Denisha Jones, who holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University in curriculum and instruction, is presently a professor at Howard University. She is a regular contributor to EmPower magazine, where the following article appeared:
She writes that “reformers” claim that standardized testing will improve the achievement of children of color, although it is actually discourages many children of color. In this article, she includes a graph showing how the testing culture can contribute to the “school-to-prison” pipeline. Discouraged students are likelier to act out in school, likelier to be suspended because of “zero tolerance” policies, likelier to be pushed out of school, and likelier to end up in trouble.
These facts may be well known to educators, but they are not so well-known to civil rights organizations, 19 of which signed a statement supporting the continuation of annual testing in the new version of NCLB. Jones uses her article to explain that it is important to understand why they endorse policies that claim to advance civil rights (but don’t), to understand that they have genuinely good reasons for supporting annual testing, and to know that the way to engage in respectful dialogue, not demonizing diatribes.
She writes:
So why would 19 civil rights organizations demand more testing when there is a vast amount of research that shows how harmful high stakes standardized testing can be for low-income and minority children? I suspect that part of the reason is that the corporate reformers talk a good game. They appeal to parents who feel like they are trapped in failing public schools by co-opting the language of the civil rights movement. This is how an organization like Teach for America can be lauded by many as the savior of public education when in reality they place inexperienced, unqualified, mostly white recent college graduates in schools with students who have the most need, for a couple of years increasing the historic problem of teacher turnover. They claim to want to help low-income students but in reality they are a business that profits off of de-professionalizing the teaching profession by turning teaching into a 2 year temporary experience that anyone can do with five weeks of training. However if you are a parent and your child has consistently had teachers who are racist or do not seem to care, you might just appreciate this energetic fresh faced new comer. It is not hard to see how some parents can be deceived into thinking that the education reforms being forced onto schools are going to finally turn our public school system into an equitable and anti-racist institution.
So before you criticize these civil rights group for endorsing more testing you might want to ask yourself what would lead them to take that position. And you should ask yourself if your criticisms of them are going to expose the dangers of standardized testing or further alienate a group of people who have routinely been shut out from mainstream conversation. Criticism does not build allies or welcome people who have been marginalized to join the fight. This does not mean that we should not engage in a thoughtful discussion that challenges the dangers in believing standardized testing can put an end to racial discrimination in schools, but consider the difference in this response and the message it sends.
[Jones quotes this response, by Brian Jones, whose article follows this one on the blog]:
Likewise, when we deepen the conversation about standardized testing, we usually discover that parents and educators want similar things for our children. If standardized tests are widely and loudly touted as an anti-racist measure of opportunity and fairness, some parents who are desperately searching for some measure of fairness for their children might latch onto that. Those of us who are opposed to high-stakes standardized testing shouldn’t moralize with people, or disparage their viewpoints or their experience. Rather, we have to validate their experience and find a way to deepen the conversation.
If you are an ally to the education activists who are fighting to save public education from the grips of testing and profits, we need you to empathize with these people and not insult them by calling their thinking shallow. The reality is the corporate reformers know how to appeal to these parents concerns. They show sympathy and profess to be committed to helping these children escape the schools that continue to fail them. Maybe if we did the same they would see us as allies and join our fight. The true work of reforming public education into a system where oppression and discrimination are not tolerated and children engage in meaningful learning with teachers who use authentic assessment to guide students into tapping in to their full potential, can only be done when we stop criticizing those who have historically been on the receiving end of a unjust public education system and learn to work together to make our shared vision a reality.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane, today Brian Lehrer will be hosting Carmen Farina NYC Chancellor and a big supporter of Common Core and evaluating teachers based on VAM (30%). I hope you can call in and respond to her claims. Tel: 212-433-9692
I am grateful for this professor’s voice. I think it’s worth noting, however, in response to “what would make these organizations support the testing ?” how about $$$$ from the Gates foundation ? I don’t want to think these organizations are inherently corrupt, but combined with a slick presentation, money talks….
