***Open to the Public: Please Disseminate Widely***
Dear Friends, Students and Colleagues:
Want to share this virtual panel presentation that Dr. Ricardo Rosa—on behalf of Uniting to Save Our Schools (USOS) and organizations in solidarity with them—has organized an important event. Dr. Rosa works at the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Register here to attend the event via Zoom on Wednesday, February 8th from 6-7:30PM CST / 7-8:30PM EST / 4-5:30PM PST.
I am so very honored to appear on this panel with Congressman Jamaal Bowman and such great scholars and advocates addressing, as the title says, the "Moral Injuries and Oppressive Impacts of High-Stakes Tests." Boy, do we know all about this here in Texas.
Though not necessarily in this order on the day of, here is the presentation lineup:
- Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Educational Leadership and Policy,University of Texas at Austin
- Wayne Au, Ph.D., School of Educational Studies, University of Washington Bothell
- Congressman Jamaal Bowman, 16th Congressional District of New York
- Deborah McCarthy, Vice President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and long-time conscientious objector to administering the state test
- Harry Feder, Executive Director, National Center for Fair and Open Testing (or FairTest)
To prepare for this event, I encourage everyone to read this earlier blog post titled, "Why the Academic Achievement Gap is a Racist Idea By Ibram X. Kendi." Check out the FairTest website, too, as they have carried the water on the battle against high-stakes testing at the national level for decades. Test-based entrance exams like the SAT and ACT, in higher education, as well.
Finally, if you're in Texas and want to know what we're advocating for here in the context of the 88th Session of the Texas State Legislature currently underway, check out the Raise Your Hand Texas Legislative Agenda.
-Angela Valenzuela
