Testing To Show Off

As pro-test forces scramble to come up with some good reason for New York's students to take the Big Standardized Test, we get this gem of a quote from DFER in USA Today:

Yet collecting educational data is important for the future of education and can help define the the character of a town, said Nicole Brisbane, state director at Democrats for Education Reform.

"Schools are one of the biggest differentiators of value in the suburbs," she said. "How valuable will a house be in Scarsdale when it isn't clear that Scarsdale schools are doing any better than the rest of Westchester or even the state? Opting out of tests only robs parents of that crucial data."

Man, is that flop sweat I smell?


So what are we to make of this, DFER? That testing is meant to be another way to cement the elite stamp of elite awesomeness on elite housing in elite communities with elite schools?

Or should we conclude that previously, nobody anywhere ever had any idea whether the schools in Scarsdale were any good or not?

The second question is my favorite, as it is just one more implication of the bizarre notion that not only can Common Core BS Tests tell us how well a school is doing, but ONLY Common Core BS Tests can tell us how a school is doing. Yessiree-- folks in Scarsdale had no idea whether their schools were any good or not, ever, until the BS Tests came to town.

But at least we have a great new reason that all students need to take those tests-- without them, the Betters would have one less badge of their Betterness. Testing will help us put Those People in their place. Don't let your class down! Don't let the property values drop! Get in there and take a test for the team. Of course, this would also be an excellent reason for everyone in the less wealthy neighborhoods to avoid taking the tests under any circumstances...