In this post, Valerie Strauss recounts the sordid history of Florida’s State Superintendent, Pam Stewart, who tries to force severely disabled children to take standardized state tests.
One of them, Ethan Radiske, was dying as the Florida Department of Education harassed his family to get him to take the test. Poor Ethan cheated the state by dying without taking the test.
Valerie Strauss writes:
“Now, a mother named Paula Drew is fighting the same kind of battle with the Florida Department of Education. Paula’s daughter, 15-year-old Madison Drew, has cerebral palsy and cannot speak. She suffers from a number of conditions related to her condition and takes several medications daily to prevent seizures, which can affect her cognitive abilities, a doctor’s written diagnosis shows.
“Drew said she sought an exemption from state-mandated testing, but Pam Stewart, the Florida education commissioner, denied the request…
“I asked the Florida Department of Education for comment. While not speaking specifically about Madison Drew’s case, Meghan Collins, a department spokeswoman, said in an email: “Florida state law states that participation in statewide standardized assessments is mandatory for students in public schools. However, there are two types of exemptions that can be submitted by a school district to the state: medical complexity and extraordinary exemption due to circumstance or condition (extraordinary exemption). … All requests are considered on an individual basis.”
“That response reflects the reasoning behind why Florida — and other states, as well as the U.S. Department of Education — insist that kids with impaired cognitive ability take standardized tests: It is pure boilerplate.
“They say, nearly every child can learn something and be assessed in some fashion. In a 2014 letter to teachers, Stewart wrote in part: “We cannot and should not return to the days where we tacitly ignore the needs of children with special needs by failing to ensure they are learning and growing as the result of teachers’ excellent work.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’ve heard this mantra before – ALL children can learn, therefore even those with impairments should be expected to follow the curriculum. I’ve also witnessed special education teachers pull their hair out while trying to meet the ridiculous expectations of their supervisors when what their students really needed was language development and life skills (including toilet training and other hygiene routines). And this was prior to the testing requirements.
CC and assessments are the anti-child but cruelest for the learning, emotional, and physically disabled. Who care about grade level when your child is dying?
But the “administrators” are forced to search for numbers without concern for the individual.
Another example of what is wrong with the current philosophies of the rheform movement.
While watching a documentary on the modern-day obsession with school graduation numbers, I was taken aback when the “help” given to a girl who had been through Hurricane Katrina, lost her parent, lost her home, and had her own child taken away from her due to her inability to give it care, was in the detached hiring of a truancy officer who might get her to attend classes. Searching for numbers WITHOUT CONCERN FOR THE INDIVIDUAL. How did we get here?
“But the “administrators” are forced to search for numbers without concern for the individual.”
Horse manure!
Those “administrators” make those choices knowing full well the negative consequences for students. Those “administrators” (better referred to as ‘adminimals’) are only concerned about one thing: his/her own job and the accompanying quite a bit higher salary than the teachers. Were I religious I would wish that they would be damned in hell forever. As it is they are just being like good Germans of the 1930s.
Duane –
Actually the one supervisor (there were many) I was referring to was of German descent. She should have known better.
All people not confined to a wheelchair can walk, therefore everyone should be expected to complete a 5K in under 30 minutes.
Hey, makes about as much sense as saying that all kids can learn, therefore all kids should take grade level standardized tests.
Being in a wheelchair is not a qualified exemption. Everyone will participate, so get those crutches out. We’ve got to keep our numbers up. No excuses!
The recurrence of stories such as these makes me wonder, “What makes people behave this way?” My guess is that the perpetrators of such cruelties probably treat their friends and family with humanity, but become different people at work. They suspend moral judgment. It is impossible to excuse, hard to explain, but not uncommon in hierarchical bureaucracies. Absurd inflexibility occurs, I think, when those in control do not respect or trust either their “subordinates” or the people they are supposed to serve. As a result, they follow the, “Give ‘em an inch and they’ll take a mile,” dictum.
There is a better way to improve education: Invest and Trust: http://www.arthurcamins.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Better-Way-to-Improve-Education.pdf
“They suspend moral judgment. It is impossible to excuse, hard to explain, but not uncommon in hierarchical bureaucracies.”
The historical example is that they are just good Germans of the 1930s.
