Magnifisyncopathological

I attended school with Kimberly in the 6th grade in Boston. She was an exceptional person. She strived to perform well academically and was a "pretty darn" good friend. Kimberly was among the most amicable and softspoken of my friends. I had never anticipated that she would come out of her shell and make her name known through the news. "You go Kimberly!" Stand up for yourself and what's right!!!

Ha! Good to hear from you, Maricel. I currently have no friends in the news. :(

It's cool how people change as they grow up. My friends would have been equally puzzled/enthusiastic I operate an open opinion website such as this.

Kimberly is my cousin, and it seems like from what I know of her, she didn't really care about minorities. Having lived in Texas for all of my academic life, all I have to say is: Live with the standardized tests! They are easy, so what is the big deal?

Perhaps Kim's mom can comment? How about the lady herself? *laughs*

The tests are easy for those of us who stayed awake in class, paid attention to the material, and used a minor percentage of cranial capacity. I don't see what the big deal is either. Kids who can't pass these tests (assuming the tests are valid measurements of a student's education) shouldn't be passed on to the next grade.

Tara, I dunno if you'll read my response, but it would be interesting for you to elaborate on the minorities thing. Does she really not care that much and if so, why would she mention it in the interview?

I thought this whole ordeal with the press, pro and con websites, and news interviews was over....I thought this whole deal with talking to the Washington Post and having to go on NPR was over....defend my views and beliefs to complete strangers was over at last....
But in reality it will never be over wether it comes time for me to write my college admissions essay on why I will be a Texas state dropout or write a speech about activism to my Speech and Debate class...my boycott will never be over. I will always be known as the first student in the state of Texas to boycott a state mandated exam.
I might have remained silent and took the criticism and continue to say to myself "everyone is intilled to their own opinon" but, now since my cousin Tara has written a comment on the subject and has put words into my mouth or portrayed me as a 'biggot". I feel I must comment and must defend myself...rather than let you a bunch of strangers argue amongst yourselves call me a racist or say that I don't care about others or I am doing this for all the attention (which was a difficult surprise).
First of all I agree with y'all the tests are moronically easy and anyone with a brain cell can pass that is true to the majoritiy of us out there that have average intelligence....those of us who will go onto to college and have hope for a high or middle class income for the future. But, everytime I hear my little brother Adam who has disgraphia call himself "dumb" a little seven year old boy that has disgraphia for not being able to understand a TAKS phonics worksheet. My little brother who has hopes of becoming of an astronaunt and flying into outerspace and likes to read Greek mythology and loves Goosebups and Rescue Hero action figures....a kid that is bright but doesn't shine well under pressure and has trouble with words and has been driven out of his "recongnized" school because of meaningless test prep....It is an utter shame that we make children who struggle or need to think out of the box call themselves "dumb" or "stupid" and it should be considered a crime when others do....and most likely according to the TEA my brother is proably considered 'dumb". It is a whole lot easier for people that have average intelligence or are English speakers to write a essay on an inane topic but, much harder for a child with dislexia or disgraphia. ARE WE PUNISHING CHILDREN FOR SOMETHING WHICH THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OVER?
Our does not have an "official' language. So why are the tests written only in English? IS IT REALLY FAIR FOR A CHILD THAT IMMIGRATED FROM GREECE TO TAKE A TEST IN A DIFFERANT LANGUAGE....ARE WE SETTING NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS UP FOR FAILURE?
The people that actually grade the tests are eleven dollar an hour workers that don't have to have a masters in English to grade an English test or the fact that schools that perform really well get around 5,000 dollars each...while the ones that perform poorly don't recieve anything extra...Why dose'nt the state give that 5,000 dollars to a school that performed poorly and can spend that money on educational resources instead of my school which would build a new football stadium.
The question of fairness never comes up...the question wether these tests are is a question that many people do not believe I should be asking since many of the situations or problems I have against TAKS do not personally affect me..."Just because something that is wrong does not affect you does not make it right".... that is a value my parents have instilled in me.
I consider myself a college bound student ....I worry a lot wether I am prepared or not from that big step from Robert E Lee to Harvard or Georgetown... I worry if I have recieved nothing but a bare minium education so I can pass a test that will never tell anyone if I will discover the cure for AIDS, write a novel, or be the first woman president. This test will never tell you my effort in school, how I treat others, or what kind of person I am. It will never tell you that I like to draw, that I volunteer at the humane society, that I mentor little kids, that I am on the cheer squad, and that I won an intership working with an art teacher. Should one test define the course of my future?
We often forget that the people we often deny dipolmas to are the people that could most benefit from them. The students who might not be going onto college....but need that piece of paper to get into job training programs, the military, or apprentinceships....the few people that will not be able to survie without one. Are we ruining their futures in the process of pushing for "higher standards".
I am lucky...I have attended diverse schools all my life I have friends that have come from the Phillipenes, China, Russia, Morocco, India, America (Native American), Hati and Ireland. I think I have benefited from being around a "melting pot' of cultures. I don't judge any one by the color of their skin or what name they call God...but more by the strengh of their character, their humanity, their kindess, and their compassion.
The comment that Tara made disturbed me a great deal frist of all I have only meet her twice that I remember one week in North Carolina two years ago and two years ago her family came to my home for the frist time...at this time she meet my best friend Vicki who wanted me to say that she is a proundly American Chinese! I don't where this "doesn't care about miniorites" came into play. Vicki and I invited her to see 'Crossroads" with us . I have never really had a one on one converstation with her about anything and she never really knew my views against testing....and honestly sadly we are not that close cousins....we have only seen eachother for a handfull of times in our lives.... I hope that this will not cause for another more awkard situation at any further family get togethers or hamper in us finally being able to sit down and share a pizza together and joke about what a loser Brittany Spears is in the future....
But, sadly I do not know what Tara's favorite color is nor does she know mine....I don't know what school she goes to...and I don't know her birthday nor does she know mine and on Christmas she never sends my family a Christmas card....
So she does not have the authority to tell anyone what I may or may not believe in. Especially if the only remember really meeting her or getting to know her was TWO years ago.
Tara-
I hope this won't become a issue between us because, I know you never imagined that I would never come across this page. No matter what you are intilled to your own opinon.:)
I am just saddened that anyone who knows me or knows what kind of person I am would even think I would make a biggoted remark or even dream of it....I have never in my life and never will. Hate is evil and even more vile and repulsive when we turn it into a joke or a remark that will only progress it.
I take to heart 'always follow your conscience no matter what the cost" the motto that my Cathloic school....I will and continue to. Right now I can't support the tests when they are so fundementally flawed....So I refuse too and it might cost me one Texas state dipolma.
All my love,
Kimberly A Marciniak

