Despite the massive scandal in Atlanta, which many attribute to the hyper-pressure attached to testing and scores, the frenzy continues.
I just received this story from Edward Johnson, a persistent critic of short-term thinking in Atlanta:
“CRCT Pep Rally at Thomasville Heights Elementary_
(http://talkupaps.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/crct-pep-rally-at-thomasville-heights-elementary/)
April 30, 2013 at 9:26 pm
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(http://talkupaps.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/crct-pep-rally-at-thomasville-heights-elementary/#respond)
On April 22, 2013, a day before the CRCT, Thomasville turned up
their school spirit to motivate students as they prepared to take the CRCT. Pep
rallies are not uncommon before the CRCT, but Thomasville Heights took it
to another level this year. For starters, teachers creatively decorated 5
panels in front of the school with catchy slogans and imagery about the
upcoming CRCT. Throughout the month, student also heard daily test taking
strategies during the morning announcements as well as “CRCT Jams” (songs about
the CRCT). This helped to get students excited about the exam and more
importantly keep their minds fresh on the challenge at hand. There was also an
entire week dedicated to the CRCT where students dressed up based on a
different theme each day, to show their confidence in passing and exceeding on
the test. Last – but definitely not the least, Thomasville Heights put
together a concert/pep rally outside of the school, stadium style! The
wonderful Lil Bankhead of V-103 hosted the entire event, introducing the featured
performers, QT Jazz, Shameik Moore, Baby D and Young Sneed. Of course the
talented Thomasville Steppers graced the stage followed by performers from
various grade levels that shared their very own chants and songs – all in
honor of the CRCT. “We love our principal and teachers…we know how important
the CRCT is and we’re going to make them proud…” says an excited 4th grade
student, Tamia Shepherd.
Watch out APS, Thomasville Heights Elementary School is SUPER COUGAR
SMART!
See it for yourself on the Thomasville Heights YouTube Channel :
https://www.youtube.com/thomasvilleheights
Diane Ravitch's blog 
That is sick and twisted.
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What crawfish said.
And, as a Georgian (not by birth but by long time residency)…embarrassed.
Hanging head.
Shame.
For those who think GA has always been a random red state with no care in the world for public education or anything else…we we’re once remarkable…really.
Look it up.
Serious, committed to education governor; whose mother was a teacher.
The APS scandal, now this kind of thing everywhere.
Sad, sad, sad.
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All that time and effort wasted on a rally and the other nonsense to get kids excited about testing, but crickets on being excited about school? This is a new form of cheating: indoctrinating kids with cult think about testing is made important than instilling a love of learning, and it’s the kids themselves who are being cheated. For shame that the teachers and administration there have sunk so low that they will do this to defend themselves against the absurdity of test based evaluations by misusing the trust and youthful enthusiasm of their students as a human shield.
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“… instilling a love of learning,”
Well said! This should be the single goal of every teacher when they go into a classroom.
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I am a Louisiana teacher, and Tuesday, my sophomores took their EOC (End of Course) test (funny because the end of the course is three weeks away). Reformers want to base 50% of my rating on these test scores.
Yesterday, one of my students questioned my not reviewing my classes for severaldays prior to the test. She thought that I had neglected to prepare my students for the EOC. I explained to her that reviewing for a specific standardized test cheats my students of critical thinking and a broader education. I told her that in reading and discussing literature, I am providing what she needs to succeed on her exam. I want my kids to know how to think, not just how to master a testing format.
Last year, before this testing frenzy had fully consumed Louisiana, I had over 100 students take the EOC. All but two passed, one of whom was an ESL student. (He passed on the next try.) However, the reformers are not satisfied; they no longer want to count “fair” as passing for a teacher’s eval even though the student did pass the test. They only want to count the top two categories, “good” and “excellent.” Based upon this change, I had 68% of my students score “good” or “excellent,” not the required and arbitrarily-set 70% for my eval. So, even though I had a 99% passing rate according to Louisiana graduation requirements, I would have been declared below “effective” as a teacher.
Wait. There’s more: I do not teach the same students all year. I have some who stay with me, but many rotate due to scheduling changes mid-year. For this reason, my district declared that instead of 70%, my principal could choose to set “effective” teaching at 55% or 60% (he set it at 60% for regular ed and 55% for remedial ed). So now, based upon last year’s scores, I have “improved” as a teacher. I am now “effective.” Go figure.
So arbitrary are the cutoff percentages as to make this supposed teacher rating system useless.
Reformer refuse.
I have decided that I am just going to teach.
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“For starters, teachers creatively decorated 5
panels in front of the school with catchy slogans and imagery about the
upcoming CRCT. Throughout the month, student also heard daily test taking
strategies during the morning announcements as well as “CRCT Jams” (songs about
the CRCT). ”
So it appears that some teachers are indeed motivated by the punishments/bonuses being tied with the test scores, except that all this energy is wasted in the wrong places.
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Did those teachers have a choice? Perhaps, but perhaps not…
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Gang mentality…ugh!
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Our son’s school – also in Georgia – had a “Prep Rally” and they also encouraged the kids to attend by promising to tie up the principal. The recreation department cancelled all practices and games for the week of the CRCT. Crazy!
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