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Weatherford Parents Opt Out is determined to return control of Texas public schools to the people who matter - the teachers, parents, and students that public schools are supposed to serve.

We are facing a crisis in Texas public education. Although well intentioned, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law which started in Texas and was adopted at the national level has failed American students. Unfortunately, NCLB (and later the Race to the Top initiative) was seen as a siren call to businesses and individuals who saw the possibility to make very, very large sums of money. 'Testing' companies like Pearson (whose contract with the State of Texas will net them over 462 million dollars over five years) McGraw Hill, and others, and charter school companies that take advantage of the chaos that's being created by the same testing and implementation of 'Value Added Models' (see "One Mom's Blog" page on this website for a definition of VAM) are the big players in this game. But the deal with Pearson in Texas isn't a clear-cut deal, and there have been problems reported with the STAAR test and questions we haven't gotten answers to. For information about the controversy, check out this report: http://kut.org/post/what-s-texas-500-million-testing-contract-pearson   So what are Texas taxpayers paying Pearson for?  'As it stands right now, Texas is paying Pearson $88,312,333 for the 2012-13 school year. That includes about $9 million for “Program Management,” $3 million in “Quality Assurance,” $15 million in “Test & Measurement Services,” and $9 million in “Other Direct Costs” ' according to the aforementioned article. We're already in the dark about the specifics of the deal - it's all been designed to slip under the radar, because Pearson and the TEA know that voters and taxpayers wouldn't stand for a deal done in secret with no accountability - if we knew of it's existence. If all this smells of conspiracy and dirty politics, there's a reason. You should know what's being done with your tax dollars, but more importantly - you should know what this is doing to our kids and teachers! 

I dare you to peel back the layers and find out what's really going on. You will not like it. I will continue to post information in my blog.

For more information, see the article in the Texas Tribune  –  State Auditor Finds Testing Contract Oversight Lacking
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/16/state-auditor-finds-testing-contract-oversight-lac/
or a corresponding article in the Dallas Morning News – 
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20130716-report-texas-lacked-oversight-of-contract-with-testing-firm-pearson.ece


General Information - websites and resources to consider

Please visit our Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/WeatherfordParentsOptOut
and the page that inspired me:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Parents-Opt-Out-of-State-Tests/121316371311714

Recommended Basic Reading:
  • The Case Against Standardized Testing by Peter Henry - available as a pdf download at this address.
  • Diane Ravitch is a great source of information - http://dianeravitch.net
  • The Network for Public Education - NPE News Briefs

For more information, here are some excellent sites:
Education Historian Diane Ravitch is a gem, please go to her website and blog   http://dianeravitch.net  VAM discussion   http://dianeravitch.net/2014/03/26/kevin-welner-why-legislators-adopt-vam-formulas-they-dont-understand/
  • More VAM  http://dianeravitch.net/2014/04/08/texas-superintendent-asks-for-help-in-stopping-failed-vam/
  • http://dianeravitch.net/2014/03/26/kevin-welner-why-legislators-adopt-vam-formulas-they-dont-understand/
  • Texas Parents Educational Rights - excellent source of info and letters    http://www.txedrights.net
  • Why opt out   https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/08-1
  • Campaign of America's Future  http://ourfuture.org/20140320/extremists-in-the-education-debatehttp://ourfuture.org/20140306/more-of-the-same-wont-end-conflict-over-standardized-testing
  • Education Opportunity Network  http://educationopportunitynetwork.org  
  • http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/options-in-the-standoff-over-test-based-education-policy/
  • Fairtest    http://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-out
  • http://fairtest.org/testing-resistance-reform-news-march-5-11-2014
  • Massachusetts Statement About Testing http://matestingstatement.wordpress.com/statement/Myth of public school failure http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/education-uprising/the-myth-behind-public-school-failure
  • National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing  http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/org-signon#org-signon-form
  • Opt Out of State Standardized Tests   http://optoutofstandardizedtests.wikispaces.com/Texas+TX
  • http://optoutofstandardizedtests.wikispaces.com
  • TEDx talk about Standard Testing  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otlmKZeNi-U
  • Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas  http://www.transformtexas.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/workinprogress.pdf
  • TX Association of School Administrators   http://www.tasanet.org/cms/lib07/TX01923126/Centricity/Domain/111/concept-paper.pdf
  • http://www.tasanet.org/cms/lib07/TX01923126/Centricity/Domain/111/sampleresolution.pdf
  • United Opt Out  http://unitedoptout.com
  • Lufkin Texas Administrator announces the district's new direction - take the STAAR test, ditch the prep and hype   http://lufkindailynews.com/news/community/article_9bc0a3ea-fc4e-11e1-a137-001a4bcf887a.html
  • Parents & kids   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Parents-Kids-Against-Standardized-Testing/117479641627357
  • Standardized movie  http://vimeo.com/ondemand/standardized
  • Charter schools in FL  http://edushyster.com/?p=4623
  • Washington state  http://kuow.org/post/washington-teachers-union-supports-families-opting-out-state-testing#.U0SZb8FB-KI.facebook

