Carrol
P.S. And in politics, of course, we demand very unequal effort from various sectors of the population or from particular comrades. For example, we do not place political demands on children nor on parents. That is why the suggestion that students should refuse to take the tests associated with No Child Left Behind is such an outrageous suggestion. Individual students and individual parents must not be asked to stick their necks out. The political burden of attacking NCLB must be born by others.
_________________________________
In many states, students have the legal right to opt out of tests. This is not "sticking your head out."
If most or even a sginificant fraction did all opt out in those states, it would be a big deal and it would affect reality in the other states. It would certainly make the data for the opt out states meaningless.
This tactic would not only be effective in changing consciousness about the tests, it would highlight the fact that in the context of testing and the new reform regime, students are the "workers" producing the data that justifies the huge infrastructure of test makers, test graders, consultants, administrators, etc.
The political burden of ending NCLB and RTTT should be borne by parents and students and teachers: they are those most directly affected. What "others" do you have in mind, and why should they care?
Joanna