A very thoughtful and important point. In NY it amounts to taking on the funding conflict between the suburbs and the cities: we should not be in competition for state aid, as things currently stand. If we take what we say seriously, then the issue of adequate resources to help children who are poor and otherwise in need of support must be brought center-stage–and these children live everywhere. If we continue to accept a zero-sum situation in state aid funding between NY City and Long Island/Westchester, for example, we will lose, for the simple reason that current funding cannot address the wrap-around problems of all the kids who need the help–whether they live in the city or Elmsford or Hempstead.
We all know there is a serious political problem created by ignoring the effects of a funding and employment system that permits Great Neck to exist alongside of Harlem. We keep saying that this is the principal issue affecting the quality of public education. This author is simple holding our feet to the fire.
Fix the wrap-around problem, and the employment problem that underlies it. If we don’t, the privatizers will be able to pick us off, one by one, as districts that just want to preserve their benefits, and the hell with everyone else.
Hedge-funders use civil rights discourse as a clever form of racism: by making the failure of schools in black and Hispanic areas seem like an effect of a funding system that favors predominantly white suburbs, hedge-funders argue that public schools fail because of racism, when, in reality, public schools fail black and white and Hispanic kids in all places where the parents of such children do not have good paying, secure jobs. And the reason many of these underemployed, or unemployed, and underpaid people do not have good jobs is that these hedge-funders have wrecked our economy. When the American economy is on the skids, racism rears its ugly head more viciously than when the economy serves the needs of all working people, regardless of color.
Taking control of the use of productive resources in our nation away from hedge-fund crooks is the civil rights struggle of our time.
Love that last line, Steve
I appreciate this comment so much; I copied it into’ social media through Face book and told them where to find this discussion on the Diane Ravitch blog and to read Steve’s comment…. “Hedge-funders use civil rights discourse as a clever form of racism: by making the failure of schools in black and Hispanic areas seem like an effect of a funding system that favors predominantly white suburbs, hedge-funders argue that public schools fail because of racism, when, in reality, public schools fail black and white and Hispanic kids in all places where the parents of such children do not have good paying, secure jobs. And the reason many of these underemployed, or unemployed, and underpaid people do not have good jobs is that these hedge-funders have wrecked our economy. When the American economy is on the skids, racism rears its ugly head more viciously than when the economy serves the needs of all working people, regardless of color.”
Great thoughts.
civil rights leaders in Georgia and Mississippi are holding “tight and fast” to the accountability measures in “test and punish” of NCLB on testing steroids with high stakes test; they fear that going to the intent and purpose of ESEA as it was initially passed will harm the students in their states who get a poor education. Their concerns are real and legitimate and we need to know how to respond … I know in my state teachers are led to believe “it is your poor attitude ” or bias or prejudice that keeps the standards so low for youngsters in the inner city poverty (less affluent ) schools and this is not true or helpful. blaming the teachers is part of the “testing on steroids” fixation and always has been; it is also the premise behind the testing of 40,000 students in special education on the east coast who fail the PARRC or SBAC and the teachers are told “it is your low standard for this child that is holding him back.” I refuse to place this burden on the teacher ….
“However if you are a parent and your child has consistently had teachers who are racist or do not seem to care, you might just appreciate this energetic fresh faced new comer.”
This situation must be extremely rare, no?
Caught my eye too.
I don’t see that statement as being one of “dialogue” as it is preposterous on face value.
FLERP, please remember that you need to self-cultivate and work much harder to feel confident and that is the ONLY SOLUTION in any society for your IF situation question.
I have been there in my own country, and in Canada. There are no teachers or professors can fail me, except giving me one grade below what it should be. For example A, not A+
However, I need resources to help me to advance my learning with or without conscientious educators because there are plenty of good Samaritans and humanitarians in CIVILIZED environment.
If the culture of FEAR is successfully imposed on children at very young age K-12, society will be in chaos. For example please take a look in all savage countries where citizens live with fear, punishment, money hunger, killing for food, no education, and no civility… It is a horrible living on earth.
Please DO NOT advocate any IF situation for you do not have solution to counter it. Readers will appreciate your suggestion of cause and effect situation. Back2basic
I always try to be truthful about what is “racist” and it is in the north just as in the south …. I didn’t mean to imply that it is only in Georgia or Mississippi so I wanted FLERP to know that I do care and try to act in a responsible fashion.
