If you answered yes, click on this website that is fighting the testing madness in the schools.
Share your stories, and you can even order a bumper sticker.
Encourage other teachers and parents to let the world know they their children are tested to despair.
This is a letter from a kindergarten teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada, to her state legislators. Nevada has the lowest graduation rate in the nation, lower even than the District of Columbia. As she explains in her post, the schools of Las Vegas are underfunded, and the needs of the children are huge. Please read and remember: Everything you need about school reform may be learned from a kindergarten teacher.
The session has begun and I’m worried. What worries me?
FUNDING
Money. People say money should not matter in education but it does. Money buys stuff and staff. Bottom line: Schools are an expenditure. You get what you pay for.
There is a public school funding unfairness in the state – the Nevada Plan. Frankly, Vegas money needs to stay in Vegas. Our children and public schools need the money. I don’t want to see other schools in Nevada starve, but it’s only fair that the tax dollars made with the labor in my community come back the the families and children in my community. We are last in funding in a state last in funding. And we pay everyone else’s bills?
85% of the total state revenue comes from Vegas. 75% of Nevada’s students and teachers live in Vegas. Only 50% of the general fund comes back to Vegas schools. There is something very unfair about this formula.
Isn’t a student in Vegas worth just as much as a student in Eureaka?
REFORM
I’m worried about the scary reform movement. I have had 6 principals in 12 years, 6 reading programs, 3 math programs, taught 3 different grade levels, and taught at 3 different schools. Reform implies that teachers are not willing to change or are stuck in bad habits. Frankly, I have whiplash.
Screaming reform at 17,000+ teachers in Vegas who experience constant change is …. Ridiculous. Our community only has 50% of the teachers it had 5 years ago anyhow. In a profession with high turnover – in a community as transient as Vegas – who are you demanding reform from? The few that are left? Dumb and a waste of time.
We need security, retention, and better working conditions. Some consistency and balance would be nice. I would like to see some work to KEEP good teachers because we are driving them off.
STANDARDIZED TESTS
25 years ago … During my undergraduate studies the professor who was teaching me about tests said this: Standardized tests are racially and culturally biased. Nothing has changed.
He also said: Be careful what you assess because it will drive your instruction. When we place such high pressure on standardized test scores – we are going to force everyone to teach to the test.
What if the test will not get students ready for life or academic success? A, B, C, D multiple choice questions are not measuring authentic life skills. We all know people who test well who lack skills in other areas.
Currently, I spend 75% of my instructional time testing or preparing for testing. My students are 5 years old and I only see them 2 hours a day. It’s too much. I’m not even teaching anymore.
I’m wondering why my community that is predominantly minority insists on testing our children with biased standardized assessments? Traditionally – these tests have been unfair to minority groups.
We are basing how our students are doing based SOLELY on this kind of assessment. There is no balance in this. Teachers will be evaluated ONLY on these scores and this is fair? We will turnaround our schools, develop charters, and sell more schools to Edison because of these biased scores?
States that have been using these standardized tests for years are now moving to OUTLAW their use at all. Standardized tests do not test higher level thinking skills. Real life skill is not measured by them. Innovation, invention, synthesis, analysis, and creativty are not measured by these types of tests.
There is no balance when you place so much pressure on one type of assessment.
Something is wrong when you can tell how many schools will be privatized by test scores -and you can also predict scores based on race.
Sadly race and poverty are brothers and sisters.
POVERTY
The research says: Household income is the leading indicator of how well students will do academically.
My students are poor. I have homeless students. I have a revolving door. Four students did not come back after winter break – they just disappeared. This is normal. My school has a 75% turnover. My school has a high ELL population. My school has 85% free and reduced lunch students.
Guess what? My school has NOT qualified for TITLE funds because there are so many other schools in the district that are at 95% to 100%. I guess my school is considered normal in Vegas.
Teachers are rowing the boat as fast as we can – but the boat has a hole!
CORPORATIONS
While I’m busy tutoring, furthering my education, and working — the wolf has been in the hen house!
I’m calling out the wolf!
Charter school corporations do no better than public schools. They do not take the high needs students. They are not regulated like public schools. They are resegregating our population by race and interest – sometimes religious interest. Tax payer funds are being misused. Yep – misused. Charters are more expensive and with few exceptions no more effective than public schools. This charter experiment is failing across the nation. Nevada does not need to participate in this movement until it proves to be working someplace.
