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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Chris Honoré: Reality television and the GOP primaries ... Mural of rescued horses to be unveiled in Talent ... Designer creates spaces for people to have experiences ... Chris Honoré: Reality television and the GOP primaries ... Mural of rescued horses to be unveiled in Talent ... Designer creates spaces for people to have experiences ... Neal Simon: This is a test Comment By Neal Simon More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Neal Simon More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 9:09 AM By Neal Simon More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 9:09 AM » Social News April 2015. Years from now, it may be remembered as the month New York’s public education train finally went off the tracks for good. The month began with the state Legislature acquiescing to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s radical teacher reform proposals in exchange for the governor agreeing to drastically underfund New York’s public education system. The month is ending with hundreds of thousands of New York school children “opting out” of critical state assessments in math and English — a protest, by parents, against the national Common Core learning standards and “high stakes” testing. The opt-out tally is more than 300,000, according to United to Counter the Core. That’s a large, embarrassing number for state and federal leaders who brought Common Core to New York, but don’t worry about that. They’re sure not. Instead of expressing distress with the opt-outers, these same legislative leaders are cheering them on. Both the state Senate and Assembly are considering legislation that would guarantee parents’ right to refuse federally mandated standardized testing for their children. There are signs of ambivalence in some education circles. Teachers were burned by Common Core: blindsided by the mishandled roll-out, constricted because of the rigid modules. Good will is not existent. The opt-out bandwagon will soon be standing room only. Congressman Tom Reed has climbed aboard. He made his position clear, sort of: “Tests are hard, I hated them too,” he told reporters. Nah, he didn’t really say that. But his actual words did set a high bar for political pandering. Reed hit the punch list of evil, sure to conjure a visceral, angry response from every reader: “Common Core,” “bureaucrat,” “test,” “Washington,” “Albany.” I’m surprised he didn’t work in “ISIS.” “Tens of thousands of parents have already opted their children out of required public school testing, a protest against Common Core curriculum and the philosophy of ‘teaching to the test.’ This action has sent a clear message to lawmakers: parents should decide what is in their child’s best interest, not bureaucrats in Albany or Washington,” Reed said in a press release. Nobody likes bureaucrats, especially tricky test-writing bureaucratic functionaries from yucky, Godless Albany. Have you ever been in that town? I have, barely escaping with my life after a wild, 80 mph ride through downtown while sitting in the back seat of a taxi. Compared to Albany, Sodom and Gomorrah are like Disneyland. I’m sure glad we have an expert like Reed around to explain the worthlessness of exams. For a time there, I had fallen under the sway of a Common Core Svengali — the sort of test-promoting bureaucrat that we need to drive out of our public schools. Resorting to fancy, two syllable words, Arkport Superintendent Dr. Glenn Niles used this space a couple of weeks ago and tried to pull a fast one over district parents. Just one caution before you read further. Dr. Niles uses red flag words like “skills,” “knowledge,” “learning,” and, worst of all, “standardized.” “Standardized tests serve as an objective assessment of all students at a particular grade level and as a measuring stick of students’ understanding of the skills and knowledge embodied in the New York State Learning Standards. Without standardized testing, there is no way to compare students in one school or district with students in other schools and other locations, or against any objective measure of achievement.” That’s enough from you, Dr. Niles! And by the way, what kind of doctor are you? A doctor of deception is what I think. Or maybe you are the only reasonable man left in the room. Curiously, there is one large group of people who have been completely ignored. They are not being praised by their congressman. There are no bills of support in the Legislature. I am talking about the millions of children who were not opted out by their parents. They survived six days of exams. In the current environment, they are the rebels. Neal Simon is the city editor of The (Hornell, N.Y.) Evening Tribune. By Neal Simon More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Neal Simon More Content Now Posted Apr. 30, 2015 at 9:09 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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