Hannah Oh, of State Budget Solutions, wonders whether states and districts can afford the required technology.
Question: why should all tests be taken online? Whose idea was that? Why shouldn’t the federal government pay for the new technology? Why the windfall for the tech industry?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Whose Idea was That?”
Whose idea was that?
Common Core for states
Whose idea was that?
(Coleman’s and Bill Gates’)
Whose idea was that?
NCLB waivers?
Whose idea was that?
(Duncan’s for the favors)
Whose idea was that?
Using VAM’s for firing
Whose idea was that?
(Chetty’s, how inspiring)
Whose idea was that?
Total online testing
Whose idea was that?
(Pearson’s, for investing)
Whose idea was that?
iPads for the schools
Whose idea was that?
(Apple’s, silly fools)
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Can I save this poem please? Would make a good sign at an education rally!
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By any an all means.
It’s only fair that we give these people full credit for their billyant ideas.
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Love it!
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Between the format of the test and the logistics of testing class upon class of students in limited facilities across an entire district (whose systems might not be able to handle the volume) across an entire state (which also might not be able to handle the volume), I for see some catastrophic results just waiting to happen. And that is assuming that all district have the right equipment and upgrades.
My advice would be to pilot the process, either with a single grade and/or in select districts. This would be a trial run and allow comparisons between computer and paper formats to see if there are quantifiable differences in the results.
However, these ideas assume that the assessments are valid and not punitive. So, never mind.
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Utah has been online testing for five or six years now. It has not been as catastrophic in implementation as was feared. HOWEVER, the staggering amount of money being spent on computers, when Utah has some of the largest class sizes in the nation, is appalling. Furthermore, students are locked out of libraries and computer labs for actual learning for six weeks or more.
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Been there TOW – I spent too many days shutting down the library for assessments and or closing down so I could proctor the exams.
Add in the computer dimension and this dilemma will be multiplied.
And in response to your comment: Although Utah and NH may have done well in converting to testing via computers, I know that Florida had some major issues this past year. Plus, I base my opinions on simple experiences – such as the teachers in Buffalo have to stagger electronically entering student grades each marking period because the system shuts down if too many are inputting data at the same time. And there are a lot more students than teachers. (Actually, the system often slows down or freezes during peak usage.)
But I’m sure the state education officials and individual district superintendents have it all figured out. If not, your state can serve as a model to follow.
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Tests are administered to children who are not able to hold a pencil well, who have had no instruction in keyboarding, who are mandated by schools to instruct themselves at home to complete online typing programs,kids whose little feet do not even touch the floor in school computer labs and their circulation cuts off…all this without planning, with rushed force, without proficiency in computer technology for many children. Ipads and cell phones are not the same. Keyboarding skills are not taught at school, they have fallen aside, along with cursive writing.
For years teachers were told to avoid using calculators unless children were taught how to use them and that they were part of our daily instruction. Then, and only then, could we assume children knew how to use a calculator. We were systematic, careful and thoughtful in measuring math skills…not lack of calculator skills.
Now, the youngest kids are propped in front of large computers with oversized mice, or little notebooks that fly off the table when kids wiggle, lose their place, programs shut down, kids have to start again…and all these scores are High-stakes results! Garbage in & garbage out! Is there anyone with know,edge, common sense and integrity in the Reform Movement? I keep looking…
Teachers are pressured and intimidated to cooperate with such unethical expectations, and children are demoralized.
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As a tech director, I can tell you NO NO NO…we can’t afford to run common core and more importantly PARCC. So far we have bought 30 new laptops and are no where near what we need, just to take a test a few times a year!!! We were also just informed on how much the state plans to slash our education budget, yet we are still going though with these crazy PARCC and Charlotte Danielson evaluations. This is madness. They are truly trying obliterate public education from the inside out.
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cary444, SO TRUE!
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For anyone interested in the stats on budget cuts to K-12 education, big trends and state-by-state information, go to http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4011
There you will see clearly the damage done by the wizards of Wall Street and on-going resistance to school funding in the belief that “throwing more money at schools won’t improve them” –that said in one breath, then next is the claim that students and teachers are responsible for our nation’s economic well being.
The bottom line on technology for on-line tests is this: if your state bought into the PARCC or the SBAC consortium then you are going to be seeing, or may already be seeing the phenomenon of robbing Peter to pay Paul–cuts in programs that are not deemed central to testing on-line.
