Students In Oregon District Organizing Standardized Test Boycott

The Oregonian (2/2, Dungca) reports that a group of students in Portland, Oregon, "is urging classmates to boycott state benchmark tests, calling them a waste of resources and inaccurate measures of student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Leaders of the Portland Public Schools student union and a broader group called the Portland Student Union say students should opt out of the annual Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exams, which are used in state and federal school ratings." The piece quotes a leader of the group saying that "the tests take away valuable class time and are ultimately unfair measures for both students and teachers."