Ilhan Omar joins Democrats in demanding Biden admin suspend standardized tests in schools

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Markowicz: Carranza wants to use coronavirus as an excuse to kill standardized testing

Insight from New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz.

"Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., joined a group of her Democratic colleagues in calling on President Biden's education secretary to suspend standardized testing requirements amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Omar signed onto a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona that urged the new secretary to "provide all states with waivers" for federal standardized testing "for this school year."

"We should be prioritizing the students’ academic, and emotional well-being, not arbitrary standardized testing goals," wrote Omar, responding to a tweet from Rep. Erin Murphy calling for a pause on standardized testing.

"Proud to join [Rep. Jamaal Bowman] in an effort to provide students with standardized testing waivers for this academic year. #SuspendTheTests," she added.

'SQUAD' MEMBER REP. BOWMAN CLAIMS STANDARDIZED TESTING IS RACIST

Murphy’s tweet called for Biden to suspend standardized testing, as well.

Omar shared the letter on Twitter, and it was signed by her House colleagues Reps. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.; Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y.; and Mark Takano, D-Calif. Additionally, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., signed onto the letter, as well.

The letter claimed that poverty is the "most reliable" bellwether for academic success and that the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on schooling "has exacerbated the preexisting divide" in America "between those with and without accumulated wealth."

"Marginalized communities have faced the brunt of this pandemic and likely have suffered the most academically, as well," wrote the lawmakers.

The group then claimed that there is a "growing body of evidence" illustrating that standardized testing "more reliably measures socioeconomic status than student achievement, especially in extreme circumstances such as these."

They then called on Cardona to suspend standardized testing, citing "learning loss" due to connectivity issues in lower-income households. They also claimed that "Black and Brown students have suffered from the lowest engagement rate" and that only "60 percent of Black students and 70 percent of Latino students" have been attending virtual classes regularly.

"Taken together, it becomes clear that this pandemic has exacerbated many of the existing inequities in our public education system," wrote the lawmakers. "As such, our response should not begin with reassessing the situation, but rather with providing the resources schools need to safely reopen and address the learning loss from last year."

The lawmakers also argued that continuing standardized tests would "compound the existing youth mental health crisis caused" by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Therefore, the high stress nature of standardized tests would not only fail to provide unique information on the student populations most at risk," wrote the group of Democrats. "But they would also fail to subject all students to further psychological harm that will potentially have serious long-term consequences."

"With this in mind, we urge you to utilize the powers of your office to protect our children from the unnecessary burden of federally mandated standardized tests," wrote the group.

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Omar is one of the latest progressives to criticize the centuries-old practice of standardized testing.

Last week, Omar’s companion on the bill, Bowman, called standardized testing "racist" in a video he posted online — a comment that drew criticism on Twitter.