From Peg With Pen:
"Currently it's Spring of 2016 and we are in the thick of Opt Out."
"Opt out is still surrounded by intense bullying and harassment by school district employees (I anticipate that this will grow unfortunately). But, the good news is that the Opt Out Movement continues to increase in numbers. Opt Out, the People's Movement, grows by the day - and thank god for that because the work ahead of us is daunting. "
"Here’s why. Opt out has been completely co-opted. However, also understand that co-optation is typical when people are attempting to create a revolution. The .01% will co-opt in any way they can in order to gain leverage. They will use pawns to help create co-optation and compromise. These pawns who receive corporate funding will continue to push corporate ideology - which right now means singing the praises of ESSA."
"And the passage of ESSA means that the end of year test eventually could become passé. ESSA is pushing for online, daily testing - testing that is embedded inside online curriculum. Children will now be subjected to online modules in which they must master something before moving on to the next online module. It might be called personalized learning, mastery learning, proficiency-based testing, competency-based education, innovative assessments, and more. ESSA is pushing for these online assessment systems, as is ALEC, and the many foundations and organizations that are hoping to cash in."
"As Stephen Krashen states: Competency-based education is not just a testing program. It is a radical and expensive innovation that replaces regular instruction with computer "modules" that students work through on their own. It is limited to what can be easily taught and tested by computer, and is being pushed by computer and publishing companies that will make substantial profits from it."
"Not only are they pushing for daily online testing and curriculum, they are pushing for people to DROP the end of the year test. Who knew! They support Opt Out!"
"Meanwhile..............."
"Everyone , and their mother, will quietly guide the states and districts to assist them in implementing ESSA state policies - which of course will include daily online testing - via lots of federal cash..."
"Also, be sure to read how the Rockefeller Foundation plans to solve the `youth employment crisis` via competency-based hiring. Never forget that the goal is to gather data from cradle to adulthood. As daily online testing infiltrates the schools there will be more data than ever before - the data will be used to control, manage and direct our children into employment - or prison - in order to benefit the .01%.. Competency based hiring will be made possible due to the data that will morph into micro-credentials or digital badges online. This is already happening - it was planned patiently, methodically, and over years."
Read more http://www.pegwithpen.com/search?updated-min=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2017-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=4
Chris Hedges spoke at the Opt Out conference but the quality of sound is not good.
This video is better.
Beginning about 39 minutes, Chris Hedges talks about the growth of the prison population after the Clinton administration.
"The prison system......a microcosm of what our corporate masters are planning for the rest of us... They have the mechanisms by which they can shut down dissent."