Blogs and Opinions:

  • GT issues   http://simoneryals.blogspot.com/2014/02/im-one-of-worst-teachers-in-my-state.html
  • Actual Common Core Math Problem - watch this bright girl show how they want her to find the solutionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YLlX61o8fg
  • http://preaprez.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/karen-lewis-standardized-testing-and-the-eugenics-movement/
  • http://russonreading.blogspot.com/2014/03/what-education-reformers-cant-do-and.html
  • http://mattbruenig.com/2013/09/21/education-and-poverty-again/
  • Lovely talk by OK parent Melissa Wilkins  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4SigOgVh6k
  • http://www.cagle.com/2014/03/dont-look-now-but-education-spring-is-arriving/
  • Discussion of Pearson lobbyist Bill Hammond  http://jasonstanford.org/?p=662
  • Texas AFT  http://texasaftblog.com/hotline/
  • Norm-referenced and criterion-refernced tests - a discussion of the difference  http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/08/ny-state-tests-misguided-mixing-of.html
  • http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org/prime-one-simple-sentence-can-opt-your-child-out-of-tests
  • Washington Post 'Sorry' letter  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/04/08/dear-public-school-teachers-we-are-sorry/?utm_content=bufferd83ae&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
  • http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/blog/sarahlahm/i-am-pro-child-and-i-opt-out
  • http://www.edusanity.com/2014/04/08/why-we-chose-to-opt-out/
  • http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-am-middle-class-my-kids-test-well-and.html

Legal Resources:
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Labor_Amendment
  • If teacher pay depends on student performance (soon!), isn't that child labor. I wish people would raise this issue more.    http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/texas-child-labor-law.html
  • First Amendment and free speech information (do teachers have the right to speak up)
  • http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/madison/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/FirstReport.PublicEmployees.pdf
  • Texas Education Law Chapter 39  http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/htm/ED.39.htm
  • Texas Education Code General Provisions   http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/pdf/ED.1.pdf
  • http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/pdf/ED.7.pdf
  • http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/ED/pdf/ED.11.pdf
  • Contact Governor Perry  http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/
  • Parents' rights issues  http://www.parentalrights.org/index.asp?SEC=%7B3051ABFF-B614-46E4-A2FB-0561A425335A%7D
  • Austin ISD's position  http://www.austinisd.org/announcements/can-parents-have-students-opt-out-staar

Articles:
  • Dallas Morning News 
  • http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20140325-trickle-of-texas-parents-choosing-to-opt-children-out-of-state-testing.ece?ssimg=1547115#ssStory1547116
  • Dallas Morning News   http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_March/standardized_tests/part1/
  • Dallas Morning News  http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/03/are-texas-parents-allowed-to-opt-their-kids-out-of-staar-tests-a-waco-couple-is-trying.html
  • US News   http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/03/17/how-common-core-standards-kill-creative-teaching
  • Waco parents the Masseys  http://www.kcentv.com/story/25073761/waco-couple-takes-stand-against-standardized-testing?auto&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9984865#.UzJQhwDiyO8.facebook
  • Washington Post  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/23/kindergarten-teacher-my-job-is-now-about-tests-and-data-not-children-i-quit/?tid=pm_pop
  • New York activists discuss the movement (video)  http://video.pix11.com/Opting-out-of-standardized-tests-25755159#.U0wnkNzWkij
  • NBC  http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/27/18534023-enough-facing-backlash-from-parents-texas-cuts-back-on-student-testing
  • NY Times and the Common Core  http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/opinion/the-problem-with-the-common-core.html?rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pg&_r=1
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