National poll finds little backlash against standards and tests
Strengthening labor at the state and local level
Team up for QuEST

National poll finds little backlash against standards and tests

A new national report from Public Agenda reveals that, contrary to many news stories, there is no widespread parental backlash against academic standards and standardized tests.

The survey of some 800 parents of K-12 public school students found that only 2 percent of parents want their districts to stop implementing higher academic standards and go back to the way things were before standards were put into place. "Based on this research--and surveys by other organizations--reports of the 'death' of the standards movement have been wildly exaggerated," says Deborah Wadsworth, president of Public Agenda, a nonpartisan research organization. "Parents with children in schools where these reforms have been instituted say their districts have been 'careful and reasonable.' They give their schools remarkably good notices on the changes they've made."

Researchers conducted additional interviews in five cities--Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles and New York--and found virtually identical levels of support for efforts to raise standards.

The report did reveal some uneasiness about the role of standardized tests in schools. While there was widespread support for using tests in a variety of ways--such as identifying struggling students in elementary schools, getting students to pay more attention and study harder because they have to pass an important test, and serving as a good way to hold schools accountable--a majority of parents strongly agree that "it's wrong to use the results of just one test to decide whether a student gets promoted or graduates."

"Very few parents discount the usefulness of standardized testing," Wadsworth notes. "But that doesn't mean districts have a free pass to institute these policies in hurtful or callous ways."

Finally, the report indicates that school districts, including some urban systems engaged in high-profile reform efforts, have not done enough to educate parents about these efforts. Even though virtually every state has undertaken standards initiatives, only 55 percent of the parents Public Agenda polled said they knew about their district's efforts to raise standards. Many parents said they don't know how many standardized tests their own child is required to take, how difficult the tests are or how much class time is spent preparing for them.

More information on the study is available online at www.publicagenda.org.

Strengthening labor at the state and local level

Whether it's fighting for fair wages and benefits, defeating harmful schemes like California's so-called paycheck protection or working to elect pro-worker, pro-union political candidates, unions have been at their strongest--and most effective--when they've stood together. The New Alliance initiative launched recently by the AFL-CIO seeks to build on that unity by strengthening the labor movement at the state and local level and boosting the participation of AFL-CIO affiliates in state federations and central labor councils. The aim is to put organized labor in an even better position to help working families and their unions meet the challenges of the 21st century.

"Over the coming years, we intend to engage every local union in this process, state by state and community by community--with a goal of creating strong new state and local organizations fully supported by every union local," says a New Alliance resolution passed at the October 1999 AFL-CIO convention.

The first stages of the New Alliance process brought together leaders at all levels of the union movement. Now, the work is moving to the state and local levels, where leadership will be asked to review the current roles, responsibilities, standards and resources of the AFL-CIO state federation and central labor councils. The first New Alliance kick-off was in New York state, where New York State United Teachers president Thomas Y. Hobart Jr. and Randi Weingarten, president of New York City's United Federation of Teachers, served on the drafting committee. The drafting committee is charged with assessing the state's labor movement and developing a program focusing on mobilization, support for organizing and contract campaigns, political action and providing a voice for working families.

North Carolina and Maryland have also begun implementing the New Alliance. AFT vice president Lorretta Johnson is on the Maryland drafting committee. One of the goals of the New Alliance, Johnson says, should be bringing more young people into the labor movement. "The only way we're going to ensure that there's a strong labor movement down the road is to reach out to young people and make sure they're educated about the movement and what it has to offer them and their families," she says.

Richard Schwarz, executive director of AFT Oregon, is on that state's drafting committee.

Team up for QuEST

More than 2,500 educators and education activists will gather in Washington, D.C., July 12-15, 2001, for the AFT's QuEST conference. The biennial professional issues conference gives classroom teachers, union leaders and others an opportunity to learn more about effective education reform initiatives. Participants will also have a chance to share and interact with colleagues from across the country and to hear from AFT president Sandra Feldman. Foremost experts in a variety of fields will be on hand to discuss the latest in educational policy.

Because local unions and individual teachers need district, parent and community support to implement proven educational practices, the AFT is once again encouraging locals to create district teams to bring to QuEST. A district-level team (up to 10 members) must be organized by the AFT local and include representatives from the union; the district's school administration; and the district school board and/or other parent, community, business or university groups.

Teams will be given ample opportunity to analyze their district's current reform efforts and discuss how to implement some of the ideas and programs. It's a perfect opportunity for locals to build or strengthen partnerships with administrators, elected leaders, parents and the community. For more details,visit the QuEST Web site.

American Federation of Teachers, AFL•CIO - 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW - Washington, DC 20001