Students in New York recently completed a battery of tests aligned with the Common Core and developed by Pearson.
The tests remain secret though some bootleg copies have circulated. They should be released for public review.
Although educators were not allowed to disclose the test questions, Lucy Calkins of Teachers College created a website where educators could register comments about the tests. She received over 1,000 comments.
Some of them:
Many teachers complained about the emphasis on meta cognitive skills, as opposed to understanding the meaning of the text.
Another big complaint was timing. Many good students couldn’t finish their answers and ended up frustrated and defeated.
This is quite a treasure trove, written by teachers, about the tests that will be consequential for their students and their careers.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So what will Lucy do with this information to help children and teachers? Anything?
We need a Julian Assange for the tests, or a Snowdon. Now THAT would be subverting. But Ms. Calkins appears not to be the disrupter we need. Teachers are as much “sheeple” as the bare majority of citizens in this country. Maybe more so. A cadre of mice. (Easy for me to say, of course, never having fed at the public education trough, and grown fat on its garbage.)
However, evidently there is still damage…without the pubic education trough garbage you speak of. I wonder what happened to you to make you this way?
Sometimes Harlan I think you are as much trying to inflame people to service as to insult them. I always hope that somewhere behind your
remarks is a man wanting to make a difference but not knowing how to make friends. The folks whowrite in this blog are not your enemy but trying, like you sir, to make sense of the world around them and people like you who chose to inspire through negative response. Thank heavens they have the patience, such as they have for their students and a government that has turned in a direction none of us like and are only now able to pull the pieces together and see where the public stands or not!!!!
HU,
Not sure that we need an Assange, Deep Throat, Snowdon or Manning. We need, as you imply, for the teachers themselves (I don’t count on hardly any administrators to do this although they should-there are some notable exceptions) to stand up and refuse to participate in this UNETHICAL travesty of education malpractice that is educational standards and standardized testing. From my experience, the vast majority of teachers and administrators are very ignorant of what is happening in public education today in regards to the edudeformers’ ways. And many choose not to hear, as when I discuss these “ways” people think I’m the crazy one. Many choose to remain ignorant of what is going on. So Sad!
From examining Ms. Calkins’ website, it seems she just objects to the test protocols, but has no problem shilling for the CCSS and making money in her workshops and merchandising pandering to them.
Several years back NYC bought into the Caulkins “balanced literacy” model which was totally inappropriate for title one students and yet teachers were forced to use the model knowing their students were not benefitting. One example… English language learners who had limited vocabulary and knew very limited grammar had to do daily journaling along with peer-to-peer revising. Ughh. Caulkins was remunerated handsomely for all the publications the NYC DOE purchased for all of its schools and all the workshops teachers went to to train in the methods. Her profits must have been enormous. So, it is VERY HARD for me to trust that her actions are “self-less” and the result of total concern for all the students. I do believe that yes educators opinions regarding the common core testing DO MATTER and should be voiced (especially in that the test is so problematic). But having Caulkins spear-head this is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Good post!
Sorry to say, our district bought in to the Lucy Calkins writing lessons. What we found out at 4th grade level was that she isn’t a particularly good writer herself. Her directions ramble and are hard to follow. They seem to focus on classrooms that weren’t at all like our own.
I wonder if Lucy has ever been in a classroom, and if so, for how long?
It is wonderful that this treasure trove of comments exists, but I get the idea that Calkins is trying to make amends for the pedagogy so many schools swallowed hook, line, and sinker.
Or find a new way to profit from the dissent…
Linda: “profit from the dissent” looks awfully good to her when she can “kill two birds with one stone” .. try to make amends for her horrific infliction of “balanced literacy” on title one students and “lead” a new movement at the same time. If she issued a heart-felt piece on how her program failed the students of NYC and it were truly reflective, this might help make many a teacher a bit less skeptical of her newest declarations/motivations.
Could be! Maybe she is just trying to keep her name alive because of this:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/read-finally-don-weep-article-1.1280129
At one of our numerous Common Core trainings, we were forced to watch a video of Lucy Calkins’ “Writer’s Workshop” model. One part of the video shows her conferencing with a student. During this clearly scripted conference, everyone noticed something really odd: There weren’t any other students in the classroom!!! How realistic! We asked if there were any suggestions for focusing on a conference with one student, while 30 other children are in the classroom. No one had an answer.