If that was my kid someone in the Florida DOE would be getting a serious asskicking
What state is Pam in? This is the norm in Florida. ” Stewart wrote in part: “We cannot and should not return to the days where we tacitly ignore the needs of children with special needs by failing to ensure they are learning and growing as the result of teachers’ excellent work.” 20 to 60 days of Suspensions, detentions are the norm in school districts in Florida. No manifestation determination hearings. April 1, 2015 Administrative Law judge Robert E. Meale decision against Highlands County School Board Page 27-28: “50. Nor is any more weight assigned to Mr. Smehyl’s conclusion that Petitioner’s behavior was not a manifestation of his disability. Mr. Smehyl’s manifestation determination was a sham. First, the meeting proceeded on notice that Mr. Smehyl had mailed to the parents three days in advance of the meeting without even a phone call. Second, Mr. Smehyl failed to give the parents the required notice of the discipline that Dean Johnson had proposed to impose, as discussed in the Conclusions of Law. Third, also as noted in the Conclusions of Law, the meeting lacked required staff. In addition to the parents, the meeting consisted of two or three administrators without an ESE or general education teacher. If Dean Johnson did not attend, the meeting lacked anyone with direct knowledge of Petitioner’s school-based behavior. Fourth, Mr. Smehyl failed to conduct the meeting in a good-faith effort to address the extent to which, if any, the behavior bore a relationship to Petitioner’s disability. Rather than conduct a meaningful discussion of the matter at hand–a daunting prospect, given the personnel present and lack of behavioral information available to the attendees–Mr. Smehyl drew the admission from the father and concluded the meeting. Mr. Smehyl would not have displayed such deference to the behavioral insight of the father, if he had replied that the behavior was a manifestation. 51. Mr. Smehyl’s handling of the manifestation determination meeting could have been the product of ignorance of the requirements of law, although Respondent is obviously accountable for the personnel to whom it assigns important responsibilities. However, failing to have a single teacher attend the meeting, failing to facilitate an informed discussion of the behavior and the disability, and seizing upon the unsophisticated father’s “admission” that the behavior was not a manifestation of a disability leaves the clear impression that Mr. Smehyl had predetermined that Petitioner’s behavior was not a manifestation of any disability, and the manifestation determination process was another formality, like the MTSS process.” I was 16 years old when I went to work in Letchworth Village in New York the largest (over 6,000 inmates) in the world and I don’t see much difference in the way we treated the inmates and how we treat children today.
Hello from Canada! Special education up north here used to be a joy, mostly because children with intellectual disabilities tend, as a whole, to be some of the most delightful people on the planet, but also because we could personalize their programs in order to set reasonable and achievable goals for them as individuals, and then be completely creative in finding the ways to guide them towards those goals. Goals were established by teachers and parents working together, pulling in other supports as needed, and IEP goals were reviewed together with parents to evaluate growth, and where necessary, to change directions. No testing. No grades. Nobody cares more about a child’s progress than their parents and when you partner with them, teachers are held accountable. (Although I’ve never known a special education teacher who needed to be because they care almost as much as the parent). It used to work well – I have so many students who are now young adults who are employed, volunteering, have social lives – and in general are living meaningful, purposeful, happy lives. Isn’t that the ultimate goal of special education?
Having said that our provincial government here in BC has applied slash and burn tactics to special education in the name of balancing the budget. (or breaking the teachers’ union). Now, 1 teacher may have up to 25 children with significant disabilities to teach, and our Educational Assistants handle groups of 3-4 severely disabled children at a time. One days when an EA is absent, children have to be sent home. Students can no longer attended their classes regularly as it is just to much for the EA & regular classroom teacher to handle. We are no longer able to work individually with kids to prepare them for work experience or to give them the intensive literacy/numeracy support they need to progress. We are heading down the slippery slope back to where children who didn’t fit in were warehoused in segregated settings. Then, I fully expect the blame to be placed on the teachers and the emergence of charter schools as the solution.
Whatever happens in the US, we tend to follow about 10 years later here in Canada. I really appreciate Diane’s work and all the comments here; I try to direct as many Canadian teachers as I can here to read about just how bad things can get when the neoliberal agenda strikes at the heart of public education. Perhaps we can head it off here in Canada before we are plunged into the same nightmare of privatization and testing as you are standing so strongly against. Thank you all for your insights.
Nova46, it used to be a joy teaching special education here, as well. When I started in the Special Ed field, teaching the developmentally disabled, multiply handicapped, and severely emotionally disturbed, there were virtually no commercially available programs we could use.
It was back when The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was brand new (and even slightly before it was enacted- yes, I’m old). We developed our own programs, we met with parents and administrators to develop appropriate IEP’s for our students, and these kids had the opportunity to learn and grow and develop. The parents were thrilled. We loved our kids, and we enjoyed every single advance they made, whether in behavior, self-care, or academics. And they did, by God, learn.
