Politicians are suddenly worried we have too much testing? Hmmm.

As reported in this and many other articles, it seems President Obama & our leaders are supporting parents who know the policies of the past 15 years (including over testing) are hurting our kids. But don't get too excited, it looks like the Madison Avenue spin doctors are earning their paychecks (paid for with our tax dollars) again. Here is the new spin:

The White House said Saturday the proliferation of testing in the United States — a problem the administration acknowledged it has played a role in — has taken away too much valuable time that could be better spent on learning, teaching and fostering creativity in schools. To curb excessive testing, Obama recommended limiting standardized exams to no more than 2% of a student's instructional time in the classroom.

‘‘Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble,’’ Obama said in a video posted on Facebook. ‘‘So we’re going to work with states, school districts, teachers and parents to make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing.’’

Obama said in “moderation, smart, strategic” tests can help assess the progress of children in schools and help them learn. But he said that parents are concerned that too much time is being spent on testing, and teachers are under too much pressure to prepare students for exams.

Sadly, this is another example of politicians trying to trick us with positive sound bites. However, in most states 2% means 20 or more hours of testing, NOT including test prep.
In many cases, 2% leaves room for even MORE testing. 

What it looks like to many of us who spend our personal time fighting to save public education is that politicians are scared of the opt out movement.

Parents are smarter than our elected officials and their PR experts think. Show them that parents are in charge of our children and preview the PSSA this year & consider opting out. Our children are NOT their guinea pigs or their cash cows.

Read this post  and this post about careful reviews of the Obama administration’s “Testing Action Plan.” The conclusion is that "...it is phony, a duplicitous confirmation of the status quo." In other words, "It is a fraud."

OPT OUT.