CTA's State Council of Education has decided to explore legal avenues for establishing a moratorium on state testing until tests, standards, frameworks and curricula are aligned and until teachers have meaningful participation in the development and administration of the tests.
"Testing is having such a deleterious impact not only on our members but on all of our students that we need to go on record as saying, 'Stop,'" said Mary Ann Pacheco, a member of the Rio Hondo Community College chapter of the Community College Association. "We need to say to the governor, to the Legislature and to the people of California that it's not working and we need to stop it."
Delegates expressed concern that testing is detracting from the time allotted for the delivery of the required curriculum and that decisions are being made on the basis of a single test score that could have a major impact on students' lives.
On a related matter, Council delegates took the stand that state monies should be used to provide resources that will help all students meet statewide standards rather than reward individual students based on the results of a test.
Delegates argued that individual student reward incentives for achievement on Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Golden State Exam, Stanford 9 or any state-mandated tests constitute a policy of inequity.
At the March meeting, Council also went on record as opposing efforts to tie teacher compensation to student test scores or standards.
On other issues confronting the profession, Council took the following stands:
- A student, once participating in a teacher preparation or induction program, should not be held liable for changes enacted in credential or induction requirements.
- A new professional life credential should be issued when a teacher completes the recommended course of professional development and two five-year renewals. Teachers must be provided ongoing access to up-to-date research and information on student learning, curriculum, instructional practices, and content and performance standards.
Council took a position supporting the STRS position on creditable compensation and current proposed legislation, as well as the STRS proposal to fund Medicare A for retirees.
Council also adopted revisions in CTA's higher education policies regarding intellectual property rights, contract education, hiring procedures, staffing overload, and performance-based funding.