I think Civil Rights leaders want what is best for their communities. The reason they supported charter schools in the beginning is that the urban public schools were in bad shape and getting poor results for many students. Corporate power scapegoated the teachers for being lazy and ineffective. One of the main problems with urban education Ms. Jones does not mention is the funding inequities and the deliberate neglect of urban schools by mayors and governors in state after state. This was institutionalized neglect by design. These schools require a lot more resources, not less. The students should be in small classes with lots of resources, not less. Now African American leaders are trusting that corporations want the best for their children. They DON’T! They just want to exploit them further.
quote: “One of the main problems with urban education Ms. Jones does not mention is the funding inequities and the deliberate neglect of urban schools by mayors and governors in state after state. ” I can certainly agree with retired teacher ; our legislature tried to address this in funding formulas when some “ed reforms” were passed and we were using MEAP tests or early MCAS tests in Massachusetts and Birmingham was in the leadership in state house passing bills but they need to be revisited and examined just as ESEA needs to be reviewed and improved for the future….
I would like Ms. Jones to comment on the loss of teaching jobs for African American teachers that has resulted with the proliferation of charters and the closing of public schools. I appreciate her explanation of why civil rights groups might be attracted to reform rhetoric, but how do they square that with the loss of good middle class teaching jobs within the African American community? I am not asking as a challenge; I am genuinely interested in her perspective.
2Old2Teach: I agree with your perspective; Boston has somewhere around 68,000 students and it is appalling how few male role models they have for the minority students; these numbers were in the Diane Ravitch blog about 5 months ago and I can’t recall the figures… (i could look it up if anyone wants to know)… On another note our dearly loved neighbors (husband and wife) who rent in a moderate (not affluent ) income home in Greater Boston just took their twin daughters around the world : New Zealand , South America etc with a duly filed “curriculum” at the superintendent’s office. Now I am thinking about their return and they take the PARCC and let’s speculate and say “she only got 38% percentile on the PARRC test” and compare her to the student in the same class who has been (like me a plugger) in the classroom for his school year and he gets a 38% or 29% on the PARRC test…. ? In my neighbor’s home the young student twins would have a way to evaluate themselves in the real world and the child who was in his school and poverty situation for the whole year has no way to judge himself against the PARRC 29% or 38% and come out with any sense of his own worth and dignity? I am just using conjecture because the twins just landed back on the east coast and have not taken the test yet but they could score low…. is any one willing to explore the conjecture with me? What are we telling the student when we say you “are a test score called 29% percentile”???? Is there any fairness, or “equivalency” or validity? Is there a standard of moral or ethical sense that administrators are upholding or just using the “edu-crat” version? Now I did not say to deprive the children of their travel — I am pointing out it has a world of difference on how the student can proceed into the future with the understanding of identity issues in a “meritocracy”…. and what should the adults do about it…. (if you are the parents of the twins you have wherewithal to respond )
if you think of it a different way, this is what we have in a Community College where there is a larger proportion of students who were not born in this country and who did not receive educational programs (in a consecutive fashion for 2 or more years in this country; VAM says you need a consistent for two or more years otherwise the teacher must be ineffective)… Arne’t some of them better off (as our twins in the above exercise) for their breadth and depth of information and knowledge having those experiences?
And yet, all these headlines and reports that say “Community College students by the Gates/Pearson/PARRC standard are not ready for college work…” doesn’t it make you feel ill inside that the Chamber of Commerce keeps drowning us with this and the media will drum it into the heads of the locals and the commissioners/commisars make policy based on what the Chamber of Commerce (Gate$$$ ) is telling them is a priority? When they print out some of those college studies (especially at Community College) they are including people my age who are taking courses and you can use me as an example of brain cells lost over time.
Jean Haverhill, I appreciate very much the point you are making here. Although “38th percentile college-and-career-ready” is a stark example, public schooling has always had benchmarks which separate the college-bound from the h.s.-diploma-bound, & in previous generations, those who might aspire at most to 8th-gr (primary-sch0ool) diploma.
For much of the 20thc., a larger societal perspective was built in. There was farm and assembly-line for the 8th-grade graduates; those with higher marks might aspire to whiter-collar pursuits. The high-scoring outliers in blue-collar classes would be singled out w/ higher pursuits suggested. But as US shifted away from agrarian pursuits toward mfg, & again away from mfg, the perspective has been drastically reduced.
