Dissident educational voices? Testing?

Where have all the dissident educational voices of the past gone? Echoes of Illich, Holt, Gatto, and Postman

In How Children Fail John Holt states his belief that end of year achievement tests do not show real learning.  The material learned is forgotten shortly after the tests because it was not motivated by interest, nor does it have practical use

In De-schooling Society Ivan Illich posited self-directed education, supported by intentional social relations in fluid informal arrangements: What testing?


 In Against Schooling John Gatto argues compulsory schooling has conformist notion taken from the worst aspects of Prussian culture. Testing as Prussian militarism?

In Teaching as Subversive Activity Postman believes that inquiry and open ended questions are best for learning. Testing for what? Data

Sounds very different from Race To the Top language.

Teacher Evaluation?

This article from the Washington Post is a must read for those interested in assessment.

A simple question teachers should ask about their profession

A simple question teachers should now ask about their profession

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. She is one of the co-authors of the principals’ letter against evaluating teachers by student test scores, which has been signed by nearly 1,400 New York principals.