Recent Articles
School Boards Represent Parents or Government?
When you voted for your school board members did you elect them to represent you or the federal government? I’ll bet you thought they represented you, huh? Well, it seems that some school boards feel their responsibility is to answer to the federal government first… and parents second. The Pocatello/Chubbuck School district is leading that charge. They recently submitted a resolution to the […]
National Coalition Speaks Out Against ESEA Reauthorization
Several Idaho Groups signed on to this letter. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 13, 2015 In a coast to coast effort, parent and citizen groups, resisting the national and federal takeover of standards, testing, curriculum, and student data collection via Race to the Top and Common Core standards, are loudly voicing their concerns and opposition to […]
Eight County Hearings Scheduled
In August this letter along with enough signatures from eight counties was sent to the Idaho State Department of Education. Dear State Board of Education and State Department of Education, The citizens listed in the following signature pages are asking for a public hearing in regards to the proposed rules regarding education in : […]
Call Congress TODAY!!!
I have been out of town so I am late in posting this. Please take a moment to call Representatives Labrador and Simpson, tell them to please vote no on this legislation. TODAY!!! While you’re at it, you can use the same phone number to contact Senators Risch and Crapo. Ask them to vote no […]
Free Market Education Is Not What Charter Schools Offer
Many people see charter schools as the answer to many of the ills our public school system faces. They’ve been promoted and upheld as filling the need for parental choice in education. Before I begin, I feel the need to give you a little of my background regarding charters. In the recent past, I was […]
Bullying Tactics
By Stacey Knudsen The SBAC (ISAT 2.0) testing is upon us! Parents tried very hard with the help of Representative Nate to get a bill, similar to other states that would have allowed us to opt-out of this test. This bill did not even receive a fair hearing. It was blocked in two different committees […]
The Common Core Conspiracy
Opponents of Common Core get called a lot of names, most of which can be distilled down to one idea; conspiracy theorists. Legislators, newspaper articles, even friends, neighbors and family members have been known to poke fun at grassroots activists. However, there’s a problem when we have the documentation to back up the conspiracy. Suddenly the theory becomes […]
No Validity or Reliability = No Assessment!
Parents across the state are being told that they have no ability to refuse the SBAC (ISAT 2.0) assessment for their child. School districts and the State Dept. of Education persistently point out that, as a state, we are required to test 95% of the student population per No Child Left Behind and our No […]
Validity and Reliability Correction
I was wrong! I don’t know if even this bold confession will please some people, but I made a mistake and I need to correct it. From IDAPA page 24: Any assessment used for federal reporting shall be independently reviewed for reliability, validity, and alignment with the Idaho Content Standards. In February, I wrote a […]
The $10Million Question
Now that testing season has begun there are a lot of threats going around about what is going to happen if Idaho doesn’t reach the 95% testing requirement in No Child Left Behind and the NCBL Waiver. When I asked some very pointed questions to the State Department of Education I received this reply, “If you are […]