Using tax payer money to fund someone fancy smancy private school idea aka charter schools – is no good.
Now there is legislation to “empower” parents to pull the trigger and turn their neighborhood school into a charter? I can think of so many different ways to empower parents. Killing public schools is a horrible mistake.
Edison claimed it would make money and fix failing schools. It hasn’t. It won’t. Yet these corporate hybrids expand and continue to receive additional money. Someone is making money – not students or teachers. From my point of view, Edison is an investment scam. Joke on the tax payer.
Giving money to a corporation to run a school – is money that is not spent on kids.
Teach for America claims it will give our schools the best and brightest to teach at-risk for two or three years. TFA come untrained and are placed in the hardest areas and expected to know after 6 weeks of intense training what to do? What could go wrong? I guess this is why so few make it through the first year and it’s a very rare person who stays in the classroom for a career. Tourist teachers?
Inexperienced and untrained teachers – are not worth the three or four times the money it will take to hire through TFA.
Elaine Wynn spent A LOT of her own money and her friend’s money to obtain some board seats for TFA friendly board members. I would question – WHY?
The New Teacher Project is a Michelle Rhee non-profit. Michelle Rhee controlled her students with duct tape when she had her own classroom. Then she became an adminstrator who fired teachers on TV. Now she makes money telling governors how to unionbust and get rid of veteran teachers. Students First lurks around waiting for opportunities in Nevada. They invested heavily in campaigns – for extreme conservatives.
I’m not sure why people listen to this foul Rhee woman or any of her banter? She is cruel and making money. Not unlike Ann Coulter.
These privatizing vultures all have one thing in common – promises they can NOT keep because it’s quick fixes and not research based. And they are earning a lot of money. I’m not a fan of privatizing or spending money on someone or a corporation which is NOT effective.
To get at those education dollars — we need our schools and kids to appear to fail right?
FAILING
Someone explain to me please why Nevada needs a High School Math Proficiency Test that is the third hardest in the nation?
We fund last in the nation – but expect our children to test at the highest levels? Then scream because a high number drop out or do not receive a diploma?
It’s a known fact that you can graduate just fine with a Nevada education – you just need to move to another state your senior year if you can NOT pass the math proficiency. We export our seniors?
We fail most of our kids and no one is questioning the RIGOR of the test? I’m questioning the actual validity of every measurement tool I’ve seen. The tests are — BAD tests.
I’ve challenged every school board member to take the math proficiency – and pass. No takers yet.
The “math” proficiency is actually a very technical reading test – word problems. Statistics, proabability, algebra, geometry – all couched in word problems.
Why would this be a problem? 60,000 language learners? Do you think the large number of kids who are not receiving a diploma are primarily second language students who fail the so-called “math” test which is actually a reading English test? It is not adminstered in Spanish.
EARLY INTERVENTION
Speaking of failing ….
My students fail on the first day of school. Yep. Kindergarten. My students are two to three years behind the nation on the first day of their public school experience. Before the public school teacher ever sees the child – they are behind the nation.
Kindergarten is not mandatory in Nevada. Vegas still has a large number of half day Kindergarten programs. We are supposed to compete with the rest of the nation that invests in early intervention and compete with parents who are placing their children in preschool at age two?
30% of Kindergarten students fail. And go to first grade. They are behind and stay behind. At-risk kids in half day programs, class sizes between 30 to 40, racing to catch-up to the nation who began 3 years ago.
We aren’t failing them in high school; Kids fail before the public schools even know their name.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
60,000 identified ELL students. “Identified” because this depends on self identifying when parents enroll their child. For whatever reason, parents may or may not check the right box on the form.
I have a Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language. Research shows it takes students 5 to 10 years to develop the academic language ability to be successful. We are not supporting students so it might even be longer.
Studies show that it would take $175 million to support our language learning students in Vegas properly. $50 million would be the bare minimum.
I’ll say it — $14 million? $10 million? I guess if your name is Sandoval you don’t want to be the only Governor with a significant number of ELL students and give them NOTHING.
Our kids have real needs that are not being met.