I am just grateful that I don’t have to deal with the current standardized testing regime for the severely disabled.
And yes, it amounts to child abuse. 😦
Wow, I like your insight into seeing our long years of a test-based intervention as being simply “slash and burn” invasions. And, oh, it breaks my heart to know that we are exporting this “recipe” for a deregulated educational insanity.
Oh, unfortunately, it has not just been exported to Canada, it’s happening in the UK as well. See: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-35883922
So-called education reform, aka neoliberalism run amok, is a global epidemic, with the global corporate Overclass intent on smashing and grabbing everything in sight.
I also sent a letter to the Florida Department of Education, January 26, inquiring about out out policies in Florida. I received a 5-page form letter with questions that had been submitted by several members of the Senate followed by her answers.
Evidently, Pam Stewart is using that boiler plate for all inquiries. In any case the letter was filled with nonsense about the value of tests in telling parents, students, and taxpayers how much kids are learning. The letter also detailed all of the penalties for opting out. I can make it available, but it is much to long… and anyone can probably get the same boilerplate by trying to contact Pam Stewart.
Thank you for helping us to out our resident bully, Diane.
Bullying. It’s happening in Florida and we’re naming names. Our bully state is spawning bully districts and it needs to stop.
Parents in the opt out movement are only able to opt their children out successfully because we have become INFORMED. Commissioner Pam Stewart’s #CampaignofIntimidation will continue as long as parents remain uninformed. Threatening someone’s children could also be called emotional blackmail and the Commissioner is a repeat offender. #pamisabully
All children can learn but not all learning can be assessed particularly by tests! Duh…..
It seems as though it’s all about money. I have a disabled child in the public school system and although she can pass all the tests cognitivly, physically she is unable to take them. She has a brain injury due to a Brian tumor that destroyed her cerebellum (she also has epilepsy caused by another brain tumor), she is physically unable to read, write, or type in the time allotted for the test, however they still expect her to take the test. It is this way with all the standardized tests she is required to take, she could theoretically pass them, but they don’t allow the amount of accommodations she would need in order to pass them, and they are all timed so it doesn’t work. I have already spoken with her school about having her exempted from all the tests and they have agreed that that is the best solution, however she still has to “sit” for the test and then when it shows that she was not able to answer 90% of the questions because she ran out of time they will issue an exemption. The crazy part is that I know and the school knows that my daughter knows the grade level material. She is a straight A student. Having her “sit” for the test is just a formality we have to go through, but my question is why? Why waste everyone’s time? Could it be because each test has a dollar amount placed on it and someone is pushing for every child to be required to be given a test even if we know that the test is inappropriate for that child and even if we know the test is going to be exempted? Money is the root of all evil and I have a feeling if we dig deep enough we will find money at the root of this evil as well.
I am so sorry, Cathy, and I simply cannot understand why the public school cannot accommodate your daughter’s disability.
They should not be having her sit for the tests for which she is physically unable to answer 90% of the questions before they issue an “exemption.”
How does this make the disabled students feel? Not good, I’m sure. It’s a waste of their time, and the teaching time they need and deserve.
But, OTOH, these tests are a complete waste of time for most students. The tests do not serve the students well, they do not help the teachers teach their students better.
You are correct. It’s about money.
If you really want your stomach turned, try reading some of the cold blooded comments in the Valerie Strauss link, with such joyful thoughts as “why should my tax dollars be wasted on such a child if they can’t take the test.” I fear Pam Stewart is just a reflection of what our society has become. Social Darwinism is here.
Yes, sadly, I have heard this from more than a few people I know. If these kids cannot “take the test,” or pass them, they are not worth our time, money and effort, according to them.
What have we as a society become?
Nothing good, if this is going to be the mantra going forward.
Happened to turn on my Pandora station and the following started the music off:
I so wish I didn’t read those comments! So very sad!
This story is completely outrageous. Pam Stewart is unfit to lead her state in education. If a person has been given the responsibility of leading one of the most important departments in the state and makes a decision such as the one on the testing of Madison Drew, she clearly does not have the wisdom, discernment and good decision-making required for quality, trustworthy leadership. In fact, she cannot be trusted. The people of Florida should be calling for her resignation.
