Center for Immigrant Families: High Stakes Testing

by Diane Smith

On May 8th, I was at Riverside Church where Center for Immigrant Families and The Foundry Theatre put on a performance on High Stakes Testing in NYC.

I am grateful to have attended this event. It's another avenue for this extremely important dialogue.

I met parents, students, college professors, college students, some new teachers and not so new. I am encouraged by the experience of meeting and networking with others who are concerned about the direction education is taking in NYC and our country.

After the show there was an engaging discussion between the audience, the writer, and the performers. Eager to share the message on the dangers of High Stakes Testing, a parent asked if the performance would be made available on film. There was no copy available but the presenters noted the request and said they would look into making it available in the future.

I hope you all get a chance to see the work these talented folks have done on this vitally important issue in education. A presentation like this would be a great tool for school communities who are worried about the effects High Stakes Standardized Tests have on their lives. There may be a video copy of the performance out soon so -- stay tuned!