TOWHOMITMAYCONCERN:

We,studentsinBoulderValleySchoolDistrict,valueoureducation,andthereforestand
infirmoppositiontotheColoradoMeasureofAcademicSuccess(CMAS)testingprogram.By
doingso,weareinnoway,shape,orform,tryingtodisturbthelearningenvironmentatanyof
ourhighschoolsorinBVSDbutratherwehopetoinitiatedialoguebetweenpolicymakersand
studentsaboutissuesthatdirectlyimpactourfutureandthefutureofeducationinColorado.

Thisyear'sCMAStestingisthepilotofastatewidetestingprogramforhighschool

seniors.TheColoradoDepartmentofEducationsAssessmentUnit,whichdealswith
standardizedtesting,planstoevaluateattheendofthisyearwhetherornotthisstandardized
testingprogramisaneffectivemeansofmeasuringstudentandteacherprogress.Weare
concernedthatifwefailtoact,studentswillbeforcedtoendurethesetestsfortheforeseeable
future.

OurgrievancesregardingColorado'sexpandedstandardizedtestingprogramareas

follows:

I.Excessivestandardizedtestingisharmfultoourlearning.

Standardizedtestingcostsvaluableteachingandlearningtime.Ourschoolislosingeight

hoursofclasstime,theequivalentofeightdaysofaclasscurriculum,inordertoadminister
CMAS.Thisdeprivesstudentsoftimetoconnectwiththeirteachersandpreparefortests,such
asAPandIBexams,whichprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytoreceivecollegecredit.The
testisparticularlydifficultforhighschoolseniors,manyofwhomareinthemidstofthecollege
applicationprocessaroundthistimeoftheyear.

Ashighschoolseniors,wearesubjecttosignificanttestingfatigue.Studentsare

mandatedtotaketheCSAPorlaterTCAPexamsfromthirdthroughtenthgrade,andtheACTin
eleventhgrade.ManyhighschoolseniorsareinthemidstofSATandSATsubjecttests,which,
unlikeCMAS,haveabearingonstudentsfuturesuccess.Atthispoint,we,whovalueour
educationandpostsecondaryreadiness,feelthatourtimehasbeendisrespectedbypolicymakers
whotreatstandardizedtests,inwhichstudentshadnoinput,asafixallsolutiontoour
educationsystem.
Furthermore,schoolsspendweeksorganizingtestingschedules,whichforces
administratorstoprioritizestandardizedtestingoverneedsoftheschoolandthestudentbody.
Addingmorestandardizedtestingonlyworsensthisproblem,areductionoflearningtimefor
testingdoesnotbettereducation.

II.TheCMASstandardsdonotrepresentthematerialtaughtinColoradohighschools.

ThecurrentCMAStestsdonotparallelColorado'shighschoolcurriculum.Colorado

highschoolstudentsarerequiredtotakeonlythreeyearsofasocialstudiesthereforemany
studentsdonottakesocialstudiesduringtheirsenioryear.TheCMASsocialstudiestest
includesaneconomicssection,buteconomicsisnotarequiredcourseforhighschoolstudentsin
thestateofColorado.Testingsomeoneonsomethingtheydonotknow,willnotteach
administratorsanything.ThegoalofCMASistogaugeourlearning,butthisisnotpossible
whenwehavenotlearned,orbeenrequiredtolearn,whatisonthetest.

III.Studieshaverepeatedlyshownthatstandardizedtestingdoesnotaccuratelymeasureteacher
orstudentperformance.

Standardizedtestinghasneverbeenanaccuratemeasureofstudentorteacher

performance,andthereisnoreasontoexpectCMAStodivergefromthetrend.

Firstly,standardizedtestingforcesteachersto"teachtothetest,therebyneglecting

students'individualizedneeds.Thecontentofstandardizedtestingrarelyreflectsthecontentthat
studentsarelearning.Onestudentremarked:"Asasophomore,Iwastakingprecalc.WhenI
camealongtotheMathTCAPandwasaskedtomakehistograms,Ihadcompletelyforgotten
them,becauseitwassomethingIhadn'tlearnedsincesixthgrade."Examsshouldntpunish
studentsforbeingabovethestandardlevel,butunfortunatelythatswhatstandardizedtesting
inColoradohasdone.

Moreover,standardizedtestingunfairlypunisheslowincomeschooldistricts.Alfie

Kohn,whohaswrittenextensivelyaboutparentingandeducation,writes:"Researchhas
repeatedlyfoundthattheamountofpovertyinthecommunitieswhereschoolsarelocated,along
withothervariableshavingnothingtodowithwhathappensinclassrooms,accountsforthe
greatmajorityofthedifferenceintestscoresfromoneareatothenext."[1]Whenlookingatthe
CMAStestingscenario,itiseasytoseewhythisoccurs.Pearson,theforprofitcorporationthat
createdtheCMAStests,recommendsthatschoolspurchasetheirtextbooksinordertohelp
studentsprepare.Forlowincomeschooldistricts,thisisoftenimpossible.[2]

CMASappearstoholdtruetothesesameproblems,andthusdoesnotprovideasound

methodtoevaluateschoolsorteachers.Forexample,theCMASsocialstudiesexamtests
studentsingeography,government,economics,andhistory.Sincethesesubjectsarebased

primarilyonrecallingfacts,thisisnotameasureoftheteachersabilitytoteach,butthestudents
abilitytorememberthus,itisunfairtofundschoolsbasedonthesemeasures.Accordingto
LaurenResnick,aleadingcognitivescientist,They[standardizedtests]tendtobecontrived
exercisesthatmeasurehowmuchstudentshavemanagedtocramintoshorttermmemory.Even
theexceptionsquestionsthattesttheabilitytoreasongenerallyfailtoofferstudentsthe
opportunity"tocarryoutextendedanalyses,tosolveopenendedproblems,ortodisplay
commandofcomplexrelationships,althoughtheseabilitiesareattheheartofhigherorder
competence.Forexample,atourhighschool,governmentandgeographyaretaughtfreshman
year.Ifstudentsdon'tshowproficiencyinthesesubjects,itisnotbecauseourteachersare
lacking,butbecausewehavenotcoveredthecontentinthreeyears.Giventhatdifferentschools
havedifferentcurriculumsanddifferentscheduling,itishardtoseehowthetestswillaccurately
measureteacherorstudentperformance.And,standardizedtestingtomentionthestudentsthat
havetransferredfromotherstatesorschooldistrictsandthuslearneddifferently.

IV.WeasstudentsaresubjectedtothesetestsatthesametimeasColoradoisseeingcutsin
educationfunding.

Coloradoschoolsarecurrentlyfacingfundingshortages,andspendingmoreon

standardizedtestsonlyaddstothedeficit.Amendment23totheColoradoConstitutionmandated
thelegislaturetoannuallyincreasethefundingforschools.Theamendmentstatedthatthe
amountoffundingaschoolreceivedwouldbecalculatedfromabaseamount,plusmorefunding
duetofactors,orvariablessuchasschooldistrictsize,localcostofliving,andthenumberof
atriskkids.Theamendmentmandatedthatthisamountmustbeincreasedbyatleast

inflationplus1%until2010,andthenbyatleasttherateofinflationafter2010.[4]However,
sincethe2008recession,lawmakershaverepeatedlyusedaloopholeinthelawcalledthe
"negativefactor."Ratherthanincludethefactorsincalculatingschoolfunding,lawmakers
allocatedfundingbasedsolelyoffthebaseamountthus,schoolfundingactuallydecreased.[5]
Furthermore,thenumberofstudentsenrolledinColorado'spublicschoolssystemhasincreased
significantlysinceAmendment23waspassed.Whenadjustingforinflation,Coloradospent6%
lessperstudentinthe2014fiscalyearthanitdidinthe2008fiscalyear.[6]

WhileColoradohascutspendingforschools,itcontinuestospendtensofmillionsof

dollarsonstandardizedtestingeachyear.[7]WhilesomefundingforCMAScamefromthe
federalgovernment,thecostsofadministeringthetestcomesfromthestatetaxpayerspockets.
Asstudents,webelievethisisanunfairarrangement.Wehavebeensubjectedtolarger
classsizes,cutstoart,music,andextracurricularactivities,andlessopportunitiesinschool.Our
rewardforputtingupwiththesedifficultiesismorestandardizedtestingwithquestionable
purposesandmonetarycosts.

V.TheCMASstandardsarecreatedbyaforprofitcorporation,noteducators.

