More than 150,000 New York students recently boycotted standardized tests, which critics say have led to neighbourhood school closures, teacher firings, and the promotion of private charter schools.

In a column in the New York Post, investigative journalist Juan Gonzales noted that corporate standardized testing giants like Pearson Education shroud their methods in secrecy, not even allowing teachers to see the tests they must administer to their students. Reading proficiency scores plummeted after the latest testing regime was put in place in New York, leading to a sense of crisis that drives privatization.

Juan Gonzales, Surge of the Opt Out Movement, New York Post, April 16, 2015.

Nadia Prupis, With Massive Boycott of Standardized Tests, Students Take Stand Against Corporatized Education, Common Dreams, April 17, 2015.