Scrap the MAP®: NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO SUPPORT GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL …the one in Seattle!

By e-mail from from

Melody Wise/Save our Schools Colorado

2/4/13 

Hi SOS,
Here is an email from Rethinking Schools.  Support Garfield High School teachers!  :)  Melody

What’s in a name?: MAP® is the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) system of Computerized Adaptive Assessments – a product of of NWEA - the Northwest Evaluation Association (Putting kids first, since 1977). “We are a not-for-profit dedicated to helping kids live their dreams. Data is our tool -- gathered through our assessments, validated by research and brought to life by our 4,000 partners -- with our professional development as support.” When the E in your name stands for “Evaluation” you are not an education operation, you are a testing company. “Not for Profit” is an interesting qualifier. While legally the same as non-profit, semantically it’s not – it’s a loophole for profiteers. One needs to question how the Return on Investment (the ‘not profit’/excess income/earnings/revenue) is returned to the principals. Salaries and bonuses? Ya think? Computerized adaptive assessment is the flavor of the moment in standardized testing – the eagerly awaited Common Core Tests will be computerized adaptive assessments. You can’t spell ®eform without the ®.

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Dear Rethinking Schools friends,

We have been inspired by the defiance of the teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle who are boycotting standardized MAP tests that they believe are inaccurate, hurtful, and inequitable. Garfield teachers have now been joined by others throughout the city. This is a courageous stand that deserves support.
Below is a notice that we received from teachers in Seattle indicating some of the steps that people around the country can take to express solidarity with the work there. This includes a day of solidarity actions on Wednesday, February 6.
Let's do what we can to demonstrate support for the teachers in Seattle who have taken this stand on behalf of their students and the integrity of public education.
Rethinking Schools editors and staff

Four easy steps to joining the national day of action for Garfield High School and the Seattle schools that are boycotting the MAP:

1) Action: Your organization, neighborhood, union, other other group can take any appropriate action to support Garfield High School and the other MAP test boycotters on Wednesday, Feb. 6th. Possible actions include: taking a photo of your group with a sign in support of the MAP test boycotters, holding a press conference to declare your support, organizing your school or workplace to wear red for ed(ucation), holding a speak-out or rally to talk about Garfield's stand against the MAP and what quality assessment would be, etc.
2) Information: Get all the information about the national day of action.
3) Network: Join the Facebook event page, send it out to others, and post what action you will take.
4) RSVP: Please send an e-mail to confirm your participation--however big or small--for the national day of action to: scrapthemap@yahoo.com

Spread the word far and wide!

--MEDIA ADVISORY--

National Day of Action to Support Garfield High School and the Seattle MAP Test Boycott

"We demand quality assessment!"
Scrap the MAP!
Wednesday, February 6^th, 2013
Supporters will hold meetings, press conferences, rallies, take photos, and wear red to show support
Contact: scrapthemap@yahoo.com
For more info, visit:
http://scrapthemap.wordpress.com/

What: Educators, students, parents and supporters of public education nation-wide will take action in support of Garfield High School teachers and all teachers in Seattle Public Schools refusing to administer the MAP test.
Teachers at Garfield High School and other Seattle Public Schools have gained national attention and support for their stand against the Measure of Academic Progress, for its invalidity, waste of time and resources and its scandalous arrival to Seattle. We call on supporters of public education nationwide to participate in actions in their locale to show their support for our effort to Scrap the MAP. Supporters will hold meetings, rallies, take photos, or wear red to show support on February 6th.
As the nation-wide day of protest grows, we will send updates to the media with all the cities and organizations who are participating.
When: Wednesday, February 6^th, 2013
Where: All over the nation! In Seattle action will take place at participating schools, including Garfield, Orca, Chief Sealth, Center School, and Ballard High School.
Some of the prominent organizations and individuals that have expressed their support for the Seattle MAP test boycott: National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), San Diego Education Association, UTLA board of directors, California Teacher Association, Parents Across America--Seattle, Des Moines Education Association (Iowa ), Diane Ravitch, Jonathan Kozol, Noam Chomsky, Garfield High School PTSA, Garfield HS Associated Student Body, Dr. Wayne Au, Dexter Tang, President of Seattle Student Senate, Rethinking Schools, Matt Damon & his mother Dr. Nancy Carlsson-Paige, Seattle Education Association (SEA), The SEA Substitute Association, Social Equality Educators (SEE), and many more.
Kris Collett
Outreach/Marketing Director
Rethinking Schools
1001 E. Keefe Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53212
www.rethinkingschools.org
(o) 414-964-9646
(c) 414-807-5193

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Melody

Colorado Information Coordinator

Save Our Schools

saveourschoolsmarch.org

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/285175064843594/

 

Additional coverage:

Seattle's Teacher Uprising: High School Faculty Faces Censure for ...

Democracy Now-Jan 29, 2013

Yes, Jimi Hendrix attended Garfield High School in Seattle. ... AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go now to Seattle, Washington, where we're ...

Why testing fails our kids

Socialist Worker Online-Jan 28, 2013

Garfield student: Why I'm protesting the MAP test

Crosscut-Jan 29, 2013

'Anti-testing movement' grows among American teachers

-Washington Times-Jan 28, 2013

 

Successful Dropouts?

TheStranger.com-Jan 30, 2013

A group of local teachers has launched Seattle into a national conversation about standardized testing. A Garfield High School history teacher ...

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Seattle Teachers Protest Exams

Wall Street Journal-Jan 25, 2013

Teachers at three Seattle schools are refusing to give students ... who teaches history at Garfield High School, where teachers initiated the boycott by ... Parents in Washington state and New York City have kept kids home ...

KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest

Teachers refuse to give standardized test at Seattle high schools ...

Washington Post (blog)-Jan 12, 2013

Nearly all of the teachers at a Seattle high school have decided to refuse to ... Almost all of the teachers and staff at Garfield High signed a letter ...

Op-ed: Why Garfield teachers boycotted the MAP test

The Seattle Times-Jan 17, 2013

Seattle Public Schools staff admitted to a Garfield teacher the MAP test is not valid at the high-school level, because the margin of error is ...

Test Boycott Puts Seattle Teachers in National Spotlight

Education Week News-2 hours ago

Since a group of Seattle high school teachers decided to boycott ... Teachers at Garfield High School, however, portray their protest as narrowly focused ... websites maintain that MAP aligns with Washington state standards, ...

The Seattle Times (blog)-Jan 21, 2013

Teachers at other Seattle schools also have sent letters of support for ... the Garfield PTSA, the Garfield High student government, the Seattle ...

 

Growing number of educators boycott standardized tests

USA TODAY-Jan 31, 2013

Teachers at Garfield High School, Seattle's largest high school, said in December that they would take a pass on giving the latest Measures of ...