We invite you to Join this effort and let them know how you feel about testing, especially during a pandemic.
Why we are calling for the U.S. Secretary of Education to cancel the tests:
Our youth, especially our Black, Indigenous, and people of color youth, are suffering as a result of the pandemic and education has a role to play to help children heal from the deleterious effects of remote learning, shelter in place, and the isolation children have faced.
This means creating conditions where children can thrive and heal by building in structures of support, and love instead of stressful tests where the data will end up being questionable, at best, and the experience harmful.
With school buildings looking to open, educators anxiously awaiting vaccinations, and hopes rising for a recovery, the very last message that we need to send to our children is that the only reason they are going back to school is so they can be tested, that school isn’t about them, but about a misguided policy.
We urge Biden to keep his promise about testing.
On Dec. 14, 2019 at the Public Education Forum, Dr. Denisha Jones asked then-candidate Biden,
If you are elected president, will you commit to ending the use of standardized tests in public school?” Biden immediately answered, “Yes!” See a clip of the exchange here.
Additional articles and information for #CancelTheTests:
- Biden Made One Campaign Promise that Really Mattered to Teachers
- COVID-19 Testing, Not Standardized Testing: Schools Need Vaccinations, Not Examinations:
- Twitter clip of Dr. Denisha Jones’ Video question: https://twitter.com/NYCOptOut/status/1364072450737270784?s=19
- You tube: https://youtu.be/haGLsCBPWKA
- Biden’s Broken Promise: Time to Opt Out! by Dr. Denisha Jones Esq.
What you can do:
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Call and email the US Department of Education to explain to them why you feel that we need to #CancelTheTests.
- U. S. Department of Education phone number: (202) 401-2000
- Office of the Secretary: (202) 401-3000
- US Dept. of¨ Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona; email: Miguel.Cardona@ed.gov
- Asst. Sec’y of Education Ian Rosenblum email: Ian.Rosenblum@ed.gov
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Sign the letter created by the NEA to Dr. Cardona
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Distribute this one page flyer to parents, other educators, or anyone who advocates for kids.
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Share messages on social media
- You may not get a response, but representatives and decision-makers are paying attention to Twitter!
- National Targets Twitter:
- Secretary of Ed Cardona: @teachcardona @SecCardona
- US Department of Education: @usedgov
- US Department of Education Office of Civil Rights: @EDcivilrights
- Biden Administration point person for testing: Ian Rosenblum: @ianrosenblum
- Biden/Harris administration; @JoeBiden, @KamalaHarris, @POTUS, @VP
Messages
- Topline message: The Biden Administration needs to keep the promise to end standardized testing, especially during a once-a-century pandemic.
- Hashtags:
- #CancelTheTests
- #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Twitter Messages (to use on Facebook/Instagram, just remove the @)
- #Students need mental-health counselors, not high stakes testing. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- High-stakes tests benefit corporations, not kids. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- We care about kids’ mental health enough for in-person schools, but not enough to #CancelTheTests @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrightepThePromis @usedgov #Kese
- Ask #teachers where they’d use the $ we’d save if @JoeBiden would just #CancelTheTests. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- #Teachers change lives. Standardized tests don’t. At least not for the better. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- How many nurses, counselors & mental health experts could we hire if we #CancelTheTests? Let’s find out! @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Kids need food, security & loving #teachers at school. They don’t need high-stakes tests. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Kids & #teachers are suffering. They don’t need tests that provide lots of stress but no useful data. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Tests during a #pandemic mean nothing — except grief & stress for teachers, parents & students. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- #Teachers, not tests, teach. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- #Students are too depressed for virtual school, but not so depressed that we can’t #CancelTheTests? @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- @JoeBiden you promised to #CancelTheTests. If we can’t trust you on that, how can we trust you on the rest? @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- #Students need love & nurturing, not high-stakes tests. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Stressful testing during #covid19 produces worthless results. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- High-stakes tests are wrong in a normal year. During #covid, they’re criminal. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Support #teachers & #students, not testing corporations. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Trust is easily broken, but hard to regain. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- High-stakes tests widen gaps between poor & rich districts. That’s even worse during a pandemic. @teachCardona @ianrosenblum @EDcivilrights @usedgov #CancelTheTests #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
- Imagine what #children could spend their time learning if we #CancelTheTests, like art, civics, music, science, problem-solving, cooperation, @teachCardona @Usedgov #KeepYourPublicSchoolPromise
Additional Actions
- Join National Educators United and Badass Teachers Association for a targeted Twitter Storm Friday evening at 7pm EST! Use/search for the hashtag #FightBackFriday to join in!
- Stay tuned for details on a webinar to be hosted on Tuesday March 16th at 7pm EST.
- Share the memes below.
Additional RESOURCES
- Recording of the 90-minute webinar, held on March 16, 2021, “Anti-Testing Activism During a Global Pandemic”
- Crowdsourced resources shared by panelists and attendees, available here.
- Past research on the opt-out movement: