Angry About ILEARN? Write Your Legislators
Who do we trust? Our kids' teachers, or testing companies? Our kids' teachers, or the appointed State Board of Education? The educators who converse with, challenge, and listen to children, who celebrate their personal successes and spark their curiosity and love of learning--or a standardized test?
During the current legislative session, there have been a few bills that are being pushed through (HB 1001, HB 1002, SB 2) that hold schools and teachers harmless from ILEARN scores. HOWEVER, do they hold our children harmless from the hours lost from preparing and taking the test. The hours lost, which results in a narrowing of curriculum and endless drilling of material that does not cater to the whole child.
If you are angry about how ILEARN is used to paint a negative picture of schools, here is a possible template of a letter. Please feel free to use if you would like! And please, please, communicate with your legislators.
Here it is:
Dear <state senator or representative>,
I’m writing as a parent of <X number> of kids in public school in <Indiana county>. My kids and I are tired of ISTEP, ISTEP+, and now ILEARN. <Optional statement about child’s stress about the test.> I am offended by the inaccurate picture that this recent ILEARN test gives of what kids are learning.
This is what I value at my kids’ schools: <personalize with what you value...community? caring and knowledgeable teachers? interesting projects?>. My kids are learning <xxx> and <xxx>. They like <xxx> about school.
Standardized tests only measure a small portion of what my kids are learning, and the cut scores are arbitrary and demeaning. Enough with ranking and sorting children. The legislature has a responsibility to support our public schools equitably by providing a budget that ensures highly trained teachers, school librarians, counselors, speech therapists, social workers, and school nurses, with extra attention and staff for schools that serve high-need populations. I hope you agree that all our schools need resources to provide not just great staff, but also healthy food and extracurricular opportunities that deepen and extend classroom learning.
Indiana needs to stop wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on standardized tests. High-stakes tests give little useful data about individual children. They mainly reflect the degree of affluence or poverty in the communities served by schools. I call on you to put an end to the A-F grading system for schools, which punishes low-income communities and pressures all schools to narrow the curriculum.
I support my schools. I support my kids’ teachers. I reject the ILEARN results, and I ask you to reject the failed experiment of high-stakes testing.
Sincerely,
<parent name>
<optional: address>
During the current legislative session, there have been a few bills that are being pushed through (HB 1001, HB 1002, SB 2) that hold schools and teachers harmless from ILEARN scores. HOWEVER, do they hold our children harmless from the hours lost from preparing and taking the test. The hours lost, which results in a narrowing of curriculum and endless drilling of material that does not cater to the whole child.
If you are angry about how ILEARN is used to paint a negative picture of schools, here is a possible template of a letter. Please feel free to use if you would like! And please, please, communicate with your legislators.
Here it is:
Dear <state senator or representative>,
I’m writing as a parent of <X number> of kids in public school in <Indiana county>. My kids and I are tired of ISTEP, ISTEP+, and now ILEARN. <Optional statement about child’s stress about the test.> I am offended by the inaccurate picture that this recent ILEARN test gives of what kids are learning.
This is what I value at my kids’ schools: <personalize with what you value...community? caring and knowledgeable teachers? interesting projects?>. My kids are learning <xxx> and <xxx>. They like <xxx> about school.
Standardized tests only measure a small portion of what my kids are learning, and the cut scores are arbitrary and demeaning. Enough with ranking and sorting children. The legislature has a responsibility to support our public schools equitably by providing a budget that ensures highly trained teachers, school librarians, counselors, speech therapists, social workers, and school nurses, with extra attention and staff for schools that serve high-need populations. I hope you agree that all our schools need resources to provide not just great staff, but also healthy food and extracurricular opportunities that deepen and extend classroom learning.
Indiana needs to stop wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on standardized tests. High-stakes tests give little useful data about individual children. They mainly reflect the degree of affluence or poverty in the communities served by schools. I call on you to put an end to the A-F grading system for schools, which punishes low-income communities and pressures all schools to narrow the curriculum.
I support my schools. I support my kids’ teachers. I reject the ILEARN results, and I ask you to reject the failed experiment of high-stakes testing.
Sincerely,
<parent name>
<optional: address>
Find Your Legislators
You can find your specific legislators here.
Better yet, send a message to the House Education Committee and Senate Education and Career Development Committee
House Education Committee
Send an email to ALL committee legislators here.