The comments are priceless, and very telling. These are the examples we need when talking to ordinary people who can’t hear past the marketing dribble that the standards will make our kids “college and career ready” with these “rigorous” standards. I don’t want my children trained and tested on cognitive thinking skills. This is almost like brain training, brainwashing if it works, and not real child-centered learning and discovery.
I am constantly getting marketing emails now about how to teach to the common core with the latest products I should buy. It’s the same old thing, just repackaged with a new name. There is no silver bullet.
“The tests remain secret though some bootleg copies have circulated. They should be released for public review.”
I remember there was a time when taking a test means a great chance for the students to spot their knowledge gaps and study habit shortcomings. But perhaps it was a very different time.
Anyone can point me in the right direction to obtain a copy of the test? I am particularly interested in math tests.
You can find pilot Smarter Balanced Assessments in math and ELA on the California Department of Education website.
Thanks! I found the sample test.
I was never a Calkins fan, to put it mildly. So when she came out with a page that hosted scathing reviews of the NY tests – which I also think are abusive – well, I really didn’t know what to think. I still don’t.
Somebody whose pedagogy I disagree with, putting up comments critical of tests that I believe are abusive – yikes, what’s my position? Do I cheer on Calkins?
Never.
Is NY’s test SMARTER Balance or PARCC?
“If we hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our existence, then our greatest need and most difficult achievement is to find meaning in our lives.”
― Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
I teach at the high school level but looking back through the common core to 12-K it seems that the Core developers think (in their hubris) that their fantastic knowledge and understanding can somehow be scaffolded backwards so that ALL children (if they pass enough tests) can join the intelligentsia and work for Pearson.
From a developmental perspective, it seems a little bit like trying to teach a caterpillar to fly or a tadpole to hop. Perhaps David Coleman is a frustrated teacher.
As in many fairy tales, knowledge is often counterproductive or useless if the timing is off. Teachers should know when their students are ready unpack text structures. Making meaning should come first.
Robert Thurston: Loved reading your wise words!!
I guess I’m questioning the wisdom of the Common Core and its knowledge without meaning..
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”
Plato
“The tests remain secret though some bootleg copies have circulated. They should be released for public review.”
Diane,
Are you getting all radical on us? Endorsing the “unethical” (note it’s not in the usual all capital letters as when I talk of the UNETHICALNESS of using educational standards and standardized testing) release of proprietary information against the best financial interests of the test makers????
Or are you saying that as a matter of course all standardized tests should be released for proper scrutiny by the professionals that are forced to play this rotten game?
I find the insinuations about Lucy Calkins’s integrity offensive. You may not like her work, but not only is she not shilling for the CCSS, she’s writing and speaking about standing up to attempts to impose inappropriate curriculum because of them. I see her work as helping teachers to deal with ccss in ways that involve good practice. It’s been a great risk for her to do this, and she indeed is no longer an approved content provider for NY. I’ve known her for over 30 years, and see her as highly ethical and transparent in her work.
I know nothing of her personal integrity and I never mentioned that. I agree that it is inappropriate to make unproven allegations. However, I didn’t find her Writing Workship books to be workable. As usual, we adopted a program and crammed it in horizontally, rather than integrating it word by word. Our little district spent $35K sending 4 teachers to NYC to be “trained”. They came back with eyebrows raised. Of course, one of the people who went was bent on having his way on everything and this didn’t meet his criteria. In any case, we could not implement it in the manner she said. There isn’t enough time. And, one of the interesting things that occurred was when someone from our district visited another local district further along, they used a stopwatch to determine if the initial presentation was too long. Ridiculous.
I stand with you Sandra and appreciate your calling out of the Lucy Calkins bashing. I trained at a public school in my 2nd masters program with Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project and I have used the workshop approach for 20 years. It can and does work well for those who are interested in the method and who continue to reflect on their practice to improve it.
It’s not for everyone and Lucy has never claimed it was. This past year I was able to bring a class of children who were severely behind up 1.5 years in reading and writing using TCRWP methods. My students all worked independently while I conferenced, there was plenty of time to do all that we needed to do, and it was a rigorous, high-expectations classroom atmosphere. My students from last year (who also received this kind of teaching) all passed the state exam this year as well.
