Posts Tagged: opt out

Maintaining the Achievement Gap by Threatening Opt Out.

Let’s make this quick.  At this point it is no mystery that high stakes testing does nothing to reduce the achievement gap (30 + plus years of trying).  In fact, the reality is that the achievement gap is maintained by the constant insistence of using test based accountability.  Yes, accountability is responsible for maintaining the… Read more »

BustED Pencils Trending News: Episode 16; Over what?; 12345; Better

BustED Pencils Radio Episode 16 –  Episode 16: Is this the Revolution we’ve been waiting for? Episode 16: Is this the Revolution we’ve been waiting for? Overprotective tendencies?????  Hmmmmmmm – What the???? The opt-out movement and the coddling epidemic http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/education/275154-the-opt-out-movement-and-the-coddling-epidemic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 OPT OUT! Common Core: Top 5 districts opting out so… Read more »

It’s Opt Out Season: Let the Bullying Begin.

It must be opt out season. How do I know? Child abuse is rampant. It is abuse when you threaten a child with false consequences to make them and their parents submit to a meaningless standardized test. Using fear to elicit behavior is abuse. However, for some reason adults in schools seem to have no… Read more »

Wisconsin’s mandatory Civics test: State mandated racism by omission.

A few months ago I wrote about about opting out of the new “mandatory” civics test that recently became a graduation requirement in Wisconsin.  Remember, this is the test that  Representative James “Jimmy Boy” Edming thought was “a good idea.”  I also went on Capital City Sunday with Representative Terese Berceau to talk about the problems associated… Read more »

BustED Pencils Trending News: Episode 4; Sing It; Fired; Limiting

BustED Pencils Radio Episode 4 – 6/3/15 Episode 4: 6/3/15 Come on everybody, join in and sing along!  A kind dedication to courage. It’s Still Opting Out for Me https://www.facebook.com/baldpianoguy/videos/1512331875739860/?fref=nf Take a closer look at this story, it gets a little weird. NKHS teacher to be fired for insubordination http://www.independentri.com/independents/ind/north_kingstown/article_176141ec-4604-5126-828b-f327f279957d.html The over-testing is no secret… Read more »

Who can make sense of “optout” legislation in Wisconsin?

Below you will find the specific, exact, word for word language from Wisconsin state legislator Jeremy Thiesfeldt’s opt out amendment.  Please read the excerpted passages below and feel free to read the legislation in its entirety. Once you’ve completed your reading, please conduct a thorough analysis of the language and then use the comment box to… Read more »

BustED Pencils Trending News: Duncan dunked; Bye Bye Standardized; Busting Pencils

  Deputy Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr., Really?!! Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/politics/arne-duncan-resigns-education-secretary-obama/ Standardized tests SAT/ACT on the way out, good students are in!  Bye Bye Standardized. What one college discovered when it stopped accepting SAT/ACT scores https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/25/what-one-college-discovered-when-it-stopped-accepting-satact-scores/?postshare=7841443318078886   Schools being creative in spite of Standardized testing!  This is what happens… Read more »

BustED Pencils Trending News: PA teachers not paid; Sensory issues; Educate this Editorial Board

    Charter schools strain local budgets.  Employees of the school literally found out they would not receive pay less than a week before the start of the new school year!   State law requires school districts to pay the charters for every student in the district that goes to a charter school. Why teachers… Read more »

BustED Pencils Trending News: “F” Word; Opt out?; Killing tenure

Don’t bother coming to Wisconsin if you want to learn. Is it time to start using the “F” Word in Wisconsin? https://bustedpencils.com/2015/06/is-it-time-to-start-using-the-f-word-in-wisconsin/ “I am teaching my children…” Darcey Addo You opted out? What are you teaching your kids? http://www.darceyforschoolboard.com/#!You-opted-out-What-are-you-teaching-your-kids/c1tem/1 Fear, resentment and suspicion. Killing tenure is academia’s point of no return http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/6/killing-tenure-is-academias-point-of-no-return.html   Want BustED… Read more »

Without the TEST how will we know?

Now that opt out season is coming to a close and schools have moved on to field days and violating copyright laws by showing Disney movies in classrooms there is an interesting conversation emerging here in Wisconsin. What happens if the common core test (the Badger test) we gave isn’t scored? Seriously!  In Wisconsin we… Read more »