MISSION STATEMENT
The reason the business model fails public schools is — mission statement.
Business is about making money – the mission statement is about the bottom line.
Public schools are about helping citizens – all people, the mission statement is about a literate democracy.
Public schools are always going to be an expenditure and investment.
When we try to use only data and scores from a biased measuring tool to evaluate our students and teachers like a business – we will get a privatizing business result.
My students are more than a test score. I am more than a collection of their test scores. My craft is an art more than a science. Hard to measure but still valuable. Learning will still take place in my classroom – even if I never give another test.
POWER
Teachers have very little power. All I have is e-mail. I have worked non-stop since the last legislative session to get to know as many legislators as I could and educate my community. I’m the alarm in my own frenzied way
I’m worried.
I see too much willingness to sell our public schools instead of invest in them. We are giving money to snake oil salesmen instead of getting it to the classroom and kids. It’s wasting our precious limited funds.
I believe we are damaging our kids with excessive data collection and testing. We are failing everyone and I’m questioning this – WHY?
I’m worried about disadvantaged kids.
I’m worried about money. I don’t understand why I live in a state that is so rich in money and gold — and we can’t even fund our schools? What does this say about my state?
And I’m worried about Democrats. Yep. It was Democrats last session who did the damage. Why do Democrats follow the extreme right wing logic when it comes to public schools? Stand Up. We believe in a free public education for everyone. It’s worth protecting and fighting for.
We aren’t here to collect money for our next election by selling public schools down the river in a canoe with a hole and a frantic screaming kindergarten teacher!
Do what is right this time around.
Angie Sullivan
Monica Garcia is president of the Los Angeles school board and Superintendent John Deasy ‘s strong supporter in Los Angeles. She supports charter schools and evaluating teachers by test scores. Los Angeles has more charters than any other city in the nation. They have little supervision. They get public money to do as they please (in reformer-speak, that is called “innovation”).
Garcia’s friends do not want to take any chances.
Here are the latest campaign contribution reports. They do not include Mayor Bloomberg’s $1 million or Michelle Rhee’s $250,000 or other gifts from big-time corporate interests.
A reader posted this comment:
My children did go to the local public school. The percentage of Title I students has grown at the neighborhood school. We are still living in the same house since 1977. My neighborhood was once considered middle class. Not now. So, no I did not send my kids to charters or private schools. My oldest son and middle daughter did great in public school. The youngest struggled with focusing due to ADHD. He did okay until high school. We had to advocate for him. The difference being that we knew how. Many of our Title I parents do not know how to advocate or are so busy with their own problems (struggling to find work, just trying to survive) that they don’t have or take the time. I think my children received good educations in the public schools. I think all the testing, lack of money, etc. has made public education suffer. I would also say that the majority of my children’s teachers were very good teachers. I think I was a good teacher, as well. Another part of public school that I liked was the diversity. I have adult children who have friends from all walks of life. That is the way it should be.
Justin Hamilton, who recently stepped down as Arne Duncan’s press secretary, has accepted an executive position at Rupert Murdoch’s Amplify. This division, headed by Joel Klein, sells technology to the schools.
This is funny, because last May I had a Twitter debate with Justin about the role of entrepreneurs in education. I didn’t see much good coming from injecting the profit motive into schooling, and Justin disagreed. He landed in the right place for him.
Nancy Flanagan tells the story of what happened to Detroit. Once it was a vibrant city with a thriving automobile industry, once its schools were the envy of urban education, now it is a wasteland, a symbol of urban decline. Corporate-style reformers like to blame the low test scores and dysfunction of the schools on the teachers. They say, if only they could get the right evaluation system. If only they could bust the union. If only they could abolish tenure.
But Flanagan says that Detroit has some of the finest teachers she has ever known.
Another way to look at the problems of Detroit:
” There are 50,000 homeless people in the city. There are 30,000 houses with no running water, 10,000 occupied homes with no power, and 40,000 homes in foreclosure. One-third of the land in the city is empty, vacant–and there’s no supermarket in the city limits, so 90% of purchased “food” comes from 7-11s, gas stations and fast food outlets. Burned-out houses are everywhere, and there are entire neighborhoods where unemployment is universal.”
Could these conditions have any bearing on what happens in the schools?