Teach the way you feel most comfortable buy why is there a need to denigrate another method and a dedicated, passionate, and teacher-supporting researcher that has produced a methodology that is successfully used by thousands of teachers and who has maintained her commitment to students and teachers for over 30 years?
“Watch out lest we suffer hardening of the ideologies. Watch out lest we lose the pioneer spirit which has made this field a great one.” ~ Donald Murray
Diane,
Did you see this analysis by a NY State English teacher that explains why it’s getting harder for students to pass the English Regents? I’ve had this uneasy feeling that something was wrong with the scoring rubrics because I wasn’t seeing a decline in students’ writing but each year fewer were passing. I’d love to hear what you think.
Megan Williams
You are here: Home / Featured Images ONLY / Creating Artificial Student Failure in New York @nysed @nysut
Creating Artificial Student Failure in New York @nysed @nysut
JUNE 15, 2013 BY KRIS NIELSEN 89 COMMENTS
New York Teacher, Jennifer Fatone, posted some pretty shocking information on the UOO Facebook site recently, along with her comments and a letter to Steven Katz, the Director of New York State Assessments. This is blatant. This is wrong. If there was any doubt that New York has an agenda to show failure in the public schools, the truth is starting to smack us in the face. If you are in a different state, pay attention. If this hasn’t already started in your neck of the woods, it probably will soon.
Attention Students, Parents, Teachers and Tax Payers:
Soon the Regents scores will be coming out, with the usual comparisons of how this year’s scores compare with previous year’s scores. The media, NYSED, and school administrators will be all over this “data,” claiming it reveals something about what is going on in our classrooms. Most likely, at least when it comes to the English Regents, there will be concern about a decrease in mastery and passing rates. No one will mention that comparing this year’s scores to last year’s scores is invalid. As the state is pushing Common Core, more testing, and APPR teacher scores based on these tests, they are manipulating Regents scores in order to make it appear that students are doing worse year-to-year. Teachers will be labeled “unsatisfactory,” because their APPR scores are, in large part, contingent upon the Regents scores. The email I sent to Steven Katz, NYSED Director of Assessment, explains the problem here. I have yet to receive a reply as to my question re: the rationale of changing the scoring rubric in order to allow more students to fail. Here is my email, followed by the scoring charts for 2011, 2012, and 2013:
Dear Mr. Katz,
I have few questions about the NYS English Regents scoring chart. In 2011, a student scoring 17 on the multiple choice and 7 points on questions 26-28 would earn a score of 71; in 2012, that student would earn a score of 66, and this year, that student would fail with a score of 63. In 2011, there were 77 boxes on the chart that allowed for passing scores; in 2012, there were 70; this year, there are 57. You get my point.
My questions:
What is the rationale behind making it more difficult for students to pass year-to-year? Why are these scoring changes not publicized, when you are well aware that when mastery and passing rates go down, the media and the public see it as a failure on the part of teachers? My students could earn the same number of points on the test as they did last year, yet it will be seen as a drop in performance. Comparing scores from year to year is invalid when the scores are manipulated in this way, yet year-to-year comparisons are made by NYSED, the media, the public, and school administrators.
This year’s test already had some Common Core influenced questions, such as question 3 in the listening section. First of all, this question requires close reading of a text; it does not belong in the listening section. My AP Language students know how to analyze diction and identify the purpose of words in a reading passage, but many got this question wrong, and it’s understandable. If they had the text in front of them, they would have easily answered the question. So, while you are increasing the difficulty of the test (and I would question the validity of this particular attempt), you are also increasing the difficulty of passing, or even earning mastery, by raising the bar on the scores.
I cannot understand why the State is manipulating the scoring chart in order to ensure that more students fail the test each year. Please convince me that this is not an attempt to make teachers appear to be failing so that you can justify the insane Common Core testing regime that you are shoving down our throats.
I plan on publicizing this information on various social media groups of which I am a part. In fact, as an activist, I plan on sharing it as widely as I can. I think it is important for students, parents, and the public to know that lower scores do not mean a drop in performance. Prior to doing that, I’d like to know your explanation for this.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Fatone
English Teacher
The Wheatley School