Students Opt-Out as Insiders Make Billions from School Testing

Student testing is a multi-billion-dollar industry led by mega-corporations and lobbyists that push a pro-testing agenda. Similar to other types of government contracts, a handful of insiders call the shots and rake in the big bucks.

Studies show that top testing companies have deep ties to major media, film and music companies.  It’s a profitable industry, with a serious impact on students, parents, teachers and school reputations.

Test scores are often tied to high school diplomas, grade level promotions, and cash awards for schools. High-stakes tests at the local, state and national levels are typically sold to the public as a way to measure student learning and ensure “accountability” from schools.

But a growing number of parents, students, and educators are questioning whether standardized tests are fair and if they truly measure student success.  Hundreds of thousands of parents across the country are refusing to have their children tested.

Last year, more than 670,000 public school students nation-wide refused to take standardized tests, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing reported. The figure represented nearly two-thirds of one million public school students.

And the number is expected to increase in 2016.

Groups of teachers in New York state have complained that test questions on the 2016 Common Core exam are confusing, tricky, and well above grade level. A New York City teacher reported that one of her students cried after being subjected to 18 hours of testing over a three-day period. 

Attempts are being made to intimidate or silence teachers who speak out.

“Teachers are not allowed to disclose the material on standardized tests — and in some places are at risk of losing their jobs and certification if they do,” the Washington Post reported.

A Post article shows a photo of two teachers with blue duct tape over their mouths. They hold a sign that reads: “I am not permitted to tell you about Pearson’s Common Core tests.”

Earlier this month, nearly 52 percent of students in 108 schools in Long Island refused to take Common Core English Language arts tests in grades three through eight, Newsday reported. That amounted to 83,036 students out of 172,410 who were eligible to take the tests in those schools.

Student participation rates are concerning state education leaders in other states.

In Illinois, the state is demanding that schools explain why some test participation rates have fallen below 95 percent, the Journal Star in Peoria, Ill. reported.  The state board is considering a range of penalties such as “technical support to misconduct investigations,” according to the Journal Star.

In Georgia, heavy penalties apply if students refuse to take state tests, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.  The Georgia Milestones test is equal to 20 percent of a high school course grade. Students in grades three, five and eight who refuse to take state reading and math tests are marked as failing.

Standardized tests are tightening their grip elsewhere in the world, as well.

In the United Kingdom, there is talk of requiring school leaders to report parents whose children skip the SAT exams this summer. Boycotters could face prosecution, jail time and fines, Schools Week reported.

All of it begs the question:  Is this about student achievement or is it about testing companies maintaining their high-powered contracts and powerful status?

According to the non-profit Center for Media and Democracy in Wisconsin, four companies monopolize student testing contracts. They are: Pearson Education, ETS (Educational Testing Service), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and McGraw-Hill. The companies earn billions of dollars in sales from testing products and other education services.

They also have powerful lobbying groups. In all, the four companies have “spent more than  $20 million lobbying in states and on Capitol Hill from 2009 to 2014,” according to the Washington Post. 

Testing giant Pearson Education spent $8 million on lobbying from 2009 to 2014. The company also paid a $7.7 million settlement after an investigation by the New York State Attorney General. The state investigation found that the company was funding “luxury trips for school officials.”

Testing companies have current or past ties that show links to news media, international interests, and the film and entertainment industries, PBS’ Frontline reported back in 2001.

McGraw-Hill owns Standard & Poor’s, Business Week magazine, and four TV stations, according to the PBS report. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has been owned by France’s Vivendi Universal, a French publishing and film empire. Vivendi Universal also owns Motown Records  and Universal Pictures.

Pearson Education, is a  subsidiary of London-based Pearson. “Though Pearson once owned part of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, NCS Pearson now finds itself stabled alongside businesses such as The Economist, The Financial Times, the Penguin Book Company, and the Family Education Network,” PBS reported.

In some cases, shoddy service and questions about the legitimacy of the tests have led some state education departments to cancel their contracts.

Pearson, for example, lost a $44 million testing contract with New York state, a $220 million contract in Florida, and a $280 million contract in Texas, all within the last couple of years, according to the Washington Post.

In Texas, a statewide “glitch” in an online testing program in March caused more than 14,000 test answers to go missing. Schools were left to decide, on a student-by-student basis, whether or not to retest.

Not everyone believes testing is a downer.  Some schools hold pep rallies and parties designed to get students excited about testing.

But for now, it seems that a growing number of voices are saying ‘No way,’ instead of ‘Yay!’ when it comes to standardized tests.

Sources:

PBS Frontline:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/testing/companies.html
Schools Week:  http://schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-could-be-forced-to-report-parents-who-boycott-sats/
Newsday:  http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/common-core-test-problems-spark-additional-complaints-1.11673025
Journal Star: http://www.pjstar.com/article/20160405/NEWS/160409689
Athens Banner Herald: http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-04-11/georgia-students-who-opt-out-state-tests-face-penalties
Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/04/12/teacher-what-third-graders-are-being-asked-to-do-on-2016-common-core-test/
FairTest.org http://www.fairtest.org/more-500000-refused-tests-2015