Michael Moore, a literacy professor in Georgia, thinks that the state has more tests than it needs already. Where will it get the money for the new Common Core assessments. Moore quotes Peter DeWitt on this blog to make his point. He writes:
“Peter Dewitt, an elementary principal writing in Diane Ravitch’s blog, notes that “we lack the infrastructure to be testing factories, and that shouldn’t be our job in the first place.” Lawmakers, though, face increased lobbying from the same old test makers, Pearson, ETS and, the maker of Georgia’s tests, McGraw Hill. These companies stand to make fortunes on the assessments.”
The word is spreading. The public’s dollars should be spent on instruction, on reducing class size, on hiring guidance counselors and teachers of the arts. Not on more and more testing.
Jason Stanford is an Austin-based writer who has come to understand the sham of the Texas accountability system.
He knows that there is an old tradition in Texas called “brags.”
Back in 2000, a candidate for the presidency named George W. Bush bragged about the “Texas miracle.”
He said that testing every child every year from grades 3-8 would bring about amazing progress.
He said that in Texas, they did this and the dropout rate fell, the graduation rate rose, test scores went up, and the ahievement gap was closing.
Stanford shows that it was pure baloney.
There was no Texas miracle.
People in Texas know this.
School boards know it. Parents know it. Teachers know it.
But Governor Rick Perry doggedly sticks with the miracle tale.
Parents across America are outraged. So are school boards and educators.
It’s time to get organized and stop the farce.
Time’s up.
The Annenberg Institute for School Reform has published an informative review of the controversy over the so-called parent trigger law.
It explains the genesis of the idea, how it evolved, who is behind it, where it has been adopted, and why it offers meager prospects for either parent empowerment or school improvement. The brief includes a good summary of how parents can help improve their schools.
This just in, as I prepare to join a march and rally in Austin with “Save Texas Schools.” Be it noted that the superintendent in Austin, a high-performing district on NAEP, is an alum of the unaccredited Broad Superintendent Academy, which allegedly teaches management skills. The board majority shifted against her 5-4 after the last election but the previous board had extended her contract at its last meeting.
The parent writes:
Dear Diane, Thank you so much for sharing our story! ~~
There are many misconceptions about our school. Some created by self-serving “we can do better” groups. MOST created and broadcast by our own School District! I wish to address Five. ~~
First, “EMHS is always failing”. When EMHS was “born” in August 2008, it was already rated Academically Unacceptable (AU). That is NOT what they promised the neighborhood. It was supposed to be a fresh start. Our students and staff have lived and worked under this AU guillotine from day one. 😦 ~~
Second, “EMHS cannot fix itself.” EMHS is no longer AU. The hard-working students and staff turned the school around. Within two years, grades, test scores and graduation rates were WAY UP. And drop-out and discipline reports were way down. ~~ Their reward? Their beloved and successful Principal was replaced. And (10/20/2011) two months into the new school year the district Superintendent announced that IDEA Charter would take over their school in a year!!! ~~
Three, “The Community does not care.” Many emotionally exhausted, heart-broken students and staff left the school. Many more stayed and FOUGHT BACK. Eventually, thousands across Austin wrote, called, and protested FOR the school. As Diane said, it took an election and 14 months to cancel the IDEA plan. Now the Super is telling another story to scare us all. ~~
Four, “The TEA Commissioner will close EMHS”. But, why would he? EMHS is AA! And scores are way up. ~~ And, there is a lot going on right now in Texas education (testing, funding, etc.). He is busy. Why would he bother messing with our school??? Because the pissed off / embarrassed Super went charging over there to tell him that the new Board had messed up and EMHS was now out of compliance! ~~
Finally, Five: “Nothing at EMHS has worked./ We have tried everything.” Nearing 5 years of existence, EMHS has been subjected to 4 MAJOR restructurings by the District. IDEA is number 5. When I think of how wonderful our little campus family is and how well they are performing. I think about how glorious they might already have become. If not for the constant churning actions of their heartless (stupid?) District. ~~
Despite the District’s constant reminders to the world that EMHS is garbage. Our campus family is one of the most loving, compassionate, hard-working, and determined groups that I have ever had the honor of being a part of. ~~
Please pray for us. Thank you.
Signed: Toni Rayner, EMHS mom x2.
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