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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Parents protest test in English

Article from Sun-Times via Newsalert. Without a doubt one of the main gripes in this country about immigration from Latin America is that most of these individuals don't seem to be interested in assimilating in this country and learn English. This article proves it with indeed hostily by the parents because they don't want their children to take a standardized test in English...
Angry Chicago Latino parents threatened Tuesday to keep their kids home on test day next month if state education officials insist on giving students who are still learning English an achievement test in English.

Facing threats of federal sanctions, state officials were ordered last October to give the same state tests native English speakers take to some 60,000 Illinois public school kids who haven’t yet mastered English.

During a news conference Tuesday at the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, about two dozen Latino parents charged that the test mandate is “unfair,’’ “anti-immigrant’’ and “anti-bilingual education.’’

They were joined by State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago), who said the federal government was “trying to take this program [bilingual education] away from us’’ by forcing children to take a test in English before they are fluent.

“This is a way of attacking children who don’t understand the language,’’ said Martinez, who is pushing a resolution to delay the test for a year.

Previously, Illinois kids in bilingual education programs for less than three years took an alternative state test in English.

But last October federal education officials ruled that test did not meet federal No Child Left Behind standards. They ordered Illinois bilingual education students who have been in public schools for more than a year to take the same tests native English speakers take, starting March 3.

Speaking through a Spanish-English translator, parent Erika Soto said her third-grade daughter is “very smart, but because of this test, she is going to be labeled a failure. So how is she going to feel?’’
I can understand every child is different, but I think more than a year is a reasonable enough time for a student in a bilingual program to be able to take a test in English. If more time is needed say two years or three years perhaps stave this off until say the 5th, 6th or 7th grades, that's fine. You know maybe these parents are trying to stave off the inevitable and trying to prevent their kids from learning English and keeping their native tongues.

Who knows what it is, but this protest may not help them with those who believe they must learn English.

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