A basic principle of orchestrating change is to avoid the temptation to focus on the folks who are most negative and most resistant. They may say and/or do awful things, but it is more important to concentrate attention on those who might be on our side with some engagement and to listen to and respond to folks who have questions and doubts. That how we grow a movement.
http://www.arthurcamins.com
Right, Arthur. I wish there were more people doing good things. But we can’t ignore those who are in power and who hurt children.
A heartfelt “thank you” to everyone contributing to this thread.
😎
Excellent point made by Ms. Stewart. Every student enrolled in public school systems should present evidence of growth through the system, or taxpayers’ funds have been wasted.
stock73,
Do you think your money is wasted by helping children who are profoundly disabled? There is a US Supreme Court decision that says you are wrong.
Exactly so, Diane. What are the people who believe this way planning on doing with the severely and profoundly disabled? Throw them under a bridge and let them die?
Sorry to be so negative, but I have not heard one word out of these people about what society should be doing to help these kids.
And, unless they are willing to shunt them to the side of the road, every little bit that these kids learn is a plus for them, for their families, and for any society that believes that it is responsible for every human being in that society, and not just those that the society thinks will be the “most productive” and “tax-paying” citizens.
What has happened to our humanity?
“Every student enrolled in public school systems should present evidence of growth through the system, . . .”
And how might the student “present evidence of growth”, stock73? Please expound and explain.
Stock73—–“If your child receives special education services, he must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). That’s the law. An IEP is an important legal document. It spells out your child’s learning needs, the services the school will provide and how progress will be measured.” THERE IT IS– Stock– the IEP will present evidence of growth.
What is priceless and no standardized test can measure is watching our regular education students interacting with our severely disabled students. The joy, laughter and learning and Growth taking place can not be measured but can be captured in the heart. You obviously don’t live in our education world because your comments are clueless.
“Every student enrolled in public school systems should present evidence of growth through the system, . . .”
Does a picture of a student on the rack count as “evidence of growth”?
Having been away for a week, I’ve come back to notice that there have been a few new commontators like stock73 who appear to be commenting from the edudeformer point of view. Please, if you’re going to comment, our edudeformer friends at least do so semi-intelligently.
I believe that every child should be given the same “opportunity” (if you can call it that) to test like their non-disabled peers, but I also wholeheartedly agree that the parents and doctors should have the CHOICE to decide if the testing is not appropriate for their disabled child. No one has authority over my child by me! I’ve had doctors try to do things to her or not do things to her which I knew was wrong and I would stand up to them too. Some, the good ones, even came back later to tell me that they were wrong and I was right. I know my child best! I simple checkbox on their IEP that says “yes, I want my child to participate” or “no, I do NOT want my child to participate” would be fine. Seems pretty simple to me.
“I believe that every child should be given the same “opportunity” (if you can call it that) to test like their non-disabled peers,”
Why would you want any child to suffer through false, error filled, illogical and otherwise COMPLETELY INVALID STANDARDIZED TESTS???
Here, on an equal opportunity basis let me shove pins under your fingernails.
Duane – this is an odd reply, because I am ordinarily a total Duane Swacker devotee. I agree enthusiastically with almost everything you write (often wishing I could have written it so well myself). But — I think you are too hard on Paula. I don’t see her as a testing proponent. I see this as totally a statement on the benefits of inclusion and the right of parents to decide what is best for their kids. Often kids with learning disabilities get excluded from so much (that they are really able to do). I think all she is saying is — IF her child can do well on the tests, and wants to be included in something that all his/her neurotypical peers are doing — she should have the right to check the box “yes.” Ordinarily I would opt my kids out – for political reasons as well as the fact that the tests are empirically invalid. But if MY LD kid had a chance to “be normal” and take the tests with his friends, and I thought he would be able to do well on them — I would let him.
JEM,
Concern noted and agree that I don’t think Paula was attempting to support testing and that her emphasis was on the equal opportunity aspect. But (ah, that good ol conjunction/interjection, have borne the brunt of it more times than I care to remember) even with your example, I still cannot comprehend why anyone would want his/her child to participate in a completely vacuous and invalid process that is nothing more than a waste of time.
Another example of Florida’s nonuniform education system.
Kids with disabilities that get the Florida McKay scholarship don’t have to take the standardized test unless the parents ask the school to give it. Disabilities include intellectual disability; a speech impairment; a language impairment; a hearing impairment, including deafness; a visual impairment, including blindness; a dual sensory impairment; an orthopedic impairment; an other health impairment; an emotional or behavioral disability; a specific learning disability, including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, or developmental aphasia; a traumatic brain injury; a developmental delay; or autism spectrum disorder.
