Almost a thousand members of the EducationVoters4BernieSanders Facebook page — teachers, parents, students, and the general public — generated the following questions:
1) Why would you vote against giving parents an “official” right to opt their children out of standardized testing when states like New York are abusing high stakes exams with developmentally inappropriate questions, basing 50% of a teacher’s “effectiveness” evaluation on student test scores, and subjects like science and social studies are being studied once a week – if lucky – in order to push math and ELA to prepare for exams? [The Murphy Amendment]
2) What are your thoughts about including current teachers on any committees or groups making public policy regarding education?
3) My children do not and won’t take any more high stakes tests.
At 12, my son sits at a spot that within short order his scores will harm the teachers because there’s no way he can go much higher. With out significant gains, his highest score will still be punitive.
What are your plans for making sure our teachers aren’t hurt by students who excel.At the beginning of sixth, he was 80% proficient at 11th grade 4th month. There’s only so much further he could be tested.
No thank you, kind Sir about this but I do look forward to learning more about your education platform.
U.S. Department of Education
5) I would also ask any politician: What is the difference between norm referenced and criterion referenced testing? This is my bellwether, as it shows most politicians don’t know anything about education beyond their own sound bites.
6) How will you protect public education from the corporate assault and dry up the profit motive associated with testing, data collection, and charter schools?
7) Related to the question above: Do you realize, when you talk about the billionaires who have taken control of so much of our society, that this is what has happened in education? Gates, Walton, Broad, Koch, and Pearson money is driving Common Core, high-stakes testing, and the decimation of teachers’ and other public sector unions. Gates, Walton, Broad, Koch, and Pearson money is driving Common Core, high-stakes testing, and the decimation of teachers’ and other public sector unions.
8) Do you believe assessment and accountability should be for students and teachers or do you think it should remain for schools, districts, states and the nation?
9) What is your stance on Common Core? What do you think about tenure rights? What would you do to protect teachers from punitive reformers?
How will you protect students from punitive testing?
10) Is it true you have aligned with DFER and Teach for America? If so, I must rethink my support.
