Gov. Dannel Malloy, Interim Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell and all superintendents of schools should cease their obstruction of the rights of parents to decide whether to allow their children to sit for the SBAC test.
Schools/Child Welfare
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It is time to unshackle Connecticut’s juvenile defendants
When we use shackles in juvenile court, we are not seeing youth with a potential for reform. That is not juvenile justice. In fact, that is no justice at all.
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CT policy recovering welfare benefits damages poor families
Government assistance should not be treated as a loan, and the law that allows the state to seize the estates of deceased welfare recipients hurts the surviving family members — the very people public assistance is supposed to help lift out of poverty. The law should be changed.
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Connecticut education needs clearer vision, better objectives
The opportunity for Connecticut to establish a dynamic vision for its 21st Century public schools is here. In this commentary, a dozen Connecticut superintendents of schools lay out their ideas on how to find a new and better direction for the advancement of the state’s public schools.
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Schools’ alarmed cries for help should echo across Connecticut
With 40,000 students attending chronically low-performing schools, many thousands of families on wait lists for schools of choice, and the largest-in-the-nation achievement gap, Connecticut leaders must expand and sustain schools that are delivering results for students, especially children in poverty and children of color.
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When we suspend them, we fail our youngest students
Several bills before the legislature would ban out-of-school suspension for children younger than 8. These proposals recognize that young children with problem behavior are often in need of help, that being excluded from school sets them up for academic failure, and that a culture of exclusionary discipline harms every child in a school.
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Connecticut charter schools — a good idea gone awry
When confronted with the fact that the unwarranted expansion of charter schools is diverting sorely needs funds away from neighborhood public schools, Connecticut voters are clear in their response: cease and desist.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut charter schools — a good idea gone awry
When confronted with the fact that the unwarranted expansion of charter schools is diverting sorely needs funds away from neighborhood public schools, Connecticut voters are clear in their response: cease and desist.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Many questions remain unanswered about Connecticut’s SBAC test
Teachers and educational leaders should be asking a long list of important questions before moving forward with a flawed and potentially destructive educational practice that fails to inform instruction of our students and takes away from true learning.
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Imagine freedom for Connecticut kids
The governor’s proposal to reorganize juvenile justice in Connecticut will dismantle a system that has reduced youth crime and saved taxpayers millions. It would likely lead to worse outcomes and be more expensive than the current system.
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Stand up for your children. Refuse the SBAC test.
Tens of thousands of parents in other states are standing up for their children by refusing the tests and more Connecticut parents are realizing they can refuse the state’s standardized tests, too. Be one of those parents.
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DCF Commissioner Katz is right; children belong in families
Connecticut has made remarkable strides in improving its array of services and evidence-based programs to ensure more kids can grow and thrive in families. Commissioner Joette Katz has not rejected group placement as an option; she has merely required the justification that taking kids away from families demands.
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Sen. Blumenthal, please put an end to high-stakes standardized testing
Sen. Richard Blumenthal needs an education on the toxic effect that high-stakes testing has had on Connecticut’s schools. He is sadly mistaken if he believes a test will change any of the poverty, family disfunction or other socioeconomic conditions that get in the way of educating children.
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Yes, you CAN opt your kids out of Connecticut SBAC testing this spring!
This post is not specially written to address Common Core itself, but rather to remind all parents concerned about the data and privacy issues and content of standardized testing, that they have the right to opt their kids out of the SBAC testing –regardless of what they are told by their child’s school.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
SBAC test is part of corporate plan to discredit Connecticut public schools
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test is part a profit-motivated scheme to undermine public education and advance unregulated for-profit schools. The state should not make it so difficult for parents to opt out of this testing program.