Archived Issue Archived Front Page of TCLA - Vol.2, No.5 - Safe Schools & Fair Tests Issue (6/1/02)
[banner begin] Teaching to Change LA An online journal
of IDEA UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education,
and Access An Educational Bill of Rights Vol.2, No.1-10 2001-2002 [banner end]
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UCLA/IDEA
Students' Bill of Rights Declaración de los derechos de los estudiantes
I. Clear Standards
II. Appropriate Materials
III. Adequate Facilities
IV. Quality Teachers
V. College Prep
VI. Safe Schools
VII. Fair Tests
VIII. Home Language
IX. Rights Information
X. Public Forums
 I. Expectativas claras
II. Materiales apropiados
III. Edificios adecuados
IV. Maestros de calidad
V. Preparación para la universidad
VI. Escuelas seguras
VII. Exámenes justos
VIII. Lenguaje materno
IX. Información sobre sus derechos
X. Foros públicos
Take Action to Secure Your Rights!
The Latest
June 1, 2002
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 Los Angeles and San Francisco School Boards Challenge Standardized Testing
Two of California's biggest school districts take steps to eliminate standardized testing.

Visit the Archive of "The Latest"
........ Special Feature in this Issue ......
Photo: Students at Doubletree Protest © 2002, Tina Urrutia
In Solidarity with the DoubleTree Hotel Workers
Right #7 Features
Students' Right to Safe Schools
Features in Part 1 of this Double Issue:
Photo: Rocio Córdoba Safe Schools: Sexual Harassment and Students' Rights
"Sexual Harassment in schools is a very serious issue," states ACLU attorney Rocio Córdoba who discusses students' right to an environment free from sexual harassment and her new advocacy organization, the Latina Rights Project.

Interviewed by Solange Castro Belcher
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Photo: UCLA-LOSH participant Making the Difference
UCLA-LOSH has created "Safe Jobs for Youth (SJFY)" to give young people tools to promote workplace safety.
"Every six minutes somewhere in the U.S. a teen is injured seriously enough to go to a hospital, or emergency room."

by Marianne Brown & Laurie Kominski of UCLA-LOSH
Towards A Humanizing Approach to School Safety

"We need to provide the kind of guidance, support and assistance that recognizes the student as a human being."

by Teresa Viramontes, Santa Monica Community Liason

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Student Voices
 Logan Street Elementary: On School Safety
Third grade students from Logan Street Elementary comment on the places in their school where they feel the most safe and the least safe.
"I wish I could feel safe everywhere, but I only feel safe in the classroom."

Student Voices
 Public Safety and Public Art:
An Interview with Barrio Artist Edgar Mora, 11th Grader, Lincoln Senior High School
"People think if it's not in a frame in a museum, that it's not art. Some emotions are too big to be put on paper."

Interviewed by Manuel Espinosa
Read other issues of TCLA:
< The Digital Divide - Spring 2001 >
< Democracy 2000 - Fall 2000 >
Photo: CEJ Protest Banner
Issue #5
~ Every Student Deserves Safe Schools & Fair Testing
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Educators and students are taking a stand against high stakes tests. This issue of TCLA reports on their experiences and the evidence that these tests undermine learning, harm students, and exacerbate racial and economic inequality. Teaching to Change LA joins these activists in arguing for all students to have authentic and appropriate assessments of their learning--assessments that would A) Allow students to demonstrate their competence in meaningful and authentic tasks and skills; B) Give teachers information about students' learning so that they can design the best lessons and provide targeted support; C) Communicate to parents and students about student progress towards academic goals. (To continue click here.)

- John Rogers, Associate Director, IDEA
Right #7 Features
Students' Right to Fair Testing
Features in Part 2 of this Double Issue
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Interview with Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) Leader, Alex Caputo-Pearl
Alex Caputo-Pearl, a teacher at Crenshaw High School and a member of the CEJ Steering Committee, spoke to Teaching to Change LA about the effects of testing and what students, teachers and parents can do to protest standardized testing.
"What (standardized testing) often leads to, especially in schools that are most stigmatized by low scores, is teachers teaching to the test, which is also a narrowing of the curriculum."
Interviewed by Solange Castro Belcher
CEJ Calls for Students, Parents, and Teachers to Support a Motion on High Stakes Testing at the May 28th LAUSD Board Meeting.
Voices from CEJ's April 18th Protest at Washington Prep High School
Santa Monica High students Sebastian Cantero and Angela Rívera conducted interviews with students, teachers and community members at the April 18th protest.
"...the kids that are learning a second language are at a disadvantage because most kids don't have a proficient enough level of English to even understand, let alone take, the test."
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What do LA teachers think about standardized testing?
"Standardized testing? There is nothing standard about the students I teach. Each is different, and thinks and know differently. Standardized testing is a fallacy."

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Photo: Sonia Hernández Sonia Hernández, President and CEO of Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement, Discusses the SAT-9 and Norm-Referenced Tests
"When the state board adopted the SAT 9, Harcourt told them you can’t use this to make high stakes decisions. The publishers told the state the limitations of the test and the state chose to act regardless of the information given."

Interviewed by Solange Castro Belcher
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Color
Interview with Bill Wetzel, Founder of Students Against Testing (SAT)
"One of the most effective tactics is to boycott the exam. Boycotts are effective because the media loves them, and it gives the state a strong signal about how teachers, students and parents feel about testing."

Interviewed by Solange Castro Belcher
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Press Release: Benefits of High-Stakes Testing Programs Questioned
A study by David C. Berliner and Audrey L. Amrein at Arizona State University concludes that standardized testing policy frequently "results in structural and institutional mechanisms that discriminate against all of America’s poor and many of America's minority students."

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Next Issue: Students' Bill of Rights Youth Summit
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Our next issue will feature work from students and teachers participating in our Youth Summit on June 7th, 2002.