Seattle Teacher Revolt: Students Encouraged To Skip Standardized Tests

Fire the teachers and get somebody in there that can advance the cause. If these teachers are incapable of presenting a curriculum that can benefit the students later in life then they need to go.

God forbid that we can see how well or how bad our kids are doing in school. These teachers just wanted a cushy job. I am shocked on how poorly my child's teacher writes (grammar and misspelled words) and her lack of logic and historical knowledge is appalling. I spoke to the principal and was told that I was being too picky. Took the kid out and put him in private school.

You have no idea what you're talking about…

You also have no idea what you're talking about.

Union city teachers they are lazy over paid always bitching about doing their job!

Garrett Bailey ,I suspect you arn't aware of what you are saying.The article is about Wa.State teachers. I don't think that the teachers want a cushy job,but wonder when or what shools they learned their trade.

The INSANITY of allowing a CRIMINAL government to dictate ANYTHING to do with education IS the definition of insanity.

Fire the crappy ass teachers…

Why are the test bad? Give clear cut examples. If it ask what 2+2=? then it is a normal test or what ever general knowlege based questioning is on these test. It would appear the teachers can't get the scores high enough to meet the standards which in turn hurt them by showing how little they teach the kids today. No metter what you teach you still need bech marks to see if the students are comprehending the subject matter.

Teachers get tenure after three years of teaching (if I am not mistaken). Then it is almost impossible to fire them. Who else in this country has those benefits? The least they can do, is do a good job. I think tenure encourages laziness and indifference. That needs to change.

And who are you replacing them with? Like the "Reformer" Rhee keeps trying to push on people "Replace the bad teachers with good ones." Ok find me all these good teachers just stadning around waiting to teach but being blocked by bad teachers. Then once you bring all the good ones in….who is taking their place where they came from? It's a crappy job full of interference from know it alls who don't want to, or actually haven't taught in years in most cases. They are lucky if 25% of the parents care enough to make sure home work is done, and that the child has proper discipline and manners. The rest think that schools somehow magically place knowledge directly into their precious child's brain, no work required by them. The American Public has only itself to blame, and it's attitude that schools are little more than free day care for them.

Well, we can tell the work they did with you certainly didn't pan out.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people are willing to put all the blame on teachers. I don't have children, but I have been an attorney as well as a teacher of ESL in the NYC public schools. And I can tell you in my 3 years there, all I saw were dedicated teachers that worked harder than I ever did as an attorney…and I worked hard as hell. The blame for not learning is not all the teachers' faults, but has many layers. First, taking autonomy away from teachers and dictating not only what to teach (which is fine), but HOW to teach it, is a problem. Teachers know their students better than a school board, and should have the flexibility to change tactics when necessary. Many times they are not allowed. Secondly, parents who don't put a high premium on education are a problem, as well as parents who come in to schools guns blazing at a teacher because they believe everything their child tells them. When a parent has no respect for a teacher, how can one expect a child to? Third, one child can hijack an entire class, but we keep these disruptive students and students who really cannot keep up in the classroom based on the idea of mainstreaming. Fourth, we have convinced ourselves that every child can learn, and that may be true, but every child cannot learn everything…and we need to acknowledge some children's limitations and find appropriate alternatives for them rather than frustrating them and creating untenable situations in our classrooms for all children. Fifth, society as a whole has become dysfunctional, and yet, we expect teachers to take students who come from crazy living situations and in 7 hours somehow undo all the child is exposed to for the other 14 hours. It ain't possible, people. I am sure there's a 6th, 7th, 8th reason…on and on…myriad reasons our children are failing…but those are my initial thoughts. Teachers are not the problem and until we stop with the simplistic solutions that blame them, we will not get our children or our schools out of the mess they are in.

So what else is new. We need to see were our students are and where they need help. NOT were THEY want them to be, I see and feel testing helps. The educational system is a shambles, always asking for more money, taxes and in the end less and less we get from the teachers. QUIT coddling the system..(Teachers, SchoolBoard, Students, poliiticans), help them to achieve and not just get by, science, math, techical understanding is lagging far below real standards comparing other countries, because we coddle the system and not educate or their rights are vilated because we need to teach them, test them, so they wwwon't end up on some welfare line or somewhere they really don't need to be because of the edicational system let them down. I know this from experience…family and friends just got through barely reading, writing and understanding the concepts of the real world. They graduated and the attitude of the school, teachers and the board was (So What), they met what we needed not what they should have got. My taxes go up every year for the schools and it gets wasted or lost through the waste of the ignorance of the so called leaders who are suppose to educate the future leaders.They say they do it for the students…..PLEASE, all of us aren't that stupid.