"Although there maybe times we are powerless to prevent an injustice there must never be a time when we fail to protest" -Elie Wiesel

Ask and ye shall recieve!

Kim, you have to understand that when I first wrote this, the news was still new. These comments almost two months aftewards. Please don't consider this as dredging up the past or anything. But ya did respond, so allow me to comment.

From my perspective, much of your criticism of the tests is based on one of mine that I made initially:

"...the state wields enormous power over your life by being the issuer of basic education certification (high school diploma/GED). Tying such fundamentally important documents ("fundamentally important" usually because the state ties other things to those documents and private business regularly does as well) to your performance on standardized testing isn't something I agree with."

Since you and so many others go to public schools, you and your parents have little control over how your education is taught. This is bad enough, but since Texas' certification document (the high school diploma or GED) is the basis of so many things after high school, your situation is made worse. This is primarily true in terms of finding a job. Very few places will accept people without this certification and of those that will, you aren't likely to find a job that pays well and has good benefits.

It's like forcing you to do things either you don't like or know others don't like doing...and then seriously penalizing you indirectly if you don't do "this well" on a test you believe is wrong. I can sympathize with that viewpoint.

Regarding language, the United States and Texas (I believe) have no official language. English is, however, the de facto standard language. It makes sense to prepare kids for entry into American adulthood, which overwhelmingly speaks English and pragmatically demands you do as well. Now (and this ties in with my point above), this problem is based on the fact that ALL kids have to take the test and not all of them can speak, read, or write effectively in English.

The immediate solution is to open the test to other languages. But that is impractical in the long run and dodges the principle point that it would be better for this to be a private market which parents and their children are certified through schools and associations (in the same sense as colleges are certified and have reputations) and not have the state force you into a system of it's choosing.

Ditto for children with disabilities. Proscribing this one-size-fits-all policy across the board may technically be an objective measure of some intellectual capacity, but leaves out (like you said) the context of the individual and that person's accomplishments.

I applaud you for standing up to the system and for risking trouble down the line. Most people, myself included, would at the time have either ignored the problems with the current system or not noticed them and taken them for granted. I hope you find a way to succeed and get past this.

