Washington State Senate revolts against teaching to the test in key vote

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2014/02/state-senate-revolts-against-teaching-to-the-test.html

er since Rodney Tom and Tim Sheldon facilitated the coup that gave Republicans control of the Washington State Senate, true bipartisanship in that body has been a rarity. Tom’s disciplined right-wing caucus have battled Senate Democrats over everything from reproductive rights to transportation choices to the state’s constitutional obligation to fully fund our public schools.

So it came as a surprise to many observers when seven Senate Republicans bolted from the right-wing caucus to kill a bill sponsored by one of their own.

Republicans brought up Senator Steve Litzow’s SB 5246, which would require school districts to link teacher evaluations to student test scores as their very last item of business before the 5 PM cutoff for non-budget bills.

The “five o’clock bill” is typically one that the majority wishes to highlight, one that the majority is confident they can pass.

Republican Senators expressed their shock that SB 5246 failed, and several media outlets shared that view. But nobody should have been surprised at this outcome.

The Senate’s rejection of SB 5246 is part of a growing national uprising against bad education policies that, in the name of data and accountability, have turned classrooms into test prep centers, eroding quality education in favor of a too-narrow and demoralizing focus on test scores.