Ontario Teachers Union calls for moratorium on high-stakes tests

[Hannah Bell]

While the debate over Chicago's public school budget grows more heated and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis points out that the Chicago Board of Education is wasting more than $60 million per year on testing programs above and beyond the tests required by the State of Illinois, union leaders elsewhere are calling for a complete moratorium on the testing:



Ontario Teachers' Union Calls for Halt of Standardized Tests (Published Online: August 17, 2010)

By The Associated Press

The union representing elementary school teachers in Ontario said Monday it wants to halt standardized testing for elementary school students to allow for public consultation....The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario has called for a two-year moratorium on the testing.
The federation said the tests rob students of other curriculum subjects, such as history, social studies and the arts.

"The best evaluation and assessment that can take place across the board is the day to day evaluation that our members do in the classroom," Sam Hammond, the union's president, said in a phone interview.

But the government said a moratorium is not a part of the educational plan for the province. "We've found that the results of the testing have been quite useful in providing information on how we can continue to better support teachers and school boards," said Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky, as she reacted to the union's call.


http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=1594§ion=Article


Same shit across the globe. Watch your backs, Canadian teachers! You're next.