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Take two simple actions right now and you will dramatically change the world.
1) Share OneDayInMay.org with your friends, local PTSA and Teachers Union.
Remember the story of the Emperor's New Clothes? One child in the crowd calling out the scam was enough to change the whole ridiculous situation.
The establishment can only maintain the status quo while the rest of us remain ignorant of the true story or quiet about our options.
2) Be informed and enlightened.
Read the sordid history of High Stakes testing. As you read, share this true, and truly dirty history with your friends.
Thank you.
You are now very dangerous to the status quo.
Ready to take more action?
Read through the following list of ideas and do a few of them with your friends:
3) Get at least five local and at least five out of state friends involved in One Day in May to ensure nationwide awareness.
Do some organizing in your school or community; it's fun and it multiplies your impact.
100 heartfelt messages will put One Day in May on any elected official's to-do list.
4) Comment on every politician's social media and publicly challenge them to pass a One Day in May law. Imagine what 100 posts/day every day would do.
Call and tell your Governor what you think of state testing.
It's easy. We've provided their phone numbers.
Ask your friends to call with you. Do it right now:)
If it's "after hours," leave a message. Waking up to a machine full of messages makes an impact on any politician.
You can adapt a message like the following:
"Our state testing program is expensive, time-consuming, and produces worthless results. (Describe any real life experience with the tests)"
"I hold you responsible because only our Governor and Legislature can rein in the Department of Education - and you haven't yet."
"If you don't pass a One Day in May law this year I will do all I can to vote you out of office."
"One Day in May state tests must be:
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Limited to one day a year,
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Paper and pencil,
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Exclusively norm-referenced questions, and
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Purchased, not "developed," for about $10/student"
"These are the types of tests that private schools choose to use for annual assessments of their students."
"Private schools don't use your state exams because they have a choice - and are accountable to parents, not bureaucrats and lobbyists."
"No parent would pay tuition to send their child to a school that wasted the time and resources that your state testing demands."
"You are not giving our public school students the same respect that private school students get."
"You are forcing a testing program on us that none of the voters would choose."
"And don't give us the lie about 'losing Federal Funding.' We know better and you're ignorant if you don't know better too."
"Stop listening to the lobbyists while patronizing the voters."
"It is time you or your staff visit OneDayinMay.org to learn more."
5) Read more about:
*Criterion- vs. norm-referenced tests,
*The scourge of computerized testing,
*The actual testing requirements under ESSA, and
*A genuine legislative lawyer-vetted One Day in May bill introduced in the Maryland Legislature, SB757, 2019 (it was killed in committee by lobbyists).
6) Print and post/hand out some flyers and bookmarks.
Print some for yourself too; they make it easy to get to OneDayInMay.org
7) Share what you are doing to advocate for students.
We can post your actions on the News page!
(OneDayInMayUSA@gmail.com)
8) Call or write your State Legislators with the same message you told your governor.
There are two groups of legislators who are most likely to care what you think:
a) The ones in your district because they want the best for their own constituents. Look up who represents you; it's based on your address.
b) Every member of the Education Committees of each house in your legislature. They are the gatekeepers who can either table a bill and prevent a full vote on the floor or approve the bill and give it a chance to become law.
You can also call/write your Governor a few more times. Don't stop at a single message:) And get 5 of your friends to do it too.
9) Start/join a petition to put One Day in May on the ballot as a citizen's initiative.
Go over the heads of the elite, the Governor and the Legislature. Give the testing choice directly to the people.
10) At some point your state board of elections will list candidates for the next election.
Find the list, contact each candidate and tell each challenger about One Day In May.
Nobody possesses the potential to keep an incumbent accountable for not passing One Day in May like the people jockeying to replace them.
11) Ultimately, the Democrat and Republican precinct and central committees enforce the agendas for their loyal candidates.
If your state still has a ridiculous state testing program then these party committee members have either been ignorant of the changes in Federal Law, ignoring parents and teachers, or have been part of the establishment that benefits from the status quo.
You can make appeals to these committees.
If they don't take decisive action, then you can take them over.
12) Check out the News tab for actions in your state and organizations you can get involved with.
Let us know of your news or organization so we can post it.
OneDayInMayUSA@gmail.com
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