PORTLAND, Ore. (TND) — Standardized testing is rooted in "white supremacy" and has been "weaponized" against students, according to some on the Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) state board.
ODE hosted a virtual "work group" meeting on Monday called "Work Group on Equitable and Racially Responsive Balanced Assessment" led byODE Director of Assessment Dan Farley.
Farley begins the conversation by discussing what he calls the "truth" of standardized testing being rooted in white supremacy, something he feels needs to be accepted by Oregon's education system.
While Farley admits it's likely impossible to completely remove standardized testing, he says communities "whom state assessment results have been weaponized against" can actively participate in educational policy development and it is possible for educational assessment practices to become "active anti-racist levers."
We need standardization in order for test results to be comparable, but I do think it’s a question that’s worthy of interrogation," Farley says. "It’s not a question that I, as a White male, should come out and answer, whether I have an opinion on it or not.Farley has previously spoken on the removal of perceived "racist policies" in Oregon's educational system. In September, Farley cited a book titled"How to be an AntiRacist" by Ibram X. Kendi, who Fox News calls a "prominent critical race theory advocate."
[Kendi] reminds us that ‘anti-racist actions must remove racist policies,’" Farley says during the September meeting "So the policies must first be identified, either because they contain racist content or they contribute to racist outcomes. And while most of our state assessment requirements in Oregon are federally based and federal statute, the state board and the assessment team are critical in that discussion, given the influence maintained over policies and practices in Oregon schools.During the September meeting, Farley states his goal of disrupting racist policies in the educational system of Oregon.
We’re working to identify racist policies and practices that we can influence so we can disrupt them," Farley declares. "We are going to everything we can to disrupt them.ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmp5mknryvedaoqaWcX5mysa3RraSepqRivKd5xJ2snJmknryvecinZKiqlZy8r3nLoqWkq12owaK6w5qpnaGqmrFuwMSsq6Kml2LBsHnWoaCtnV2owrG%2BxKaYnLFdqLCpu86lZKyspZmyr8CMq5icoaOierOtwqKqrWWgpLmqr9hmp6ikmZi2pr%2BMqJueZaekv6x5xqumrqhdma6vecWaqaWdqQ%3D%3D