The question wether I will continue to be successful without a dipolma is a question I already know the answer to...-I WILL
I will most likely make that big step from Robert E. Lee onto possibley one of the best schools in the country...I WILL suceed in life without a dipolma.
I am person who does not make or take any decision lightly or without going over the pros and cons of the situation or seeing how not having that piece of paper will jepordize my future.
Before I boycotted I asked college admissions officers if my not have a dipolma would hurt me...Their reply-
"We never even ask a potenial student if they have one" and the actual response from one was "You go girl"
Then all of a sudden college brochures came up in the mail colleges from Florida all the way to California...
Or having a teacher e-mail me and say:
"I don't know wether you have been told but, if you haven't you don't need a dipolma to get into college" along with another "You go girl".
Or hearing college say that they would look on a princapaled boycott as a good thing...
I found on line that every student that has ever BOYCOTTED a state mandated has go onto a college in the United States most of them ivy league.Some include:
Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Perdu, University of Vermont, Baylor, Columbia, Harvard Law, and Princeton(to name a few)
I am not the first child to ever boycott a state mandated exam....I'm the first to publically to in the state of Texas...You may want to read about the MASS refusal in MASS. or the saying we don't WASL here or look into the fact that there has been a least one student that has boycotted a state exam out every state. Some include:
Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Perdu, University of Vermont, Baylor, Columbia, Harvard Law, and Princeton(to name a few)
Okay Yale the school that our president went too...the man behind the no child left behind stupidity...is accepting boycotters.
We actually go on and have succesful careers.
REMEMBER-most seniors apply for scholarships and college before they have a dipolma...and get into colleges anyway.
Most homeschoolers never have a dipolma and they get accepted into college just the same.
After my boycott recieved such a wide ranging of support and the NPR and Fox News at Nine interviews were over...
-I won an activism scholarship 2,0000 dollars
-Recieved two honorey dipolmas froom the home school coalition and a private school in Vermont.
I have learned alot from this exprience and from the people I have meet and interacted with and mostly how to always stand behind myself and my beliefs...its hard being a kid that always feels the need to do the right thing...and follow your conscience when often the easier thing to do would be to ignore it completely...
The easier thing would be to take the tests because, I would do exceptionally well and be able to walk across that stage and recieve a dipolma and just shut up and think nothing of it...that would be the easier road...
But as long as I see a little 3rd grade boy hitting himself on the head for forgetting a TAKS reading book or the sheer boredom on one little girls face in the newspaper or read that a mother told her daughter who was afraid that she would have to repeat the 3rd grade to pray or hearing that a little boy stayed until 6:30 to finish TAKS...how can I support it when I see our state ruining the joy of knowledge for so many youngsters out there? WIll any of kids ever want sit down and read a novel or ever even want to set foot inside a library? Will they become like me and get bitter at the Texas Education Agency for putting up with this nonsense or Gov Rick Perry?
Rick Perry in his campaign for Govenor made a comment that will always remain imprinted in my mind "Test scores, are raising, schools are improving, students are learning"...Yes students are learning how to pass TAKS but the quality of education every student recieves out of every school across the state of Texas differs and he was right test scores are rising but at what cost to the children?
When literacy rates have stayed the same.
Dropout rates have steadily INCREASED.
Should'nt our states main goal be to make children stay in school and complete their education?
Me, I've been very fortunate in the responses I have recieved from everyone...But, the guilt I feel about being able to go onto college minus a dipolma is overwhelming...when I hear about students that fail MCAS, WASL, or FCAT giving up, dropping out, or attending a community college. If they had made the same decision would they be going onto Harvard? Its a question I ask myself alot...
As for a dipolma it is not that "vital" a document that everyone makes it out to be...every adult I've talked too that comes from an upper middle class job says they never even been asked about it when applying for a job...
So perhaps it really is a worthless piece of paper that will never be able to tell anyones character or anyones morals or ethics...and as I believe those are the most important qualities any human being can pocess. I stand by my conscience and when I can support these tests I will but, right now I cannot and refuse too.
All my love,
Kimberly A Marciniak

I learned something new about my friend Kimberly by reading this string - we both have brothers we love very much. Reading her words about her brother, I am prouder than ever to feature her writing on the website of Marylanders Against High Stakes Testing. I can only say that anyone that would think Kimberly insensitive in anyway, doesn't know Kimberly.

Let me tell you about my brother Bob...

My brother Bob and I both attended the same high school - it was one of those national Blue Ribbon high schools - Mt. Lebanon in Pittsburgh, PA. It was a blue ribbon school for a very good reason - our school taxes were really hefty - our teacher salaries were second to none and we had a fine arts program that nobody could touch, along with every AP program in the book. My brother and higher math just did not get along. He certainly got the basics, but as I went on to all the college track courses, he went on to excel in all of the fine arts courses. I don't know what he earned in his so-called academic requirements - but I know he had a 4.0 in those art courses. But the point is - my brother graduated with a diploma that looks just like mine. Are our transcripts vastly different? - Yes. I did the whole college track thing and graduated with a 3.8. (My cum. from Penn State, where one majored in keg parties as much as anything else is quite another story).

As I buckled down at Penn State, filling my liberal arts requirements with classes like bowling, and television (wherein we actually sat for two hours and watched shows like Gomer Pyle and Gillian's Island), my brother put himself through a two-year graphics art program at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, cleaning offices at night. He now designs billboards for a media giant. And they are the best damn billboards in the country! He wins award after award, and was once featured in the "best of the quarter" section of Advertising Age Magazine. When I hear about how no one could possibly make it in this 21st Century Global economy without analytical Algebra, blah blah blah, I tell them that my brother is doing quite well thank you very much. In fact, the 21st Century Global Economy loves Bob!! He is selling scads of products for all sorts of international companies.

If you walk into Mt. Lebanon High School today, you will see an exquisite mural of antique cars painted on the wall outside of the drivers ed. room - painted by my brother in 1978! It was so fantastic that they have not let anyone paint over it all of those years. There is not a trace of me in that high school. Who is to say who was the bigger success?

I am a Massachusetts student about to begin my boycott of the 10th grade MCAS (so I will not be getting my diploma) and I have been emailing with Kim...All I have to say is that standarded testing standardizes education. It gears education, and success in life, towards one type of student, one type of person, to hell with everyone else. Is that American? More importantly: Is that right?

"I don't think there's any way to build a multiple-choice question that allows students to show what they can do with what they know." Roger Farr, professor of Education at Indiana University

I would like to be the one to take the moral high ground such as Kim did and say Tara- "your intilled to your own opinon" such as Kim did or make an articulate response such as Trude did... or write a response like Marciel did...but I'm an immature person so I won't.

Tara- Shame on you...how dare you say such a thing... I'm not even related to Kim and I have more common sense and know she would never make a racist remark!

Okay now I'm back to my senses and in touch with reality-

I meet Kim through a cousin Kelly who meet her at a photography camp after hearing her on National Public Radio and since then she and I have become good friends. I e-mail her and write to her alot now.

