But in order to achieve such equity of opportunity, parents need to be vigilant and take a stand. Parents can go to back-to-school night this fall. If the science lab contains no equipment, they should demand to know why and not wait patiently while the district hopes they forget. If their first grader was excited about going to school, but by the third day cries hysterically and says, “The teacher hates me,” his concerns should be taken seriously. If their kid’s school is test-obsessed, parents should let teachers and administrators know that they expect more of an education. If every parent was vocally fighting for the best public schools for their children—instead of some of the most involved and caring opting out in disgust—the government would be forced to listen.

Gary Stager’s article for Good Magazine is available online. There’s a lot to nod your head at, and for me, it was nostalgic to think about myself and standardized tests. They were a “once a year thing,” a little blip in the school year, when you filled in bubbles and tried your best. It was like an X-ray… no big deal, this is where you’re at, and we’ll keep going.

I just read that from a colleague of mine in another school division this year will be using their computer labs for testing this year… 25% of the time. Let’s put that into perspective. That’s more than a whole day each week devoted to testing. Less instruction, more testing. For as much as I’d like to think we’re getting better at educating, I think we’ve yet to hit a high point when it gets to be just too much.

• Monday: instruction
• Tuesday: instruction
• Wednesday: instruction
• Thursday: instruction and testing
• Friday: testing

Of course, I don’t think that means the same kids get to use the computers for instructional purposes Monday through Thurdsay, now… does it?

I have the same concerns in our own schools. With a new tool designed to test and store the test data, we’re still figuring out logistically how we’re going to pull it off with only a 2:1 ratio (students to a computer). When we do the math, who knows… it might be 25%.

Maybe Stager’s right… parents are the answer.

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