From the statute
(c) Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting the educational needs of the student by:
1. At a minimum, annually providing to the parent a written explanation of the student’s progress.
2. Cooperating with the scholarship student whose parent chooses to participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22.
(d) Maintain in this state a physical location where a scholarship student regularly attends classes.
Thank you, JEM. That’s exactly what I was trying to convey.
Does the McKay student receive a standard high school diploma or just a certificate of completion? I have been told that if my child does not take the state standardized tests she will not qualify for a standard diploma. My daughter takes all the required classes for a standard diploma and even 4-5 honors classes per year. She is quite smart and learns just as well as her peers. She however cannot pass standardized tests because of her physical limitations and the time restraints the tests have. I cannot find a reason to make her sit in a testing room for days on end to take an EOC exam when she receives A’s in her class that the exam is for. The teacher knows she knows the material, the teacher knows she is learning, it should be up to the teacher to pass or fail her, not a test. And it is a waste of money to give these tests to her because I tell her to write her name on the test, sit in the room the required 90 minutes, and turn the test in blank because I see no reason she should be tortured like this. By the way it takes her a full ten minutes to write her first and last name, which totals only 9 letters, so imagine how long it would take her to write out 60 algebraic equations to pass the algebra I EOC.
Why has your daughter not been taught touch typing and/or have access to use a Dragon program? It should be on her IEP. Call me and I will review with you what tec is available to your daughter. If the school is refusing to give her theses services and accommodations then you need to go to due process hearing. I help parents do due process hearings and I do it for free over the internet urania32@hotmail.com and telephone 352-282-2539. No child today should be frustrated because they have disabilities that prevent them from access reading, writing and communicating when we have the tec to overcome disabilities. Most it is the law school districts are to provide: § 300.5 Assistive technology device Assistive technology device means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability. The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device. § 300.6 Assistive technology service Assistive technology service means any service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device. The term includes—(a) The evaluation of the needs of a child with a disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child’s customary environment; (b) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive technology devices by children with disabilities; (c) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology devices; (d) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs; (e) Training or technical assistance for a child with a disability or, if appropriate, that child’s family; and (f) Training or technical assistance for professionals (including individuals providing education or rehabilitation services), employers, or other individuals who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise substantially involved in the major life functions of that child.
Linda,
Assistance with these types of things are seriously lacking. We have met with assistive devise people in the past (since about 5th grade) and have received little to no help from them. My daughter has not been offered Dragon software because she has “cerebellar speech” and we have been told that Dragon will not be able to pick up her speech pattern. She was offered a typing program that uses word choice, like a prediction type thing where she types one or two letters and then chooses the correct word that pops up, however, although all of this is good in theory it doesn’t work in the classroom setting because she simply does not get the time needed to use these programs. If she used this program to type an essay for example it would still take her at least 5 times longer to type it than it takes the other kids and the teachers do not allow that amount of time and she would fall far behind in the class. She is in 11th grade now so it’s essentially too late to get her into any assistive technology at this point. The assistive tech people at the school were never very helpful even though I requested they be at her iep meetings and I have asked the school to have her evaluated every year for help. They have not come up with any ideas or ways to help her with any technology.
Cathy
From the Florida DOE website — “Non-public school educational programs are not regulated, controlled, approved, or accredited by the Florida Department of Education; therefore, we only have limited information on the curriculum, services, or programs offered by these private schools. ”
The ACT or SAT and possibly other tests can be used in lieu of the FSA tests for 10th grade.
Here is a link to Opt Out Orlando.
https://optoutorlando.wordpress.com/
http://www.fldoe.org/about-us/commissioner-pam-stewart
“Commissioner Stewart has served nearly 40 years in education, beginning her career as a school teacher, and continuing through the first 20 years of service to students, educators and families as a guidance counselor, testing and research specialist, assistant principal and principal at both the elementary and high school levels.”
“In this role, she oversees K-12 Public Schools, the Florida Colleges System, Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services with a focus on collaboration and continuous improvement.”
Email address there but I can’t find a twitter account for her.
I know this is not on point, but really, it is. The Ted Cruz political machine just spent $67,000,000 MILLION in ads “attacking” Trump. Towns/states can’t balance budgets, won’t fund public schools….and the billionaires that fund reform spend billions trying to screw over students, teachers, children, women, public sector workers, and here during election season Superpacs fund advertisements, while children suffer. Sad.