Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, recently delivered a major speech calling for a national moratorium on high stakes connected to Common Core assessments. It's a message that supports NYSUT's campaign to end New York's obsession with standardized testing.
Weingarten called for the moratorium to remain in place until states and school districts have worked intensively with teachers and school staff to properly implement the standards through a high-quality curriculum, in-depth professional development, parent and community engagement and field-testing of assessment tools around the standards. She emphasized that it's essential from the start to provide teachers and students with the supports we'll need to master this new approach to teaching and learning-in other words, to "do what it takes before high stakes."
The AFT - one of NYSUT's national affiliates - is calling for a national day of action on the Common Core for tomorrow, and NYSUT is enthusiastically on board. To participate, NYSUT members are encouraged to wear blue Thursday, May 9 to show support for the proper implementation of the Common Core standards.
In addition, tell U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to make sure Common Core standards are done right. Go to go.aft.org/brakesonstakes. Of course, NYSUT's "Tell It Like It Is" campaign is still ongoing at www.nysut.org/testing. In addition, the union's "One Voice United" rally on June 8 in Albany will certainly take on the testing issue as members and parents gather to fight for the future of public education. For more on the rally, go to www.nysut.org.