That money will go to all of the service providers who have subcontracts to make these tests possible, and more generally to fuel the drive toward competency-based, on-line, test-embedded courses available 24/7, along with data-mining on an unprecedented scale, see today’s Politico today for the latest on privacy issues.
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And this statement says it all – “throwing more money at schools won’t improve them”…they are not throwing money at schools, they are spending OUR MONEY on OUR SCHOOLS. We pay dearly through our tax dollar for good schools in OUR DISTRICTS. I don’t mind spreading the wealth through out the state to poorer districts but when they with hold our money for our schools…they have gone too far. I check my taxes and a HUGE chunk is going to education. I don’t mind but don’t tell me that spending my tax dollar on my schools is a waste or really any of the governments business!
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I don’t know, but hopefully schools can resist the hype and sales pitches and make good decisions. We can’t do anything about the giant herd of salespeople, but we can demand that the (local) adults on the other side of that transaction not believe everything they’re told by people who have an obvious interest in selling them stuff.
That’s their job, and since there’s only one side who are at all accountable to the public for anything, I would focus there, on the people who have an actual duty, rather than hoping the sales/pundit/government cheerleaders at the national level show some restraint.
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PARRC is run by Achieve Inc. Whose board includes and has included former execs from IBM and Intel. Does that explain why schools need to buy tons of computers?
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You don’t have to worry about what they’ll do with the information they collect, because they signed this crazy “pledge”:
“Representative Jared Polis (CO-02) today praised the signing of a pledge by major K-12 school service providers to safeguard student privacy by creating standards regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information. Earlier this year, Rep. Polis and Rep. Luke Messer (R-IN) called upon providers to take leadership in this important area, and convened a working group dedicated to this purpose.”
So the providers are writing their own regulations? That’s honest, at least. We finally cut out the lawmaker middleman and now industry groups just write the rules themselves.
“The Pledge would make clear that school service providers are accountable to:
Not sell student information
Not behaviorally target advertising
Use data for authorized education purposes only
Not change privacy policies without notice and choice
Enforce strict limits on data retention
Support parental access to, and correction of errors in, their children’s information
Provide comprehensive security standards
Be transparent about collection and use of data
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) led this effort following requests from Rep. Polis to ensure student privacy was protected while not stifling innovation in education technology and personalized learning.”
Are “pledges” enforceable? Is it like a Solemn Vow? God forbid anyone should actually regulate anything. That might make the providers mad at the politicians. It’s so divisive and…. mean!
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Most NH schools have been giving NWEA tests on line for 10 years son on line testing is no big deal. In addition, they say that they had to make no more investment in technology for the Smarter Balanced assessment than they would have made anyway (here’s a sampling: http://anhpe.org/2013/11/01/ccsscost/)
Plus, schools can continue to administer the test on paper for the next 3 years.
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Cuomo has a $2 BILLION bond for technology upgrades in the schools on the November ballot. The only chance we have to re-join the now dwindling PARCC testing group.
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Memphis Louie
After posting this quickly and now re-reading it, I inadvertently made it sound as if I am in support of the Smart Schools Bond. Not the case. NYS needs to abandon the test-and-punish regime of NCLB/RTTT/APPR and the Regents Reform Agenda. The last thing the students of this state needs is $2B for computers. A true “Smart Schools” act would be devoting money toward improving classroom libraries, improving science labs, and improving inventories of musical instruments.
“If you oppose the CCC you need to work to defeat this $2B gift back to Gates and his colleagues!” YES, YES!
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State Budget Solutions boasted that it was a partnership with ALEC and the Franklin Center, at its website, about a year ago.
Mother Jones reported the following about the guy who runs the misnamed, American Principles Project, “Sean Fieler (is) a New York City hedge fund chairman and big-time Republican donor.”
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As a teacher in a lower income area where students have limited technology outside of school, it’s very difficult to prepare them for online testing. We need to decide how to chop up the day to teach core material and then train them how to use technology to,prepare for the online tests.
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New York voters will decide whether to authorize a $2B Smart Schools Bond this November. You have to question whether the purchase of technology with a short life span being paid for over fifteen years. Beyond that, New York’s many opponents of Common Core need to grasp that passage of this bond will require that NY school districts become PARCC compliant. If you oppose the CCC you need to work to defeat this $2B gift back to Gates and his colleagues!
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It is getting so that children don’t even need pencils anymore…..Jean Piaget has rolled over again in his grave.
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