I am an honor student, a peace activist , a mentor at a local elementary school, a member of my High School’s debate team, and in gifted and talented class. I have failed the Massachuetts MCAS and will not be graduating. A score says nothing about me and just because I am branded by the sate of Massachuetts as a "failure" does that make me a failure? Should one test decide the course of my future? What does that score tell anyone about me anyway?

When Kim heard this she wrote an essay about me and my situation and it was posted all over the internet and continue to thank her for writing it in such an articulate way(she's a writer at heart). I respect and admire her for everything she stands behind and someday I hope everyone in a perfect world will also stand behind their consciences like Kim says she will always do.

*You Go Kim! We all are rooting for you!*

Tara-

All I have to say is what planet are you from?

The Kim I know from camp and whom I am good friends with is not un-sensitive, un-caring, or un-feeling towards any person and certainly never has been based on their skin color, ethinic background, or their religion especially not with her hot headed liberal ideas and notions.

What language do your people speak on your planet anyway?

Ya perhaps the greatest accomplishment out of the TEA is what you said:"Live with the standardized tests! They are easy, so what is the big deal?"...

Ya you get a free ride in school and don't have to learn anything or even worry now wether you will get a dipolma...

Perhaps that is a very BIG deal Tara and even BIGGER deal that your only argument in defense of the test is that they are easy and your not learning anything or a much BIGGER deal that you can't see that.

Like Kim I don't think you expected her to come across this rinky- dink "free for all" debate page (no offense Driz) and never took into consideration the fact that she might...and could have been hurt by the statement you made.

If you were my cousin I would have. I would have even been more hurt by being thrown into the position Kim had to...make a statement and defend herself to a bunch of strangers before this thing got blown way out of portion.

But my good friend Kim responded beautifully and poetically...

Personally, if I was is in Kim's situation I would not give a dam how this would affect our "cousin relationship" because it is obvious that you did'nt take Kim's feelings or your cousin relationship into condersideration before you made that statement on a PUBLIC-page Tara and I'm almost certain Kim's have been hurt in the process...

But Tara- you lucked out because your cousin is a very forgiven person and cares about her family so, I know she will forgive you to try to avoid an uncomfortable situation at any other family reouions. She's a better person than I am...

Perhaps, you just made this comment just to spite all the positive attention Kim's getting...or are jealous of the fact that Kim is getting alot of National attention in the anti-testing world...

The people that know the "real" KIM will always come to her aide and defend her when we see her slandered...especially by her own cousin who has only seen her twice!
*You go Kimberly and hang in there!*

Once again Tara- what planet do your people come from?

Kimberly Marcinak is the most headstrong person I ever met. How dare her cousin say she is a racist, obvisously she really doesn't know kim that well. I am mexican, french, and caucasin, Kim never in her life has ever past judgement on me. Kim is totally right on how the TAKS test doesn't determine how gifted we are. Does the test determine what we are going to do for the rest of our lives? To conclude with, have you ever opened your mouths and stand up for something you have believed in? Kim is standing up for something she believes in, and I rarely ever see that quality in people.

Kelly- you went off the deep end there for a moment! But utter shock and awe that anyone would ever say such a thing to the Kim I knew and spent a week with in a New Hampshire camp. Kim that I know never judged me because I am Jewish and the Kim I know would never take that into consideration. The fun-loving, friendly, and outgoing Kim I know would never do that. Right on Kelly...and right on "A friend of Kimberly"! Tara-you obviously don't know your cousin at all do you? So- Tara with that said- What planet do you come from?

"You go Kim" all of your friends are behind you 100%

Tara-
Care to make a comment *chuckles*
-No you can't because you can't deefend your viewpoint.

How about writing an apology to Kim **chuckles**
-No you never do such a mature thiing...

How about e-mailing Kim ***chuckles***
-Too immature for you to do such aa thing!

You OWE your cousin some serious explaining...or an apology.

Why haven't your friends DEFENDED you Tara?
More importantly why haven't you DEFENDED yourself?

Perhaps you could tell us why your e-mail keeps sending our e-mails back to us?

Perhaps you can say something to defend your viewpoint.

Having known Kim from camp... and spent a week with her I was surprised that anyone who had even sat down in a room for a minute with Kim could make such a statement especially a relative...

I don't know what this great debate about testing is all about since I attend a Catholic shool we are'nt required to take tests.

But having known Kim and her headstrong "Big Goverment Liberal" ideas that she never do such a thing as her cousin Tara depicted! I don't know the pros and cons of this sit. but I will tell you about the Kim I know:

Kim was a real goofball at camp the girl that made "Care Bear Stare" the camp motto and went by the nickname "Kimmy-Kim Kim"...she would do almost anything for a laugh or a smile and was quite popular (though I don't think she knows it)...

She was the person in the cabin that would wake up at 7:00 am and start cheering and the person that helped us learn the lyrics to Shriley Temple showtunes.

And she was a pretty darn good friend although a little dorky and nerdy from time to time...

The Kim I know is a top notch friend and a top notch person.

