Superintendent Vargas sent a letter out to parents, via email, that begins with this statement:

“If you agree with me that our children are required to take too many assessment exams, I am writing with excellent news. The District plans to reduce the number of required assessment exams this year by as much as two-thirds. This will lower stress for students and teachers while increasing time for classroom instruction.”

This letter, meant to ease the fears of many parents, students, and teachers, is in response to the recent uprising of the citizen voice across the nation against excessive testing and the use of those tests to determine Annual Professional Performance Review scores.

Dr. Vargas continues, “I should be clear that many schools will continue to give assessment exams this fall, to help teachers provide instruction by identifying the educational needs of your children. But we are eliminating most of the tests that were being used to meet APPR requirements.”

How many schools will continue to give assessment exams?

Which exams will be eliminated, the pre-tests, benchmark tests, practice tests, State tests, or post-tests? Which tests are being used to meet APPR?

Finally, parents are told, “Although this agreement requires State approval, it is similar to APPR approaches being used or proposed by other districts. That makes us very hopeful of receiving quick approval. We have notified school Principals that the APPR pre-assessments planned for later this month have been canceled.”

Since Common Core and APPR are, in essence, State law, not State Education law, the State does not have to and probably will not relax testing or APPR requirements.

While District leaders are “hopeful” our children, at least for this year, will still be subjected to the same amount of testing as before, with the exception of the September pre-assessments which will most likely be given in October instead.

Parents and community members must not be fooled by this imaginary “bone” they are being thrown in order to still their voice.

They are listening but they are not changing.

We must stay strong.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!