These teachers are taking a stand against a criminal injustice being forced upon your child's education. These forced standardized tests end up taking away from your child's education. If you walked into your child's classes 70%-80% of the focus is on preparing for these tests. Sounds great, huh? In theory these tests are intended to help set a standard for what your child is taught and in return judged by the results of said test.

In the real world this means schools, school districts, and teachers are judged upon the results. I think you now understand to where this leads. 90% of classroom instruction is now directed to beating these tests.

Sounds great still, huh? Well the material covered by the tests is extremely good. However now teachers are forced by the government and thus school districts to teach the students how to beat the tests and pretty much all focus is set on this task.

Copies of the last year's test and prior are done once every 5-6 weeks. Each test takes 3 days to complete each time and then once graded the students spend another 1-2 weeks working on these practice tests in class.

Your sons and daughters are not working on gathering new knowledge as much as learning how to beat the standardized test format.

TEACHERS ARE LAZY.

Stephen Heitman is correct. These tests are wasting valuable time that could be spent ACTUALLY teaching children the things they're supposed to be taught in school. Anyone who disagrees isn't paying attention.

To all you "fire the lazy slacker teachers" types: If teaching's such a gravy train, why don't you try it? Seriously, join the field and show all of us how it's done.

I TAUGHT FOR 38 YEARS. MY LAST TWO YEAR I SPENT 60 DAYS EITHER TESTING AND PREPARING CHILDREN FOR TEST. THAT IS INSANE. MY WIFE AND I SPENT OUR ENTIRE CAREER IN EDUCATION. WE WERE BOTH GOOD EDUCATORS. YOU NEED TEACHERS WHO REALIZE WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR OUR CHILDREN TO SUCCEED IN OUR SCHOOLS. FIRST FOUR THINGS ARE UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF EACH CHILD, PROPER DIET, EXERCISE, AND REST. TESTING IS IMPORTANT, BUT ONLY AS A TOOL TO BEST UNDERSTAND THE CHILDREN'S ACADEMIC NEEDS. YOU MUST ALSO UNDERSTAND THE CHILDREN'S SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND BEHAVIORAL NEEDS.
SHOW THE CHILDREN YOU CARE AND ENCOURAGE THEM CONSTANTLY. THE SCHOOL ENVIROMENT IS THE PERFECT PLACE FOR ALL REQUIREMENTS MENTIONED ABOVE AND ARE PROVEN TO MAKE OUR STUDENTS FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES.
WE THE TEACHER KNOW WHAT WORKS NOT PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP THESE CRAZY TEST AND DICTATE WHAT WE AS TEACHERS SHOULD BE DOING. I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T MANDATE WHAT A FIREMAN NEEDS TO DO FOR HIS JOB AS A TEACHER. I WOULDN'T HAVE A CLUE.
WHAT MAKES SENSE IS NOT WHAT WE DO. WE ARE TOLD TO DO JUST THE OPPOSITE. FEED OUR CHILDREN POORLY, MAKE THEM EAT IN TWENTY MINUTES, GIVE THEM NO TIME TO EXERCISE, NO TIME TO REST, AND TEST THE LIVING BRAINS OUT OF THEM, AND PUT THEM ON A BUS WITH NO SEATBELTS AND SEND THEM HOME AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT DAY.
I AM SO SAD THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE COME TO. JUST READ SOME OF THE COMMENTS OF OTHERS TRYING TO BLAME THE TEACHERS. YOU HAVE GOOD TEACHER WHO KNOW WHAT IS BEST, BUT WON'T EVEN BEGIN TO LISTEN. I AM CRYING AS I WRITE THIS BECAUSE I HAVE TWO GRANDCHILDREN IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AT THIS TIME.

It's kinda like cops….you only ever see the bad ones in the media. People who aren't fit for the profession should steer clear. I know I could never be a teacher. Then you have the truly bad ones….like my grandson's who refused to allow him to go to the bathroom resulting in him having an accident. She then had the audacity to tell his mother that children will say they have an emergency when they don't. No shit lady, but now he's being bullied because you're assuming he's a liar.

I had to deal with the MAP test during all four years of high school and I can tell you right now that it's completely meaningless. Those of us who always made As and Bs scored high on it and the students who regularly made Cs, Ds, and Fs did badly, so it probably goes without saying that it didn't reveal much (if any) unknown information. You know what it did do, though? Wasted more than ten days that could have spent learning from our teachers every single year.

I had to deal with the MAP test during all four years of high school and I can tell you right now that it's completely meaningless. Those of us who always made As and Bs scored high on it and the students who regularly made Cs, Ds, and Fs did badly, so it probably goes without saying that it didn't reveal much (if any) unknown information. You know what it did do, though? Wasted more than ten days that could have spent learning from our teachers every single year.