Whilethestateallocateslessfundstowardeducation,itisspendingplentyon

standardizedtests.Pearsonisaforprofitcorporationthatmakesitsprofitfromstandardized
testinginstatessuchasColorado.In2013,itachievedsalesofoverninebilliondollars,60%of
whichcamefromtheUnitedStates.[8]

Despitetheseimmenseresources,Pearsonhashardlybeenerrorproof:

 In2009,Pearsonwasforcedtopay$9.5milliontothestateofWyoming
forcompletedefaultofthecontractaftertherolloutofcomputerized
testingfailed.[9]
In2013,incorrectscoringonaPearsontestforentranceintogiftedand
talentedprogramsinNewYorkCityledto13%ofchildrenbeing
erroneouslyrejectedfromtheprogram.[10]
Inmultiplecases,Pearsonhasfailedtoreportscoresontime,resultingin
delaysandquestionsconcerningtheaccuracyofthedataeventually
reported.[11]

Furthermore,Pearsonusesahugeeducationlobbynetworktoimplementstandardized

testingacrossthenation.AccordingtoAlanSinger,educationprofessoratHofstraUniversity,
Pearsonsnonforprofitfoundationhaspaidlocalandstateeducationcommissionerswhose
schoolsdobusinesswiththeforprofitPearsoncorporationtoattendinternationalconferencesin
RiodeJaneiro,London,Singapore,andHelsinki,wheretheymeetwithPearsonexecutives.[12]
Additionally,accordingtotheCMASwebsitefromtheColoradoDepartmentofEducation,
Pearsonactivelyencouragesschoolsto"betterprepare"forstandardizedtestingbybuying
Pearsonproducedtextbooks.ItseemsthatPearsonusesstandardizedtestingnottobenefitour
education,buttoincreasetheirprofits.Wedonotwantoureducationtobeusedasatooltoline
corporatepockets.OnlyPearsonstandstogainfromthesetests,butwelosevaluableschool
hoursandColoradotaxpayersmoneygoestowaste.

IfthecreatorsofCMASreallybelieveintheimportanceofeducation,thentheyneedto

takeastepbackfromtestscoresandlookatwhatkidsarelearning.Webelievethatthefunding
andresourcesthatareallocatedtostandardizedtestscouldbemoreeffectivelyusedtoenrichthe
schoolcoursesthemselvestobemoreinteractiveandengaging.Thisrelocationofresourceswill
ensure,moresothanCMASwill,thatstudentsaresuccessfulinmeetingacademicstandards
and,moreimportantly,inlearning.
Ratherthanstandardizedtests,letshavesmallerclasssizes.Letsfundartandmusic
classes.Letshaveaconversationabouteducationpolicythatincludesthepeoplewhoaremost
affectedbyit.LetsmakeacommitmenttofutureColoradostudentsthattheirlearningandtheir
futurearemoreimportantthantheirtesting.

Wehopethatyouwillconsiderandunderstandthattheactionswetaketoprotestthe

CMAS,arenotmeanttodisruptourlearning,butrepresentourresponsibilitytoprotectour
educationandthefutureofeducationinColorado.
Signed,
ThestudentsoftheBoulderValleySchoolDistrict

FairviewHighSchoolClassof2015
JessicaPiper
RachelPerley
ChayaWurman
NatalieGriffin
AlexCrowe
EthanKennedy
JenniferJun
DustyJaffe
SarahMyres
MichelleLedru
SydneyChinowsky

HannahChow
KseniaLepikhina
KatherineBuhl
AlexaLevine
KelseyLeeburg
SkylarSherman
AngelaFei
DavidSachs
CodyLimber
AlisonRowan
VivianWang
PatrickKerrigan
IsabellaKamrath
MichelStahli
LuciaRose
HannahKerber
IsabelleHoagland
JenniferAguilera
ConnorHoran
LilyWest
DavidKocina
HumsiniAcharya
GeorgesBrunet
HaleyRogers
MadelineHaimes
CaitlinSchwarz
SarahWoznick
KatieHughes
JanelleGoldberg
JenaBrooks
DanielIarussi
JacobMunoz
PaoloTakagiAtilano
SamaniUpadhyay
MitchTyse
JustusLeben
AlexisAshe
EmilyBollman
ConnorCantrell
MattShepherd
AndreaInvernizze
BeatrixConti
KailiMouscher
AleiRusso
AriGroobman

NinaBrown
OscarWhitney
JasonPerrin
KarstenSteinmeyer
JulietteDean
WesleyAppelhans
PaulReynerson
DavidBonan
KatieShanks
NatalieWilson
MadisonWebb
KelseyGallotte
EvanCrowell
AnnaMurphy
KaiKloepfer
MattHise
SlipperJones
HaileeBaughn
JosephineRyder
DavidPhan
LaurenKiss
JonathanSnedeker
AnnaWarm
SaraBerkelhammer
MonicaGronseth
BrianLugbill
MichaelaClyne
EmilyDevery
JinaSignorelli