A younger brother in the ’70’s (with what would later be diagnosed as dyslexia) repeated 9th grade & could not get past History for h.s. diploma. Definitely made to feel ‘dumb’ despite having learned to drive standard shift at age 5, & wiring my old playhouse for electricity at 13. An expensive auto-tech school (one of the first, in Detroit) was in the offing but was felt a waste of $ for a kid who built a Harley-Davidson chopper from boxes of parts at age 16.
We were a mixed family, w/ Dad a highly-intelligent [dyslexic] escapee from a poor farming family married to an Ivy Leaguer. Perspicacious Mom wangled (via an asst parish priest in town to get PhD microbiology) a 1-yr gig in India devising & teaching machining curriculum for freshmen to learn how to maintain their lab instruments [eco crisis had made support staff unaffordable; students learned enough to teach the skills to subsequent incoming freshmen].
Needless to say, this assay equipped younger bro for success in what has turned out to be a career combining master carpentry, construction mgt– &, as he approaches retirement (via wife’s avocation)– ballroom-dance studio mgt, competition, teaching & judging.
Returning from this lengthy anecdote to your on-point story of twins circling the globe while other mid-mid-class kids toil in the land of public-school testing: yes. A larger world-perspective is what’s needed– for anybody classified by bureaucracy as “not much chance of ever being college-&-career-ready”– & most of all for the shut-ins, city-ghetto & poor rural kids1. Parochialism is the enemy. The only way for a kid to value his uniqueness is to be exposed to a larger world which stimulates his ideas & demonstrates the possibility of their marketability.
Which leads us directly to: possibly the most important public-school experiences are those fomenting a perspective beyond the centralized bureaucratic imagination & budget: project-based learning; the arts– field trips!
Jean Haverhill, your anecdote of the global-circling mid-mid class twins is such an important point. The larger societal perspective is what counts. Granted this, even narrowed, centralized ed bureaucracy cannot hold a kid back.
I am the product of a mixed family: Dad was a highly-intelligent escapee of a poor ’30’s farming family, Mom an Ivy Leaguer. My younger bro, much later diagnosed as dyslexic, was prisoner in ’60’s-’70’s public-schooling to those 20th-c. devices which century-long screened primary-school (8th-gr) grads from h.s. grads & singled out those who might succeed in tertiary education.
For most of the 20thc. there was a societal perspective which rationalized such screens: 8th-gr grads to farming & assembly-lines, h.s. grads to whiter-collar pursuits, w/some singled out for tertiary ed. There were the ‘book-&-pencil’ folk, & there were the rest– all of whom had a respected place in society.
Tho perspicacious Mom went to bat for bro to repeat 3rd gr due to reading difficulty, social promotion was already the game in the ’60’s. He ended up repeating 9th gr; History grade made h.s. diploma impossible. An expensive auto-tech schooling (one of the first, in Detroit) was in the offing, but seemed a waste: this was a kid who could drive std-shift at age 5; at age 13 he wired my old playhouse-shed for electricity; at 16, he built a Harley-Davidson chopper from boxes of parts.
Mom, via an Indian Jesuit asst-parish priest in town to get his PhD in microbiology, wangled for younger bro a 1-yr gig in Bombay [during an Indian eco crisis which placed blue-collar support out of budget for this priest’s Catholic college] designing curriculum handbook & teaching incoming freshmen machining skills to maintain their lab instruments (after which sophomore classes taught incoming frosh from the handbook).
Needless to say, this assay instilled in bro understanding of his special marketable skills; his career went on to encompass fine carpentry, construction mgt, &– as he approaches retirement– [via his wife’s avocation], ballroom-dance technique, competition, judging.
Getting back, after this lengthy personal anecdote, to your twins’ anecdote: yes. Parochialism is the enemy. Fed-imposed, centralized ed is parochialism on steroids. A greater perspective is the best gift we can possibly give, in public education, to city ghetto & rural poor students. The very engines of that perspective– project-based ed, the arts, field trips to museums, recycling factories, et al– which disappear, unfunded, due to mandates for fed-imposed testing– are what we need in public education today.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
Actually, testing does not improve the education of ANY child, period.
