An oustanding site for parents and others interested in the discussions about testing and its relationship to schooling is a site maintained by Alfie Kohn whose ‘care for kids’ attitude is widely known throughout the world :- www.alfiekohn.org
There is also a number of active school organisations in USA whose ‘care for kids’ is profound. As difficult as the task is, they oppose the blanket testing behemoth [called ‘National Standards’] that destroys children’s natural love for learning, an outcome of the Federal Government’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ [NCLB] assaults. Similar to the Australian Government’s ‘Education Revolution’, the outcomes destroy curriculum spirit and teacher confidence. Recognising the greatest threat to healthy schooling in generations, only a few of the organisations are mentioned below.
Outstanding Australian sites providing access to others concerned with pupil welfare include http://www.saveourschools.com.au http://www.aussieeducator.org.au http://www.edna.edu.au
There is a splendid NZ site: http://www.leading-learning.co.nz maintained by Bruce Hammonds.
It would be appreciated if information about others could be supplied to cphilcullen@optusnet.com.au to share .
PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS
http://network.fivefreedoms.org
http://www.forumforeducation.org
http://www.stopnationalstandards.org
There is also a number of U-tube presentations that bear viewing. Some can be accessed by placing their names on GOOGLE; others direct. They may not win an Oscar award, but they do say something about testing. Again, the names of other learning-related video clips would be appreciated.
1. Teachers Take on NCLB: A Look at NCLB 2. Your Child is More Than a Test Score 3. Barack Obama on Standardised Tests 4. No Child Left Behind 5. Stopping Test Taking Anxiety : For Teachers 6. Test Taking Strategies 7. Dora Gives Test Taking Tips 8. Mr. Beam – Taking School Exam
Direct
http://notonthetest.com http://www.educationroundtable.org http://www.friendsofpubliced.org
[Thanks for any further references]
