Chris in Florida writes in response to the news that Broward County may give as many as 1,500 tests to satisfy a new law that requires tests in every subject and every grade—to evaluate teachers:
“The Florida Legislature is famous for making poor, spur of the moment decisions when passing laws, never thinking through the longterm results and implications.
“If ALEC says do it, they do it and smile broadly while cashing the campaign contribution checks from the lobbyists.
“This time they have overreached by about a mile. School districts in Florida cannot raise taxes to pay for unfunded mandates such as this. The state cut funding under Gov. Scott and shifted much of the education money to charter schools and ‘opportunity’ scholarships for religious private schools.
“We have the ability in this state to pass any constitutional amendment put forth to the voters. That is how we got the Class Size Amendment done.
“I think it is time for us to write an amendment barring the state legislature from micromanaging public schools through unfunded mandates, using school funding to intimidate and coerce districts into abusing children through testing, and requiring legislators to undergo the same kinds of scrutiny and evaluation they force on teachers. It’s time for legislative VAM and weekly civics and law tests.
“Are you with me, Sunshine staters?”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I am with you , Chris. The Florida legislature is known for passing laws without considering the consequences. I don’t know if this is because so many politicians are corrupt, or they don’t see the “bigger picture.” Stand you ground is a perfect example of this lack of insight and understanding.
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“Stupid is as Stupid does” Forrest Gump
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I want an amendment that allows individual students, schools and districts the “choice” to follow the same “accountability standards” outlined for the voucher students in Florida; i.e. the choice of FCAT or an approved nationally normed tests like Stanford or Iowa. I feel they opened the door for choice in assessments and we should walk through that door while we have the chance. I believe we should use the reformers own language to get his amendment passed and am trying to figure out how to do so.
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Look–if Florida teachers and parents don’t like this, then they should have supported Nan Rich who wanted to put a stop to the overuse of testing. Instead they either voted for Crist or stayed home. If they think Crist will do more good for education, then they are in for a wide awakening because he owes the White House for not helping Nan Rich. And he follows the Jeb Bush philosophy on education (which pretty much mirrors Obama’s).
Sorry, but I only feel for the students here.
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I spent about an hour looking at the State of Florida legalese on assessment including end of course assessment, NCLB tests, FCAT, PISA, TIMMS,and more of that alphabet soup.
Add draconian requirements and consequences if students don’t pass proficiency tests in grade three reading and that test is administered well before the end of the third grade so all of the remedial actions can be set up for the following year.
Add absurd hurdles for parents to request medical exemptions from tests, annual applications paperwork from MDs, three-year limit then to an other branch of the bureaucracy.
Add a sleeper that allows districts to REQUEST student SS numbers for enrollment while saying a district cannot REQUIRE the SS number. That procedure seems to let an bunch of SS numbers into a database that, sometime before graduation, convert the SS number into a student ID number. Where all of the architecture and the level of security of that system is another issue.
Then the there is the ALEC grading system for schools ABCD etc and requirements for schools to move up a grade level or this or that consequence will follow.
The legislature and the staff they hire to pound out these requirements are out of control, enabled by the governor, and by citizens who elect these officials.
At least part of the problem in the election is likely to be the high number of retired people who may have less interest in schools.
Another dimension of the problem is the Federal requirement for so-called “growth measures” for teacher evaluations required under Race to the Top, NCLB, and in districts receiving Teacher Incentive Grants. Any growth measure requires a pre-test for so-called “baseline data” as well as an end of course test. The alternative is to make an end-of-course score in late May of one school year serve as the pre-test measure at the beginning of the following school year.
I hope the scale of this fiasco, and the national publicity that can be generated about it causes big-time embarrassment. The average time currently allocated one of the sub-tests in the FCAT is 40 minutes rising to 50 minutes. The legalese I looked at said all tests must be online, so if you are doing tests that should require performance, as in physical education, music, theater, dance, visual art you will be looking at what the computer allows and requires, not student learning at all. In no small degree that is happening in every subject. I will let someone else look at what counts as school year in terms of minutes of instruction that will be now consumed with tests.
Among the rules thought to be necessary by the legislators in Tallahassee is one that specifies how much time can be devoted to test prep. That may need to be looked at again because education in Florida looks like non-stop testing with computers. I did not find a plan for the very good prospect the a bunch of computers will start crashing.
