Testing Opponents Speak Out In ESEA Homestretch

By Julie Blair

Washington

Teachers, administrators, parents, and advocates nervous about federal proposals for high-stakes testing are suddenly making more noise over the issue than all the jackhammers chewing away at the nation's roadways this summer.

As students romped through sprinklers or packed for camp, critics of the proposals cranked up their lobbying efforts. Their aim is to sway members of Congress now pounding out the details of a far-reaching measure that would mandate annual testing in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8. Results from those exams would be used to reward schools that did well, expose those that didn't, and allow educational alternatives for the families of children in schools that failed to measure up.

Foes of the testing provisions, at least publicly, had a relatively quiet spring. They cleared their throats, though,...