Sorry for that double-post! (Tech glitch).
For anyone still reading this thread… though the subject of this article was most welcome, I found the tone disappointing– almost embarrassingly patronizing. I really question whether the leaders of civil-rights groups need to be handled with kid-gloves! These are well-educated and perspicacious folks who have paid their dues in many a political debate! Must we find common ground & move gently forward, as opposed to “criticizing” a la Valerie Strauss? I suspect we teacher-progressives may find common ground with civil-rights advocates in the context of a lively debate!
Thanks for this post, Ms Ravitch & Prof. Jones.
I have a related theory about why standardized testing might inspire enthusiasm on the part of civil-rights groups: people in authority *believe* the results of standardized tests in a way that they don’t always *believe* the lived experiences of people in minority communities. Thus, IIRC, when minority plaintiffs sued Connecticut in Sheff v O’Neill (described in fascinating detail by “The Children in Room E4,” http://amzn.to/1BJF6c8), they relied in part on standardized-test-score discrepancies between schools districts in (largely minority) Hartford and the (largely white) surrounding districts. Other forms of advocacy had not worked, but test scores? They sound really objective! They show that yes, there really *is* a problem, likely indicating differential treatment of white & minority children.
I’m seeing the power of test scores myself, now, in my own work as an administrator at a district in the northeastern U.S. We have a cohort of students, largely minority, who are reading at far behind grade level. I want the district to hire new teaching staff specifically to support these students. My feeling is that recent dips in test scores are going to be more persuasive than an impassioned moral plea. (I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.)
Also, not only are test scores “objective,” but nowadays they’re also embarrassing! Now if we don’t make some changes, everyone will KNOW that our district may be serving minority students less well than white students!
I hope it goes without saying that this is not how I want the world to work. And as many others have said, I absolutely think that the current reform-y scheme of intensive standardized testing is bad for all students, & particularly bad for low-income students who may not have the same opportunities as richer students for out-of-school enrichment But in the world that we’re living in, it’s not unreasonable for civil-rights activists to believe that standardized test scores are their best hope for change. Those of us fighting ed reform need to be cognizant of that.
are you saying it is ok to use invalid tests (with no proven validity or reliability) as long as the results will be used to persuade people? When I use a test with students I make certain I can look up the reliability and validity in the Buros encyclopedia. What tests are you using to make these administrative decisions?
quote: “My feeling is that recent dips in test scores are going to be more persuasive than an impassioned moral plea. (I could be wrong, but I don’t think so.)”
my view is that politicians and edu=crats are confabulating these test scores in order to make themselves look good or to make teachers look bad. There is not much trust in anything that these individuals can come up with (cf. Tony Bennett, need I say more?)
If the tests were truy scientific and objective you would have a point but they are not because of the experimental nature of the tests being build “building the airplane while flying” is what they claim and in ten years they will have the “perfect” tests. This method of politicizing education for corporate benefits does not help any students of any traditional or minority groups. There isn’t anything in the state report that I trust any more.
Here is one more example; a school district actually got the state to change their accountability report because the comparisons in the data were wrong; they were being compared in the wrong fashion…. so if one district can contest the results and the state revises the report, that means (to me) that there are a lot more flaws that haven’t been discovered and reported. (it’s a little complicated here to explain the comparison system but I wouldn’t trust… the City was Marlborough MA and I imagine there will be others who contest the state’s report on their accountability data.
Jersey Mom : I’ll try to find the report and put it in here. Also the Pioneer Institute said the whole state system of comparing schools was flawed based on the methods they were using for the comparisons….. I’ll try to copy that report in here (the only problem is they said it was unfair to charter schools whereas I believe it is flawed and unfair to ALL of our school students)…
Jersey Mom: in this case the school district did not accept the state report at face value. I guess that is what I am saying; know who is doing the data reporting and what their agenda is. The state in this case had to “revamp” their conclusions based on the school district appeal. I would predict there could be many more of these appeals once the state does rankings on PARRC testing scores.
