More public discussion on NECAP, sans Board of Ed

Coaching a fantasy sports team is much different from being at the helm of a real club. One deals solely with statistics while the other has to factor in people. In addition, fantasy sports are guided by yesterday while real teams have to confront the here and now. If you believe that folks running fantasy teams are ready for the National Football League, you may be disappointed. The same argument is in play when it comes to standardized tests and educating young people. Are we running a fantasy league here where points mean more than people? Are we on the verge of drafting superintendents whose districts have the highest NECAP scores for our fantasy school systems? This might be fun for some, but for many kids it’s a disaster.

On Wednesday, October 2nd a number of folks from around the state met at Warwick City Hall to participate in a forum concerning the NECAP and standardized testing. Opinions were offered, PowerPoints were discussed and there was plenty of passion to go around.

But the big thing that occurred was that the general public got to participate. No two-minute time limits and audience members actually got responses to their questions. This allowed for lively discussion and an opportunity to hear both sides of the issue.

And guess what? We’re not done. Following the forum, numerous people came forward and requested that additional forums be conducted around the state. Sounds good to us.

At this time, Providence and Newport will be sites for future discussions and others will be added as requests come in. The Providence Student Union, the RI ALCU and other advocacy groups have done a wonderful job bringing this issue to the forefront. We believe that their concerns need to be discussed on a statewide level. In short, we are looking to take the discussion out of the Board room and bring it to Main Street. Stay tuned for further details.