Teacher refuses to give N.C. End-of-Grade Tests

Good for him! If more teachers had the guts to boycot the tests, maybe the state would listen to them.

Bravo!!! As a mother I wish there was more teachers so dedicated to their students needs, rights, and self esteem. I pray that more teachers join his effort and show not only the students, but the powers that be that standardized testing is HARMFUL to ALL our children. WELL DONE SIR!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Ward is an excellent teacher and well respected by his students. I support him in his decision. I also work with individuals with developmental disabilties and over and over they are told what they can't do, what they fail at. Let's show them what they can do!!

Great thing to do. Teach the kids according to thier gifts not what the state wants for them' Just as the war on drugs has not worked neither will the no child left behind.
You need to find what your child excels at and support that in every way. Teachers and parents.

Here's a link to his video regarding the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

I worked in an elementary school for six years as an assistant, and the pressure that is put on students to pass these tests is unbelievable. The better the scores, the higher the teachers' bonuses are, so I truly admire Mr. Ward for taking this stand. No Child Left Behind has left behind the days when teachers were able to teach how and what they wanted to teach. They have no choice but to "teach the test". I, too, pray more teachers join his effort.

Excellent!! I couldn't agree more.
I hope all works out for him and the children.

I say more power to him too! I only know who he is, but I've heard that he's a good teacher. I wish more teachers would boycott these things too. My son is not in the exceptional children's program, but it still causes us stress.

You're right if we just would make the test easier, more kids would be successful. Good idea! NOT. The dumbing down and low expectations is why public schools in this country are pitiful. Mr. Ward not every student is expected to pass, that's the point. So, set aside your pride and give the damn test.

I am also a teacher of students with severe disabilities and totally agree with Doug's stance. I know him personally and know that he is an excellent teacher and is very passionate about what he does. These tests are not a true indicator of what our students can do. The state requires us to test what they choose is appropriate.

Are you kidding wrote:

You're right if we just would make the test easier, more kids would be successful. Good idea! NOT. The dumbing down and low expectations is why public schools in this country are pitiful. Mr. Ward not every student is expected to pass, that's the point. So, set aside your pride and give the damn test.

You are so out of touch! Do you have kids in the pubilc school system? The teachers have to teach for the test - they can't teach the kids what they really need to know. Why shouldn't every student be expected to pass and do well?

I wish more teachers would stand up for their beliefs (and the children) and make themselves heard.

Are you kidding wrote:

You're right if we just would make the test easier, more kids would be successful. Good idea! NOT. The dumbing down and low expectations is why public schools in this country are pitiful. Mr. Ward not every student is expected to pass, that's the point. So, set aside your pride and give the damn test.

This is a test given to students with disabilities and can no way give an accurate account of progress. I applaud Mr. Ward for standing up for these exceptional children and hope other teachers join him.

Yeah Mr. Ward!! Stand your ground!! These state mandated tests are nothing more than the 'programming' of our children throughout the year. EOG's are a damn farce and waste a teachers time teaching what they are 'told' to teach. I applaude the teachers as they are doing a job that I wouldn't/couldn't do.

Kudos to Doug Ward! This man truly deserves to be called an "educator," as opposed to those other so-called "educators" who are simply sheep who do as they are told by their administrators, with no thought whatsoever given to the strengths and abilities of their students. Teachers must teach those students who appear in their classrooms, yet if those students do not do well on these tests, then it becomes the teacher's "fault" and s/he is duly disciplined, and could well lose his or her job. Doug Ward should be school superintendent! He truly understands what it means to be an educator.

As a teaching assistant in a classroom of students with disabilities, I feel that the tests do not apply to the students' cognitive abilities. I support Mr. Ward's efforts in making the general public aware of the testing issues.

MsLyn wrote:

<quoted text>
This is a test given to students with disabilities and can no way give an accurate account of progress. I applaud Mr. Ward for standing up for these exceptional children and hope other teachers join him.

Read the article: "The NCEXTEND1 Alternative Assessment is designed for students who have severe intellectual disabilities."

Are you kidding wrote:

You're right if we just would make the test easier, more kids would be successful. Good idea! NOT. The dumbing down and low expectations is why public schools in this country are pitiful. Mr. Ward not every student is expected to pass, that's the point. So, set aside your pride and give the damn test.

Wow, it's obvious you would fail the reading comprehension segment of such a test. The article is not about making a test easier it's the fact that teachers have to spend so much time teaching standardized lesson plan rather than tailoring a course of study for individual needs. The present goal is satisfying a ridiculous bureaucracy rather than grooming our progeny.

I applaud Mr. Ward's protest! However, please remember that the No Child Left Behind fiasco is a bipartisan effort that was co-authored by D-Sen. Ted Kennedy! Please think people! This is the kind of disaster that happens when you increase the role of government in our everyday life! And we want nationalized health care????? Just say NO to BIG GOVERNMENT! Poo on all of our politicians who have no real desire to represent the people, nor do they have any idea what the "average Joe" lives like! Our schools should be teaching children to love learning, at whatever level that might be for each individual child! Our parents and teachers should be working together! It should not be an "us vs. them" scenario! These idiotic tests do not allow for that! Our teachers have so much unnecessary paper work that they are unable to do what they hopefully love-TEACH!!!!

Any test that is tied to money (bonus for teachers or schools) should be abolished. It quickly becomes an issue of money not of students and certainly of learning.