The American Federation of Teachers announced today it is expanding on their campaign “against excessive testing” called “Learning Is More Than a Test Score.” The campaign seeks to stop federal programs, especially No Child Left Behind, that test students in order to chart their progress and determine effectiveness of teachers. Unions have generally fought against using anything other than seniority as a benchmark of teacher skill. Thus, the irony: a major teachers union has come out foursquare against finding out whether American kids are indeed learning.

In a press release emailed to reporters (it is not currently online), AFT President Randi Weingarten said the union’s drive involves “de-emphasizing testing and ensuring instead that instruction includes the arts and physical education” among other benchmarks.