A conference on the impact of standardized evaluation on education in the Americas was held in Mexico City February 19-21. It was organized by the IDEA Network (Initiative for Democratic Education in the Americas) with representatives from 13 countries throughout the hemisphere participating. The primary objective of the conference was to collectively construct an understanding of the impact of standardized testing on public education, share stories of resistance to such testing and alternatives generated by education organizations throughout the Americas. The following is a speech given by Steve Miller, a teacher activist from the Oakland public schools:

Six days after he took office, Barack Obama was bored, sitting around the White House. At least, that's how he tells it. So he and Michelle decided to take off and drop in on a school. So they picked Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, DC.

Obama could have gone to one of the city's long-struggling ghetto schools, perhaps one which is being threatened with closure. He could have reaffirmed his support for the historic demand for equal, quality public education that drove the struggle for Civil Rights. He did neither.

By attending a charter school, Obama openly demonstrated support for one of the tools of social engineering that are being used to batter public schools and drive them towards privatization. Testing is the other major weapon. continue...