Hello.
Although I live in Washington State, I have been touched by kim's dedication and understanding of the high stakes testing phenomena. I too am boycotting the high stakes test in my state. Let me tell you, it takes more empathy, leadership and compassion than most will ever have.
Kim, please don't hear those who will taunt you. By calling you a racist, while your cause is for those who are more diverse than our government knows is hypocritical. I strongly suggest whoever your cousin might be to take a look a his/herself and strongly examine thier personal morals and family values.
Talk to you later Kim.
Jen

I agree with Jen...

Those people that taunt you or humilate you are usually the ones most out of wack or do not understand the "real" Kim who we all know and love.

Perhaps, Tara is just jealous or wants attention or trying to cause some sort of trouble (and she has...Kelly is on a war rampage)...but we all know that "our" Kim is far from a racist and as most of us know a great person.

You go Kim! Were all behind you!

Alright, folks. It seems a bit of a stretch to say Tara called Kim a racist when all she said was "she didn't really care about minorities." Let's get some perspective. I "don't really care about minorities" in the sense that I don't spend the day thinking about them. At least allow her to respond and clarify before putting words in her mouth.

To those against standardized testing, I must ask: Do you believe students should have firm educational objectives to reach each year? If so, then how would you go about determining how students did compared to those objectives?

I think it is time to change the subject on this debate page....
People give Tara a chance to defend her beliefs....for I know what it is like to have some put words into your or being thrown into a position in which you must defend your postion wether Tara or Charlie Parker on the radio...it's a very difficult no matter what the situation or the circumstance.
Tara is intilled to her opion but, my agrument is she does not have the authority to tell anyone else mine nor do I to hers...
With all that said...calm down guys especially you Kelly-take a big breath and give her some time to either e-mail me or post a comment...
Because as we all know anyone that knows me and what I am about and stand for knows that what Tara's comment is completely false.
Give her time to muster up the courage and defend her viewpoint to you my friends-who are all a bunch of strangers to her. Please don't put her in the uncomfortable position I was put into! And I really hope this does not cause for more awkard situation at any family get togethers-TARA.
Kimberly A Marciniak

Drizz- All I have to say is that Kim is not the person to go around thinking about skin color and races all the time!

But never in her life has Kim ever judged anyone on their skin color or ethnic background.

She is not a racist nor a fanactic which you seem to be saying!

And I as one of her friends will always come to her aide when I see her slandered by anyone!

Back to the subject of standardized testing (please!), yes, we DO support an "objective" curriculum and yes we DO believe that teachers can and ought to be assessing their students regularly against that curriculum in order to meet their students' academic needs. Between them my kids have had 23 teachers, and as a parent I have ALWAYS been interested in how those teachers assessed my kids' academic needs and progress. And I have NEVER waited for the state to send me a peice of paper with a number on it in order to get that information. Instead, I have TALKED TO THE TEACHERS in question. Unlike the State of Texas, I'm sure you DO remember teachers -- those highly underpaid, heroic individuals who live with children, work with them, listen to them, read to them, and observe them on high plane of intimacy for at least 6 hours per school day, at least 180 school days per year. In my experience and to my perception, it is TEACHERS -- not state officials, not legislators, not publishers, not business executives (and make no mistake, testing is BIG business)and DEFINITELY not some $11/hour part time worker who's never even set foot in a classroom -- who are qualified to assess students. Teachers do that. They do so with a BROAD variety of instruments, they do so on a REGULAR basis, and they do it, an extrordinary amount of the time, with love and caring and respect for the individual student and ALL of his qualities. Not with ONE, multiple choice, and probably highly flawed instrument, but MANY, many types, and over a period of time.

This is the way in which THE TESTING COMPANIES THEMSELVES -- ETS, McGraw Hill, and Harcourt Brace are the only ones I've read, but I'm told that the other publishing companies' own advertising also emphasizes this-- their tests should be used. As ONE instrument in a PACKAGE of tools to ascertain a student's readiness for the next grade level or graduation. We are employing these products (again, it's a BUSINESS) against maufacturer's directions and against common sense.

What I'd want, in place of these Standards on Steroids, is for the states which EDUCATE the teachers, the states which CERTIFY the teachers, the states which LICENSE the teachers, and HIRE the teachers, and PAY them (somewhat), to TRUST THE TEACHERS. Failing that, I'd like them to at least pay attention to the directions on the package the tests come in. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what happens when you let legislators loose on a complicated problem. They come up with a simple solution which is wrong.

As Andy Rooney once said, you don't ask a butcher how to cook meat. If he knew, he'd be a chef. Politicans don't know how to teach or test students (testing is PART of teaching students.) If they knew, they'd be teachers.

Okay, on the issue of the impact of the testing on minorities: It is not so much that the tests themselves are culturally biased -- they may be, but I can't speak to that -- but the way in which they are used which is unfair to minority and/or poor districts. Here in Texas there is such a HUGE difference between the property values of the wealthy districts and the poor ones (which are also the most heavily black and Hispanic districts) that the differences in school funding, which is based on property taxes, were found to be so bad that the disparity amounted to a violation of the US Constitution's equal protection clause.

The test results, believe it or not, are applied in such a way that they actually make that situation worse. Wealthy districts, which most often have the highest passing rates, are rewarded finacially EVEN IF they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to produce those results, even if every kid in the school could have passed the test before he/she set foot in the classroom. Poor districts, on the other hand, which are more likely to have to really WORK to produce those results, are punished when they don't. They're threatened with closures or with replacement by voucher programs. (And usually when a charter school or magnet school opens up, using the lure of these finacially rewarded higher scores and all the goodies the rewards can buy, it siphons off the kids who might have done well on the tests, which makes the poor school's job even harder.)

