Oregon Live – Editorial
“It may seem like overkill at first. A test for kindergartners in their first week at school? After all, don’t 5-year-olds have enough anxiety to deal with just making the transition to school? Has the testing culture grown so out of whack that we want to measure and label kids who are just starting their school years? That’s the debate leading some parents to seek to opt their children out of the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment, which will be given for the third year in a row statewide. Oregon Save Our Schools, the same group that backed a larger movement to excuse older students from taking statewide standardized tests, has been campaigning against the kindergarten assessments as well, with wild warnings of kids being unfairly judged and preschools being pressured to ensure their 4- and 5-year-olds do well or face the prospect of being shut down. But in reality, the assessment is hardly the high-stakes exam that opponents suggest. Opting out would be a shortsighted move that not only hurts efforts to boost low-income and disadvantaged students, but also sends students the message that schoolwork is optional.”(more)