I’d like to propose a rule that every legilator must pass any test they require, with the same accountability ratings. Fail any test and you are unqualified to act on any K-12 matter that bears on curriculu, instruction, and testing.
Also note that the same sort of madness seems to be in the works for NY state where the regernts are hankering to have “rigorous” and “secure” Regent-approved exams in every subject, including art, music, dance, and theater—the kicker, starting in preschool-ages 3-5.
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Laura Chapman,
Follow the money trail in Florida. Jeb Bush is the Master of education policy in the state. His Foundation for Excellence in Education has pushed for digital learning everywhere, unregulated. His major sponsors are tech companies, Gates, et al. Who benefits when all testing is online and ubiquitous?
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Yep. And Florida is not the only state.
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As a follow up to this here is the Q&A section of an email blast sent out this evening from the Florida Education Association. All those here who constantly tell me to work with my union (which I continue to TRY to do) this is what is considered union leadership in FL:
Keep you mouth shut.
Hope that through some magical intervention that the Tea Party legislature will suddenly be ousted, despite the fact that most are running unopposed.
Vote for Charlie Christ, just because he is now a democrat and he once vetoed a merit pay law. But he has NEVER said he would undo any of these horrible educational malpractices and, in fact, follows Obama’s lead in educational policy.
With union leadership like this, we have NO HOPE. No one in union leadership is willing to take a risk, try something out of the box, or follow in the footsteps of our union forebears who gave their lives for the right to organize and strike.
I am ashamed of my union. Teachers are facing career destruction, loss of licensure, daily bullying, horrid working conditions, and never-ending testing and evaluation and the union offer us what? Share My Lesson. PLEASE.
We hung everything on a court case that we lost (VAM) and there is no movement leadership or actions planned that are being shared with the rank and file to stop this madness other than the ethereal ‘vote them out, maybe, if you can, hopefully’. Sad and pathetic.
As long as “we must follow the rules and work within the system” we are doomed to fail. We cannot win in this system. ALEC outspends and outvotes us at every turn. We must bring down the system.
Here is the advice our statewide union president offers us today:
“Below is a Q&A that should be helpful in the coming weeks.
Questions and Answers about Opting Out of Standardized Testing
I am hearing parents, teachers and even some students talk about opting out of state standardized tests and local assessment tests … is that even possible?
Currently, there is no legal process for a parent or student to opt out of testing in Florida.
Our school’s open house is coming up. What should I tell parents who ask me about opting their child out of standardized tests?
As a teacher, you need to know that you have a professional and ethical obligation to uphold district policy and state law. Therefore, you should not encourage students and/or parents to opt out of any mandatory test because that action MAY lead to sanctions from the state against your certificate and/or discipline by the district. Parents should be directed to the principal, the district superintendent and/or school board members as the ones who set and implement district policy.
Wow. Don’t I have the right to voice my professional or personal opinion on this issue?
Gagging teachers is one of the many direct and intended consequences of Senate Bill 736, the very first bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott. Teachers can no longer speak out in the best interest of students or for themselves. Teacher evaluations are affected and job security can be threatened if teachers do not implement current policies … even those widely recognized as educationally unsound. The most effective and highly effective annual contract teachers can be released for any reason or for no reason at all.
So what can we, as education professionals, do to fix this misguided system? Our students are being subjected to toxic levels of testing and cheated out of an education!
There is little disagreement that Florida’s so-called accountability system has gone horribly wrong. Florida’s use of testing must change, but we must follow the rules and work within the system. Many education stakeholders, including FEA, are calling on Gov. Rick Scott and the State Board of Education to immediately stop using standardized testing for any purpose other than as a diagnostic tool. Until standardized testing is again focused on teaching and learning, Florida should adopt a comprehensive opt-out policy that allows parents the choice to have their children excused without penalty from participating in statewide standardized or state required assessments.
What can I tell friends and family who are concerned about their children and the future of our public schools? What can they do to help?
Florida voters must hit the reset button on education reform by turning out and voting out those who are responsible for what one newspaper has dubbed, “an incomprehensible mess.”
Sincerely,
Andy Ford
President, Florida Education Association ”
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Utah has the same threat if we “suggest or encourage” opting out of the tests. I talked to the UEA, and not only did they tell me that this is legal, but that my own sons should not even tell their friends about opting out of the testing. It is legal to opt out of the testing, though, and I can do it for my own sons.
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