And even if we weren't asking the poor districts to do as much with "less" -- that is, with a more challenging student body, whose families more often experience the simple act of getting a kid to school on time and with a full belly as a struggle; whose families do not speak English, provide the kids with educationally stimulating experiences out of school, or have any reason to value, or any experience with, the opportunities of higher education -- even if all that were not the case, guess which districts can afford the better test prep?

So, see, Tara, it's not so much a matter of "caring about minorities" then, as caring about fairness. Which Kim, I think rightly, considers a VERY "big deal."

It's also a matter of morality even within a school, or a classroom. Your school district is required by law to provide every one of its students with an "appropriate" education. Yet in every class in which there is a "do or die" TAKS test coming up, the teacher is encouraged -- maybe, depending on her administration, even required -- to divide her students into three groups: those who will definitely pass, those who will fail no matter what she does, and those who may pass but need help, the so called "bubble kids." The definite flunks are predominantly poor and Hispanic; the definite passes are predominantly Anglo and middle class (the wealthy kids have already bought their way out of this nonsense by attending private schools), but even if that were not true, only ONE of those groups, the bubble kids, is going to be getting the teacher's instructional efforts, energies and resources. The other two groups are being neglected. (Or worse: I Personally know of several KINDERGARTEN children who were considered for retention -- DESPITE counselors' and psychologists' warnings that this was a horrible idea socially and academically for these particular children --, not because they weren't prepared and able to go on to first grade, but because the schools considered them (at 5!) to be "at risk" for failing the THIRD GRADE TAKS test.)

This is not providing an appropriate education to at least 2 of those 3 groups. This is anti-education. This is anti-child. This, is anti-life. This, is another very big deal.

And yes, the tests are easy -- for you, Tara, for Kim, and for a fortunate majority. But just because you're in the majority for whom that's true doesn't mean you don't, or Kim doesn't, have the authority, or the obligation, to speak up on behalf of those for whom it's not. Just because you are allowed to ride at the front of the bus doesn't mean you ought to be doing that. If you're being taught otherwise, or if you're being taught to not consider the question, then, the adults in your life are letting you down. That's a big deal, too, and I'm sorry.

I don't feel the need to defend myself or my beliefs to anyone. Because in actualliaty my decision to boycott affects only me....it is my decision and it's my dipolma I'm sacfricing.
But no matter how slight anyone implies that I do not care about a certain group of people. I can't help taking it to heart. The comment that Tara made broke my heart in the sense that I thought she was saying unjustly to the rest of the world that I somehow go about making racial slurs or have made a biggoted remark to her. Which is completely untrue... and the people that know me and know the kind of person I am know this is a falsehood.
Remember Drizz- the orginal reason I posted a response on your page...was to rightfully defend myself before the situation got ugly.
Having never discussed the issues about testing with(keep in mind I've only met her twice that I remember) I took that comment as a BIG offense. Not in the literal way that she has a differant opinon then I do. But, in the sense that she does not have the authority to tell anyone else my beliefs or thoughts on things.
No has that right except myself.
But, after reading her comment I thought no matter how small the implication that was calling me a racist in some sense. It'snot that EXTREME to believe she was or to be hurt by that small or tiny implication.
And that is the most hurtful thing anyone has ever said to me.
I don't know what Tara was trying to say or what she meant by that comment but, I was deeply hurt by it and the implication I thought it contained and none of us will ever know what she may or may of not meant until she speaks....
But, my friends that came across this page (not by me mind you) came to their own conclusion that is the small implication that Tara made and I thank them for their support...but, it is time to get back to debating the issues and discussing them.
I won't know what Tara ever meant until she e-mails me or comments and I hope she will because maybe this will hurt us in being able to have an actual disscussion at any other family reonions.
I may not agree with what she said but, I will defend her right to the death to say it...even if I don't agree.
I just really wish she could tell me what she meant because, I was deeply hurt by the comment.
But, everyone that knows me well knows I'm not a racist and I am not a biggot and that I curse at those who are.
With all that said it's to get back to debating the issues and the problems with high stakes tests...
-Kimberly A Marciniak

Drizz...I find it hard not to laugh at your comment!
****CHUCKLES*****
You come from Texas don't ya? Got be a product out of a Texas high school to make such un-educated and non- approiate response.

First of all my cousin Kell sent me the link to YOUR site which is great by the way becuz I can say whatever the hell I want too and get away with. Kell only said "Kim's cousin made a comment" being noisy person that I am I checked it out...all I have to say is being a kid in GT classes and member of a debate team and having a 100 in honors English... I felt that Tara was making a very slight implacation that Kim is a racist or has made a biggoted remark...

And of course the Kim I know and whom I am good friends with is far from that and let's face it she really is a flaming liberal as she likes to say.

So how could I not come to her aide and defend the kind of Kim I know and respect?

Of course I had too...because no matter what the implication Tara made it has obviousley been hurtful towards Kim and perhaps their relationship.

