Confronting Oppressive Assessments

This book is about doing what's right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, students, community members, and policy-makers have decided to protest against current state and federal educational policies and procedures. The practical experiences of parents, teachers, principals, school superintendents, school board members, and professors are analyzed in chapters of this book. Their first-hand experiences with the various components of the current reform movement are poignantly presented. Through their voices the frustrations with the serious flaws associated with this reform agenda are passionately and logically articulated. They comprehensively explain their personal and professional motivations for organizing and fomenting a rethinking in school reform implementation procedures and they advocate their "smarter approach" to school reforms in our country. The book includes key references that elucidate the need to seriously re-think the directions and strategies of contemporary schooling in order to maintain enlightened creative instruction based on exciting student-centered curriculum experiences and professional educational judgments.

This book is about doing what's right for public education in the United States in this age of intensive curriculum convergence, planned instructional standardization, and oppressive accountability procedures. Information is presented about why and how educators, parents, stud...

ForewordPreface: Confronting Oppressive Assessments: How Parents, Educators, and Policy-Makers Are Rethinking Current Educational ReformsWalter S. Polka and John McKennaChapter One: What Are We Really Doing to our Children? Rethinking Federal and State Education Reform PoliciesWalter S. Polka and John E. McKennaChapter Two: Using an Industrial Age Paradigm for Education is Not Smart, Especially in the Digital AgeJohn E. McKenna and Walter S. PolkaChapter Three: The Lack of Joy in Learning: Parents Want to Know Why Children Don't Like School AnymoreDouglas J. Regan and Mary Beth CarrollChapter Four: Why Teachers Are FrustratedAshli Dreher and Kathy BrownChapter Five: High-Stakes Test Anxieties for All Children: Parents, Teachers, and Pscyhologists Voice ConcernsLaura Stewart-Beach, Kathy Brown, and Greg FabianoChapter Six: Principals with Principles: The Dilemma of Implementing Destructive PolicesCharles Smilinich, Mark Mambretti, Douglas Regan, and John McKennaChapter Seven: Superintendents' Perspectives: Fighting for Local Control and Justice in Education for AllJeffrey Robert RabeyChapter Eight: Thoughts on What to Do Next at the Local LevelJohn McKenna and Walter PolkaChapter Nine: A Dwindling Second Chance: High School Dropouts and the 2014 GED® ExamRachael J. RossiChapter Ten: Everyone is Now a "Teacher of the Core"-Even Higher Education is Converged in This Reform MovementSusan Krickovich and Donna PhillipsChapter Eleven: Political Perspectives Regarding Changing the Current Educational Reform Agenda: The Winds of Change are Blowing StrongerWalter S. Polka and John E. McKennaChapter Twelve: Why Not Create a Brighter Future for All of Our Students by Legislative Changes to the Educational Current Reforms? What If We Just Do It?John E. McKenna and Walter S. PolkaAppendixAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors