it difficult to fully understand what exactly is happening in our schools, and it makes it even more difficult for teachers and students to engage in real learning. 

Students who know that a test may keep them from moving on to the next grade or graduating, or that their school may be closed or converted, face tremendous stress.