I hate to bring up the sterotypes that most people feel towards Texans but maybe y'all are nothing more than a bunch of gun waving, lone star waving, cowboys that have gun racks in the back of your pick up trucks hicks and feel just a whole lot safer that you have the right to own a concealed weapon Driz!!!

I can make an informed opinon for myself Drizz and believe Tara was making quite an untrue statement about the Kim I know...

But none of us will know what Tara meant until she comments and until then I will continue to belive that she implied that my strongly liberal and good friend that has never judged anyone on their religion, ethnic culture, or the color of their skin...was implying that Kim was a racist.

And y'all Texans you gave us George W.Bush! thank you the madman behind "no child left behind".

I won't have a dipolma because I failed MCAS.What you except me to do with the rest of my life and more importantly how am I going to suceed without one? Is this really fair to me an honor student, a kid that stayed in school, a member of my high schools debate team, mentor, and volunter? What does that tell you about me Drizz and more importantly is that fair?

BUT LIKE KIM SAID LET'S GET BACK TO THE ISSUES

Welcome to my website, Mrs. Marciniak. Who ELSE in the family wants to comment??? When do we get to hear from Robert? :)

I agree that "high stakes" testing, where a failure on the test means you don't graduate or get a diploma -- regardless of how you did elsewhere in school -- is bad. It's unreasonable and willingly blind to the reality of how each individual grows.

Regarding the difficulty of the tests...all I have to say is I've gone through the elementary and high school testing schemes of three states and in each case the bulk of the tests' questions shouldn't have been hard for a kid one grade behind us to answer correctly. This is primarily the fault of the student-teacher-parent relationship, or more correctly, the lack thereof.

For the record, I'm 22 years old. The only adult who can let me down in my life is myself. All the others just display disappointing behavior. ;)

I don't want to get engaged in the public school funding debate. Such a discussion would lead us into topics far beyond this one.

So, you support a objective measure of a student's educational progress. But you spent so much time talking about teachers I wasn't able to determine how your tests would be different from the tests we already have, save for removing the high-stakes part, of course. The application of the results and the application of the tests themselves have been settled: we know they need improvement. But is there anything you'd change about the tests themselves?

Anna:
I'm not Texan. I'm a military brat and I grew up in five different states. I'm here because I don't have the money and the college degree to get the hell out of this state. I don't own a truck, I have a 2002 VW Golf. I do own a handgun. And I'm so "right-wing" that you'd probably vomit after chatting with me for a few minutes. Not that any of this changes the validity of what I've said.

I'm glad you feel so strongly in the defense of your friend. I do that myself sometimes. But you haven't paid close enough attention to what I wrote and why I wrote it, assuming you are referring to my comment about "not really caring." Read it again, please. It is certainly appropriate to not want people to jump to conclusions based on a single portion of a sentence which could mean several different things.

Enough with this ad hominem crap. Too much space has been wasted.

I've already said several times that it is wrong for so much importance to be vested in a state-issued document. I "except" you to live up to your declared high educational standards and address the points I've written about, both in the main portion of the post and in the comments here.

As a side note, I still have the Feb 1st edition of the San Antonio-Express News Metro section where I first read this article. I knew it would come in handy some day. *laughs*

Thanks for the welcome, Drizz. It's an ... interesting, site. You're probably not going to hear from Bob, sorry. Kim's little brother Adam may chime in at any moment. He has distinct libertarian tendencies.

To clarify, the last paragraph of my second post was aimed at Tara, not you. And to further clarify, although we're obviously preaching to the choir on this one, we don't oppose testing as a practice. We are opposed to watching schools turn into test prep factories, and the use of the test results as a social sorting mechanism.

That's the net result of the high stakes; by denying a diploma to anyone who hasn't taken a college prep curriculum -- Texas' tests are based on standards from a college prep curriculum -- it sorts the wheat from the chaff and don't ask what happens to the chaff. The implications of the high stakes affect all of us, even those of us who ARE college graduates or college bound: in the name of "high standards" and "preparation for the global economy", we've now got a system in which aspiring or potential mechanics can't get jobs or join the military because they couldn't pass a physics exam. And who do you think is supporting these unemployable "dropouts"?

What I'd change about the tests is, one, at the lower grades, as you suggested, simply remove the high stakes applications. Promotion can be based on grades, as always before, and teacher recommendations. Use the test results to inform teachers, schools and districts about their weaknesses and strengths in the areas of curriculum or instruction that need most reinforcement, or which districts may need more resources in particular areas. DON'T use them to drive or define the curriculum or to over-ride the decisions of teachers about who's ready for the next grade. This puts more power back into the hands of teachers and local school districts rather than state legislatures and the federal government... something I'm guessing you'd favor as well.

Two, I'd remove the funding rewards and ties to test results. They only make an inequitable situation worse, they provide too much incentive to "cheat", to concentrate only on particular subjects or students, and to report bogus dropout rates. And they're expensive. For example $128 million dollars is in the current Florida budget for the "Success Initiative." That's enough to buy a lot of library books and computers, going instead for salary bonuses to principals who make the A Plus level (equivalent to Texas' "exemplary" ratings.)