Also, in reply to what a lot of the other people who commented on this said, I'd like to point out that blaming teachers for students performing poorly in school is ridiculously stupid. If a student is extremely lazy, has no intention of learning, etc., then that's their own fault, not the fault of the teachers whose classes they're doing badly in. Place blame where the blame is due instead of looking for a scapegoat that pussyfoots around the issue.

Mr. Bushey was one of the all-time great teachers. My friends and I still speak of the great projects we did and all that we learned from him nearly 40 years later. We all knew he cared about us, that relationship created an environment where learning and challenges were fun. Listen to what he has to say, he is speaking from a place of wisdom and a heart of gold.

As the article mentions, when the computerized tests do not match up with the state curriculum, meaningless results will be produced. Would testing knowledge of knitting skills be a valid appraisal of student physical education performance?

Soo cool to see a message & grattitude directed at someone who deserved it!…that's great!
I've discussed prior teacher memories with people before..& usually it's the ones' that know how to "connect" with the students…not the "frumpy" ones.
They can impact a persons' outlook long after they've moved on in life….

No Child Left Behind was and is the worst thing that ever happen to the public school system.

Fire every single teacher protesting and give out vouchers to parents who care more about their kids than padding exorbitant pensions for the stupidest of all the professions………………..

You seem to want a better educated citizenry. I agree. What is confounding is that people who make this argument can't see the forest for the trees. It is the TESTING that is hurting the education in this country. I won't repeat what's written here because that would be just like the testing craze: repeat, do again, restate, replicate, duplicate, reiterate, etc. Please, read what others have posted on this board, and do so with an open mind. Testing is what has created the EXACT thing you are complaining about.

I'm not saying everything was perfect in education prior to high stakes testing. I'm saying that No Child Left Behind took us down the wrong road for the last 10-12 years. We are going to have to back track by getting rid of high stakes testing and make reforms that actually help students instead of hurting them.
Teachers are not afraid of being evaluated, but want to be evaluated based on what they do, not on a test score that someone else receives.

It is interesting to me how many people see the same problem, but refuse to acknowledge that others may have a point…

Anna Cox Bowman You are mistaken

Finland has the best school system in the world. There is no standardized testing. They also have a large immigrant population.

fOR ALL OF YOU WHO ARE STILL BLAMING TEACHERS BE AWARE THAT THE TURN OVER RATE FOR THE TEACHING FIELD IS 0VER 50 % WITHIN THE FIRST 5 YEARS. THE MAJORITY OF THIS IS PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE REALLY GOOD AT TEACHING, BUT LIKE THESE TEACHERS IN WASHINGTON STATE ARE FRUSTRATED WITH THE SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN INSTALLED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO IDEAL HOW TO EDUCATE A CHILD.

OUR SOCIETY HAS TAKEN THE DISCIPLINE OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS, SO AS STATED IN OTHER POST TEACHERS HAVE A STUDENT OR A GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO CONSTANTLY CAUSE DIRUPTION. THE TEACHER USUALLY GETS NO SUPPORT FROM PARENTS, AND THE ADMINSTRATION OFFERS LITTLE HELP( USUALLY BECAUSE THEIR HANDS ARE TIED BECAUSE OF DISTRICT POLICIES. THEY SPEND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME TRYING TO GET THESE STUDENTS TO COMPLY, OR TRYING TO TEACH OVER THE DISTRACTION IN HOPES THAT SOME STUDENTS CAN HEAR AND LEARN THE LESSON.

WHEN TRUTH IS PUT BACK INTO EDUCATION (FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW HOW THEIR CHILD IS DOING) ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT THEIR REPORT CARD. tHE WHOLE TIME I TAUGHT I WAS NOT ALLOWED TO FAIL A STUDENT NOR WAS I ALLOWED TO GIVE EXACT GRADES FOR STUDENT WHO DID NOT PASS AN ASSESSMENT.

fOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT TEACHING IS A CUSHY JOB, TRY IT ARE BETTER YET JUST VOLUNTEER AS A TEAHERS AID FOR A MONTH, THEN TELL ME HOW CUSHY IT IS.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT GREAT TEACHERS FIX THE SYSTEM, THAT WAY THOSE WHO ARE STILL TEACHING WILL BE ABLE TO TEACH, AND THOSE WHO LEAVETHE FIELD WILL STICK AROUND BECAUSE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO THE JOB THEY WERE TRAINED FOR AND NOT BE BABY SITTERS AND PRISION GUARDS.

