Teachers boycotting test will be disciplined

Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett says teachers who refuse to administer an annual standardized test next week will be disciplined.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that in a letter to principals sent Thursday, Byrd-Bennett said teachers who boycott the Illinois Standards Achievement Test risk losing their state education certification. She added those teachers refusing to test should be ordered out the school.

Byrd-Bennett sent the letter after teachers at one school unanimously decided to boycott the ISAT, saying it takes away from instruction time. A new standardized test will replace the ISAT next year.

Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey is calling Byrd-Bennett's stance "absurd and harmful."

Although the No Child Left Behind law requires schools to administer the ISAT, students can opt out with a parent's permission.