And three, at the higher grade levels, I'd replace the test content with what reasonable people consider important every *citizen* know. Right now it's based on what we, or more importantly what the politicians and test publishers, think every *college freshman*should know, and let's face it, although the opportunity should be avaialable to everyone, not everyone is going to go to college. Not every high schooler is going to write research papers or use geometry, but they ARE all going -- we hope -- to vote and pay taxes and balance their checkbooks and read and participate in society. If a student can prove profiency in consumer math and reading, and a good understanding of US government, as well as fulfill graduation requirements in those subjects and health, I'd be satisfied. If he knows the difference between compounded interest rates on a minimum balance and an APR, I'd be relieved. And if he also knows what the phrase "another transaction" means and doesn't have to spend 5 minutes scratching his head when he's in front of me in the ATM line, I'd be thrilled.

I'm not saying I want "lower standards," God forbid. It's not that I don't think physics is important, or calculus, or Shakespeare. I've studied all those things myself and am the richer for it. But cranking up standards to the point where failures are being manufactured and schools are turning into test prep factories because we're intent on "making a high school diploma MEAN something" is misguided. A high shool diploma shouldn't "mean" any more, or any less, than it always has: it's just a piece of paper that says a kid spent 12 years in public school and passed all of his classes and is ready to join adult society. Where he goes within adult society ought really to be up to him.

Does that answer your questions? (If not, and you don't want to eat up more space on the site, feel free to backchannel me.)

Dear Kimberly:

I am a 34 year old mother from San Juan, Puerto Rico here we are having a hard hard time with all this issua, i just want you to know that i support your decision an a 100% i know for sure that you are going to be SUCCESFULL as Einstein in you future life, good bless you....
i know exactly how you feeling,because my 9 year old son has exactly the same condition.

Regards,

Omayra R.

I say get rid of the TAKS test because if you pass all of your classes and fail the TAKS test and get held back,what is the point of even trying to pas all of your regular classes. I think that this girl Kim knows what she is talking about and they should listen to her and stop trying to hold all of the high schoolers back.

"everyone is intilled to their own opinon" i think you mean "entitled," maybe you should have spent more time learning to speak properly and less time whining about how you were forced to take a test

I am a mom who wants to help put an end to TAKS tests in Texas. I am looking for resources and any information that will accomplish this task. YOU GO KIM!!! I want to know if I can add a link to this thread once my website is up and running?
My background info is: I have a 11 year old daughter who can take these tests and score commended, while my 9 year old son has dyslexia, Irlene Syndrome and now being tested for dysgraphia, obviously the TAKS tests are stressful and harmful to him. I believe we should have something in place to chart the progress of children. But seeing my son in 5 different tutoring programs on a daily basis to pass the TAKS tests, I have decided to fight this monster!

I mean, go back to your Catholic school if you are such a good student then you can take and pass the TAKS. We have been taking these test forever and the are not hard. Stop trying to make this a big ordeal and just take the freakin' test or go back to Boston.

http://taksboycott.blogspot.com

TAKS Boycott Association
We are a group of graduate students, from university of texas at san antonio. we studied the TAKS and standardized testing research this semester -- and participated in a teleconference with Dr. Valenzuela (ut austin).
i notice the focus on children, and their decision-making. this is coupled with the apparent LACK of decision-making ability our teachers have. as a teacher, i feel a responsibility to educate, not traumatize.
so we've created and distributed a manifesto. for a "TAKS Boycott." we promote the collective action of all texas teachers, to destroy TAKS tests (literally, with scissors or matches or something) instead of administering them. we should not permit students like Marciniak or Kang to risk their college futures. teachers should lay down in front of this TAKS bulldozer. if the privatization lobbyists want to dismantle public education, they'll have to get through us first. refuse to step aside.
all interested teachers and parents are asked to read and understand our research. this test IS illegitimate, invalid, intrinsically biased, unreliable, and consistently shows low predictability of college success.

http://taksboycott.blogspot.com

kip

The taks craziness must stop.

Hi I m summer i live in florida it is great to see someone stand up to state test ...we have FCAT..... i hate it isn't fair for the other kids who go to school that are poor and poor themselves ... Great Keep it up!!!!! maybe you can do it for the whole country.....Good Work!!!

Kimberly, i've been trying to get in touch with you since last year. I am a sophmore at Thomas Jefferson H.S. And last year i heard you had tried to boycott the test. My friends and i had wanted to do the same thing, but we weren't well prepared to actually go through with our plans. My friend Marina tried the hardest. When they told her to open the seal of her test she told them no.
But in the end they told her they'd put her in remidial classes, and she wasn't prepared for that kind of consiquece. I took the ELA test two days ago. And then today Marina and i had a discussion about it. I'm not planning on taking the tests coming in April. And we are trying to get information on the TAKS and on the statistics of it all to be able to make a good enough statement to our school's administration. We are preparing a petition to pass around our school. We are asking students and teachers to help us. If there's any way you might be able to help me out (like with information or maybe to boycott with me.) I'd really appreciate if you emailed me. I'd really like your help, and maybe you could get your school in on it too. My email is dayzd007@yahoo.com.
Thank you.
Samantha

I know people have been writing to this blog asking for contact information on me- well you can e-mail me at eeyoregirl@sbcglobal.net
or check out my website www.kimmarciniak.com

Now a Senior in high school I have NOT taken the exit level test and will not graduate...despite the lack of a dipolma I have been accepted to EVERY college I have applied and all with merit scholarships.I definately will BE going onto college next year.
Thank You,
Kimberly A. Marciniak