It is a newspaper article; you can get more technical information if you wish
http://patch.com/massachusetts/marlborough/two-major-changes-marlborough-high-classification-0
quote: “December 2014 This study finds that Massachusetts should revise the flawed “growth model” regulations designed to introduce rate of improvement into the formula used to determine which districts perform in the lowest 10 percent statewide ” (Pioneer Institute)
So they are saying the growth model is flawed; and, I agree …. however, they use the flaws as a reason to open up more charter schools and I cannot agree with that.
I also believe there is purposeful deceit in the ways that the reports are being interpreted for political purposes. There are also some who are purposely spreading “mendacity” because they want to close all public schools and dismiss the state’s responsibility for providing a thorough and efficient education so they will use any excuse to pull back funds.
It is difficult to find independent and objective data reports in today’s times…. Pearson and Gates have bought up the places that might have done good research in the past. Even the people who know how to prepare truthful reports with accurate and valid data are told to rework things for a political agenda. It is similar to Governor of FL saying “you cannot use climate change” in any reports…. A lot of trust has been destroyed with the current conditions.
Hi — Jersey Mom here. Thanks for your thoughtful replies.
I want to apologize, because I don’t think I made my position clear in my initial post: I am absolutely *not* a fan of standardized testing (except in very limited form), particularly in its current incarnation, & I’m aware of many of the methodological & other issues you cite. (In other words, my anti-reform creds are strong.) I’m *definitely* not in favor of relying on invalid test scores “just because they might persuade someone”!!
What I *am* try to say is that when we hear about civil rights groups supporting testing, we should respectfully consider, as an explanation, the systemic difficulty in getting authorities to pay attention to the experiences of minority & low-income students. (Obviously, not ALL authorities EVERYWHERE, but many authorities, in many places.)
Also, I would never advocate for something in my district solely on the basis of an artifact of a flawed test. However, if I know (1) that a cohort of students is suffering, (2) that test scores over the past five years are consistent with that suffering, & (3) that test scores might convince people to pay attention to the problem, it would be wrong for me to *ignore* those test scores in order to make an anti-testing political statement. (I have plenty of other opportunities to do that!)
Hope that that clarifies.
when any program is implemented, my revered professor Michael Scriven would say you need to collect data but you also have to consider opportunity cost. I would ask you local administrators : “what creative possibilities have been crushed and what gifted students and colleagues have been exiled by the horrid policies of test and punish?” as you implement these flawed policies of test and punish?
quote: “What I *am* try to say is that when we hear about civil rights groups supporting testing, we should respectfully consider, as an explanation, the systemic difficulty in getting authorities to pay attention to the experiences of minority & low-income students.” Yes, NJ Mom I do hear you and I understand and I would say this is true everywhere; we have extreme differences among and between the school districts (350 in Massachusetts) and it is as you describe. Also, we do not have “counties” — counties are sometimes a way to help to reduce the grosser inequities. In addition, regional educational offices have been tried in some states to reduce the largest gaps in resources; however this too has taken a distinct turn to the corporations owning the playground. Look at Educational Service Agencies, look at BOCES — as you point out not all but some…. and know the ones closest to you. I guess my over all opinion is it is hard to know who is competent and who is moral in this universe. (By moral I mean who is being ethical and acting with integrity and not using mendacity to push an ideology). The us usual “objective” “outside” “independent ” organizations that formerly did evaluations of programs in the schools have all been co-opted (again I am generalizing with all but you have to know the territory and who you can trust). I know there is one in NH that has major ties with Pearson and they are part of a “conglomerate” with West Ed and have board members from all the same inter-locking agencies. a many headed hydra.
I too relied on testing data for students and for classes/groups of students and I’ve given just about every test they could ever use in a special ed classroom but today I wouldn’t go near a teacher or a student with a “test” in hand because there has been horrendous abuse and malpractice. So if I get any kind of evaluation data I need to know where it came from, who wrote the report, and what their agenda is (could be careerism , could be political, could be corporate greed)…
Mom NJ: quote: “I know (1) that a cohort of students is suffering, (2) that test scores over the past five years are consistent with that suffering, & (3) that test scores might convince people to pay attention to the problem,”
I hear you and I understand what you say to be true… let’s continue to hope than we can improve things for students. I just don’t think the current political agenda permits us to continue the current SIG (school improvement grants) and “turn around” and “NCLB” and “waivers” because this policy has not improved any of the things that you are describing as 1. 2. and 3. So I agree with you. If it were me, I would work closely with the principal, the administrator in the district and get highly involved with the school committee; then get in touch with the reps for my area and my in-state senator; the state level “bureaucrats” and the board of education and governor…. etc. If you have a local commitment in the administration that is a good beginning. You probably know all of these things but the unprecedented attack on public schools (a hostile takeover) is not permitting people to influence the policy decisions. Still I will reaffirm the data that I have and know is valid and reliable and tell them when they give me “crap” or “lies”…. and some of them are doing it on purpose to destroy public schools….
