WGLT
A high school history teacher in Seattle who led a successful revolt against standardized testing under Common Core initiatives says the education system perpetuates racism.
Jesse Hagopian says studies show standardized tests themselves fail miserably.
"The impact of attaching graduation requirements to exit exams in high school has been an increase in incarceration rates. We see high stakes testing is actually an integral part of the school-to-prison pipeline," Hagopian said during Sound Ideas.
Hagopian said the average student takes about 112 standardized tests between pre-K and high school.
"When you inundate the classroom with that many high stakes standardized tests, you reduce the intellectual and emotional process of teaching and learning to a single score," he added.
Hagopian said the public education system in the U. S. perpetuates racism, in part by starting with a curriculum that perpetuates myths regarding slavery.
Hagopian's talk titled "Black Education Matters" includes a Q&A on Saturday and is part of the ISU Fall Speaker Series.