Finland has the best school system in the world. There is no standardized testing. The local teachers need to be empowered to properly teach the students; not from politically connected hacks in the state capital. Also the tesaching profession needs to be elevated in this country; in Finland more people aspire to become teachers than doctors. Why, because they have a job for life and because the teaching profession is very selective. They all have Master's degrees and higher and are well paid. Of course this is not cheap. Students get many more services than those given in the US. For example, family counseling, meals, transportation are given to the students. There are no private schools. Finland has gotten to this point over 30 years. The US should start now.

here we go again, IF and that be the operative word IF all teachers are doing such a wonderful job, then whyhave a brain drain in this country….with all the technology and learning aids , both at home and the growth industry of tutoring, why are we not able to teach our kids…I am a person of simple equations…teachers have never left the bubble that is education, and the major one is they have never left that bubble…2 weeks at Christmas in most cases summers off , 6hr work days…but the biggest one of all is excuses, like the dog ate my homework I.E….they should listen to themselves, they are all for studies that show fewer kids in a class will produce better results, studies that show them every excuse of why they fail, except themselves…unattentive parents, too attentive parents , only child, or one of many, divorcided parents, single parent, poor, rich, race, color, creed, too active, not active enough, not welled groomed, too well groomed, doesn't play well with others, plays all the time.You can see where this is going…all excuses on why they cannot achieve results…that school bubble, oh ya and that job security, that is what this is all about, you can't fire me because I have built in excuses of why I am a failure……statistics show that less than 1/10 of 1/10 of a percent are let go in the public school system, the lowest job termination rate of ANY profession…. do we

Who works 6 hours a day as a teacher? I've been a teacher for 15 years and let me tell you: there's no such thing as a 6 hour work day. Typically, here's my day:

5:15-5:45 read and answer school emails*
5:45-7 get ready for school, head to school
7-8 make copies, prepare materials, work with students, touch base with other teachers*
8-9:45 teach two classes*
9:45-11 planning- writing lesson plans, grading, creating documents, answering more emails, tutoring students*
11-12:50 teach two classes*
12:50- 1:30 lunch
1:30- 3:20 teach two classes*
3:20- 4:30 tutor, get ready for next day, grade, meetings*
4:30- 7:30 home, dinner, etc.
7:30- 9:30 grade, plan, answer emails*

That's an average day. There are lots of days I'm up until midnight grading and commenting on essays that need a quick turn around. I'm working, conservatively, about 11 hours a day… If you work 40 hours/week for 50 weeks a year, you're working 2000 hours. If I work just the 180 days of school times 11 hours, that's 1980 hours… not to mention weekends (typically I use Sunday afternoons for schoolwork– 4-5 hours there), plus 20 days or so before / after school begins and ends to prepare classroom, plan, do training and such.

For what it's worth, I haven't worked in a system with tenure in 11 years. I really don't think teachers need tenure. I work on a year to year contract, and I'm fine with that.

Another clueless writer. At minimum, we have an 8 hour work day, and that is if we don't take any work home. That is impossible since there are lesson plans, staff meetings, tutoring, training, and grading papers. The state requires the school to be shut down for the holiday break, but to think teachers are not still working is asinine. Who do you think teaches summer school, non teachers? Not to mention the NUMEROUS training sessions we attend all summer long.

Look at the numbers. The US was leading the nation in academics until we became so reliant on standardized tests.

Anna Cox Bowman While I agree with you on tenure, try convincing teacher unions to to agree. Those Chicago teachers on strike didn't give a damn about their students recently & just look at what they were being paid. Our teachers here in Florida don't make 60% of what those Chicago teachers earn, yet we have some fabulous teachers, with some use their own money to buy much needed supplies. Oh yes, the failure rate in the Chicago elementary schools is higher than in most cities; God forbid we place any blame on their teachers.

So testing is hurting, ok so kids with problems or were probelems are should be just left alone. Ok. I understand now and where the problems lay. The school system has probelems and kids have problems, and a lil testing to see were the problems lie to improve on them. Is wrong. I have seen it, dealt with it …a lazy educational system given alot of money and wasting it as we go along…on many levels.

Anna, you don't know what you are talking about. Typical fool that you are. Teachers can and have been fired regardless of tenure. Your thought that tenure encourages laziness is nonsense because I know a lot of teachers that have tenure and the "so-called" security and bust their butts harder than most people. I bet these tenured "lazy" teachers work harder and more dedicated to their jobs than you are.

another thing, if teaching is so easy, why don't you do it?

Fire you. The last time I went to the McDonalds you work at, you forgot my fries again you lazy pile of manure.

Duane, what do you do for a living? Why don't you become a teacher and see how you fair.

Denare R Carter Exactly right!!!

Teresa Lambe sounds like just about most teachers I know. keep up the good work!! You and others like you are the real heroes in this country despite what the idiot bumpkins here and in this country say about teachers.