quote: “that test scores might convince people to pay attention to the problem, it would be wrong for me to *ignore* those test scores in order to make an anti-testing political statement. (I have plenty of other opportunities to do that!)”
I wouldn’t ignore data if it comes from a substantial source that I can look up in Buros. If it is the NOVA achievement test, the Iowa, the California, the Stanford, The Woodcock Johnson, the WISC IV — all would have relevant aspects . Kentucky, by the way , is one state that — when they replaced a test — they did compare it and get correlational data on their students and see how the different tests show the various aspects of achievement with different curriculum subjects over time. They didn’t throw out the data that had for 10 or 15 years and replace it with the “PARRC” over night. In Massachusetts we have two decades of MEAP and MCAS experience and I would not throw out that data…. One needs , in an experiment, to examine PARRC and see how it portrays your student population in light of what you already know from MEAP/MCAS and previous iterations of testing . This was always part of standard setting the way ETS taught us (back in the day) and the teachers and administrators were able to sit down and choose which test was the best alignment with the curriculum — their professional knowledge and experience as those who worked with students (not in an experimental lab). For another reference, look at what Helen Ladd tells us about the consequential validity of the tests or what Jack Hassard (The Art of Teaching blog) shows to be a perspective on a state’s data. Those are a few of the people I would trust and they are far more knowledgable than I am. At this point I do not trust Pearson nor any of the firms that are marketing agents for Pearson (such as the one in NH I named).
And our state commissioner of Ed has become a full time marketing agent for Pearson perhaps because Arne Duncan promised him his next job (like Jeb Bush rescues people like Tony Bennett )….
JerseyMom: I didn’t mean to sound patronizing; I imagined you came from NJ and I know a little about what has been going on there… perhaps you don’t.
I also wanted to comment that we have protocols on students and test results at the student level and they are gathered with class sets and school building data.
When they make the state accountability reports they are using algorithms. These tend to “lump” all of our students together into averages; deciles, quartiles, etc. When I worked with the highest poverty rated schools in Lawrence MA we always found the median was a better indicator — the average meant practically nothing when you griped the students. Also, a school might have only 18 student’s in a special ed or ESL class and the data cannot be interpreted because of the “small N”… you need a “Big N”…
In addition the state reports put the tests through their gyrations of cut scores
This is what ETS taught me when the MEAP and MCAS were first being used in Massachusetts. The state departments are not explaining any of this when they set a “cut score’ and release an accountability report so it is not transparent.
Types of standard-setting studies
“Standard-setting studies fall into two categories, item-centered and person-centered. Examples of item-centered methods include the Angoff, Ebel, Nedelsky, and Bookmark methods, while examples of person-centered methods include the Borderline Survey and Contrasting Groups approaches. These are so categorized by the focus of the analysis; in item-centered studies, the organization evaluates items with respect to a given population of persons, and vice versa for person-centered studies.”
We had ETS in the Wellesley Ma office print up a manual for teachers and administrators HOW TO do this ; and the experienced professionals were included in the decisions — it was not some algorithm that would spit out of a computer from the IT office. We actually asked the teachers for input on the Contrasting Groups approach; a report went to each of 35 cities and towns showing what the student scores in their district would like using the Contrasting Groups as opposed to the test-item-centered methods (so the staff in the local district could see the implications and make some choices). All of this professional autonomy has been taken away. The ETS guidebook on how to do it still exists but the IT office has taken over the actual process of producing the algorithms now and then the administrator can decide if it is beneficial to his/her career to send it out as a press release or to “refigure” the data to make himself/herself look better. I am ashamed this has happened in my profession. One of the actual town reports for Scituate Public Schools might still exist in the ERIC system.