News Item: Seattle teachers are boycotting giving state standardized tests this year.
The protest started at a single high school and has spread. Parents and students are supporting the boycott. Parents complain that the tests do not add anything to their children’s education and that the results are meaningless. How, they ask, can you compare a one-day test to all of the work their children complete during the year?
Teachers point out that the tests, being multiple choice questions, favor good test-takers. Students who have good test-taking strategies will do better than other students with superior knowledge but poor test-taking abilities.