Maya Angelou Hits Obama on School ‘Testing Overuse and Abuse’

Ask yourself the question, “Do we want the children to authentically grow or grow up into mindless measurers?” Poet and Philosopher Maya Angelou joins with Authors’ and Illustrators’, thoughtful thinkers in addressing the President. Their words of wisdom challenge the use and abuse that today we call “testing.”

Originally Published at MSNBC.

Maya Angelou hits Obama on school ‘testing overuse and abuse’ Famed author and poet Maya Angelou and 120 other children’s book authors are challenging President Obama’s national education policy over what they call an “overuse and abuse” of standardized testing. They say the focus on testing hurts children’s imaginations and has a negative impact on children’s love of reading.

Obama’s signature education program, “Race to the Top,” has been criticized for heightening the value placed on students’ performance on standardized tests as an indicator of a teacher’s success in the classroom.

As sited in the FairTest News Release on the Public Letter about Standardized Testing acclaimed poet Maya Angelou along with 120 Authors said “All children must have the freedom to grow, to evolve, to develop,” Ms Angelou, who spoke at President Obama’s inauguration verbalized the sentiment that “We parents, authors, illustrators are standing up for our children. We desperately need you and your administration to stand with us.”

The authors’ and illustrators’ letter continued, “We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes. On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers on student test scores impose more standardized exams and crowd out exploration.”

The Letter is offered below. To see the signatories travel through this link.

October 22, 2013
President Barack Obama The White House Washington, DC 20500
Download The Letter

[pdf]

Dear President Obama,

We the undersigned children’s book authors and illustrators write to express our concern for our readers, their parents and teachers. We are alarmed at the negative impact of excessive school testing mandates, including your Administration’s own initiatives, on children’s love of reading and literature. Recent policy changes by your Administration have not lowered the stakes.

On the contrary, requirements to evaluate teachers based on student test scores impose
more standardized exams and crowd out exploration.

We call on you to support authentic performance assessments, not simply computerized versions of multiple-choice exams. We also urge you to reverse the narrowing of curriculum that has resulted from a fixation on high-stakes testing.

Our public school students spend far too much time preparing for reading tests and too little time curling up with books that fire their imaginations. As Michael Morpurgo, author of the Tony Award Winner War Horse, put it, “It’s not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children.”

Teachers, parents and students agree with British author Philip Pullman who said, “We are creating a generation that hates reading and feels nothing but hostility for literature.” Students spend time on test practice instead of perusing books. Too many schools devote their library budgets to test-prep materials, depriving students of access to real literature. Without this access, children also lack exposure to our country’s rich cultural range.

This year has seen a growing national wave of protest against testing overuse and abuse. As the authors and illustrators of books for children, we feel a special responsibility to advocate for change. We offer our full support for a national campaign to change the way we assess learning so that schools nurture creativity, exploration, and a love of literature from the first day of school through high school graduation.

Photograph Source; Poetry FoundationA