Or you can just cut and paste:
h91@in.gov, h32@in.gov, h58@in.gov, h72@in.gov, h5@in.gov, h29@in.gov, h17@in.gov, h69@in.gov, h28@in.gov, h14@in.gov, h86@in.gov, h27@in.gov, h43@in.gov
Members of the House Education Committee for 2019
Chair: Rep. Robert Behning - h91@in.gov
Vice Chair: Rep. Anthony Cook - h32@in.gov
Rep. Woody Burton - h58@in.gov
Rep. Edward Clere - h72@in.gov
Rep. Dale DeVon - h5@in.gov
Rep. Chuck Goodrich - h29@in.gov
Rep. Jack Jordan - h17@in.gov
Rep. Jim Lucas - h69@in.gov
Rep. Jeffrey Thompson - h28@in.gov
Rep. Vernon Smith - h14@in.gov
Rep. Edward DeLaney - h27@in.gov
Rep. Sheila Klinker - h27@in.gov
Rep. Tonya Pfaff - h43@in.gov
Senate Education and Career Development Committee
Send an email to ALL committee legislators here.
Or you can just cut and paste:
S27@iga.in.gov, S7@iga.in.gov, S24@iga.in.gov, S32@iga.in.gov, S14@iga.in.gov, S42@iga.in.gov, S11@iga.in.gov, S20@iga.in.gov, S3@iga.in.gov, S1@iga.in.gov, S40@iga.in.gov
Members of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee for 2019
Chair: Sen. Jeff Raatz - s27@iga.in.gov Vice Chair: Sen. John Crane - S7.iga.in.gov
Sen. Brian Buchanan - S24@iga.in.gov
Sen. Aaron Freeman - S32@iga.in.gov
Sen. Dennis Kruse - S14@iga.in.gov
Sen. Jean Leising - S42@iga.in.gov
Sen. Linda Rogers - S11@iga.in.gov
Sen. Victoria Spartz - S20@iga.in.gov
Sen. Eddie Melton - S3@iga.in.gov
Sen. Frank Mrvan - S1@iga.in.gov
Sen. Mark Stoops - S40@iga.in.gov
Send a Letter to the Governor, or Phone Him
Office of the Governor is located at 200 W. Washington St., Rm. 206, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone Number: 317-232-4567
—Jenny Robinson
Chair, Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County
Better yet, send a message to the House Education Committee and Senate Education and Career Development Committee
House Education Committee
Send an email to ALL committee legislators here.
Or you can just cut and paste:
h91@in.gov, h32@in.gov, h58@in.gov, h72@in.gov, h5@in.gov, h29@in.gov, h17@in.gov, h69@in.gov, h28@in.gov, h14@in.gov, h86@in.gov, h27@in.gov, h43@in.gov
Members of the House Education Committee for 2019
Chair: Rep. Robert Behning - h91@in.gov
Vice Chair: Rep. Anthony Cook - h32@in.gov
Rep. Woody Burton - h58@in.gov
Rep. Edward Clere - h72@in.gov
Rep. Dale DeVon - h5@in.gov
Rep. Chuck Goodrich - h29@in.gov
Rep. Jack Jordan - h17@in.gov
Rep. Jim Lucas - h69@in.gov
Rep. Jeffrey Thompson - h28@in.gov
Rep. Vernon Smith - h14@in.gov
Rep. Edward DeLaney - h27@in.gov
Rep. Sheila Klinker - h27@in.gov
Rep. Tonya Pfaff - h43@in.gov
Senate Education and Career Development Committee
Send an email to ALL committee legislators here.
Or you can just cut and paste:
S27@iga.in.gov, S7@iga.in.gov, S24@iga.in.gov, S32@iga.in.gov, S14@iga.in.gov, S42@iga.in.gov, S11@iga.in.gov, S20@iga.in.gov, S3@iga.in.gov, S1@iga.in.gov, S40@iga.in.gov
Members of the Senate Education and Career Development Committee for 2019
Chair: Sen. Jeff Raatz - s27@iga.in.gov Vice Chair: Sen. John Crane - S7.iga.in.gov
Sen. Brian Buchanan - S24@iga.in.gov
Sen. Aaron Freeman - S32@iga.in.gov
Sen. Dennis Kruse - S14@iga.in.gov
Sen. Jean Leising - S42@iga.in.gov
Sen. Linda Rogers - S11@iga.in.gov
Sen. Victoria Spartz - S20@iga.in.gov
Sen. Eddie Melton - S3@iga.in.gov
Sen. Frank Mrvan - S1@iga.in.gov
Sen. Mark Stoops - S40@iga.in.gov
Send a Letter to the Governor, or Phone Him
Office of the Governor is located at 200 W. Washington St., Rm. 206, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone Number: 317-232-4567
—Jenny Robinson
Chair, Indiana Coalition for Public Education–Monroe County