CentaurusHighSchoolClassof2015

NoahClay
SamualMcCallum
ThorsenMilton
NicoleRosen
AustinMiller
AmberLawton
RichardShaub
JuliaCorne
BryanMcCarty
MichlynRomero
JohnCooperMcCormick

ChencharXiong
MaddyLove
MerrittShepherd
IsraelMiles
MaxineBrown
AaronWilkinsCrowder
SamVideon
RavenChacon
JustinLavell
KatieHaynes
BradyTobin
ErinJenkins
MattDeckler

BroomfieldHighSchoolClassof2015

GraceDiamond
AngelicaGutierrez
IvyRosen
TaylorKindle
DanielleWolf
CiaraJaramillo
MeganAbel
Brittanyfrost
EmilyGordon
LoriHaydon
DrewSessions
TaylorDonohue
CharlotteWolsleben
MackenzieEkstrand
FallynReed
MackenzieEkstrand
JordynMalmstrom
NickTuhoski
AmandaBump
KatherineStirling

AndBVSDunderclassmenwhobelieveinthecause:

AbigailDorn
MelanieSawyer
EmersonKarshLombardo
ReaganBartholomew
JadeSnyder
AndrewChoi
CaraPeterson
PriyankaKarki
MasonFerguson
BenBrooks
BrendanLutes
SydneyKeenan

TaylorSunset
TamaraWurman
LibbyWilliams
ZacharySun

Endnotes

[1]Kohn,Alfie."Thecaseagainststandardizedtesting:raisingthescores,ruiningtheschools."TheUniversityofWest
Georgia.N.p.Web.Accessed22October
2014.<http://teacherrenewal.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/Testing,%20Testing,%20Testing.pdf.>

[2]Broussard,Meredith."WhyPoorSchoolsCantWinatStandardizedTesting."TheAtlantic.N.p.15July2014.
Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/07/whypoorschoolscantwinatstandardizedtesting/374287/.>

[3]Kohn,Alfie."Thecaseagainststandardizedtesting:raisingthescores,ruiningtheschools."TheUniversityofWest
Georgia.N.p.Web.Accessed22October
2014.<http://teacherrenewal.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/Testing,%20Testing,%20Testing.pdf.>

[4]"LearningTogether:AssessingColoradosK12EducationSystem."CenterforEducationPolicyAnalysis
attheGraduateSchoolofPublicAffairs.UniversityofColoradoatDenver.October2006.Web.AccessedOctober22,
2014.
<http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/SPA/BuechnerInstitute/Centers/CEPA/Publications/Documents/Learnin
gTogether.Oct%2006.pdf.>

[5]Torres,Zahira."GroupsuingColoradoover$1billioncutinschoolfunding."TheDenverPost.N.p.27June2014.
Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26046666/groupfilessuitagainstcoloradooverschoolfunding.>

[6]Leachman,MichaelandChrisMai."MostStatesFundingSchoolsLessThanBeforetheRecession."Centeron
BudgetandPolicyPriorities.N.p.20May2014.Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4011.>

[7]Wetzel,Mike."Coloradoteachersconcernedbyexcessivetesting."ColoradoEducationAssociation.N.p.18
February2014.Web.Accessed23October2014.
<http://www.coloradoea.org/resources/associationnews/2014/02/19/testing.>

[8]Singer,Alan."PearsonRakesintheProfit."HuffingtonPost.N.p.19May2013.Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alansinger/pearsoneducationprofits_b_2902642.html.>

[9]Solochek,Jeff."Pearsonproblemsnothingnewintestingworld."TampaBayTimes.N.p.18May2011.Web.
Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/pearsonproblemsnothingnewtestingworld.>

[10]Figueroa,Alyssa."8ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutCorporationsLikePearsonthatMakeHugeProfitsfrom
StandardizedTests."AlterNet.N.p.6August2013.Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.alternet.org/education/corporationsprofitstandardizedtests.>

[11]Solochek,Jeff."Problems,problemseverywherewithPearson'stestingsystem."TampaBayTimes.N.p.17May
2011.Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/content/problemsproblemseverywherepearsonstestingsystem.>

[12]Singer,Alan."PearsonRakesintheProfit."HuffingtonPost.N.p.19May2013.Web.Accessed22October2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alansinger/pearsoneducationprofits_b_2902642.html.>