While the state of New York is scrambling to respond to the outraged parents who opted out of state tests last year, New York City is threatening teachers who dare to speak about opting out.
Last spring, 20% of the state’s eligible students opted out (about a quarter million students), but the numbers were much lower in New York City. Some attribute this to the fear of losing funding. Whatever the reason, less than 2% of students in New York City refused the tests.
The city wants to keep the numbers low.
According to the New York Times:
At a forum in December, Anita Skop, the superintendent of District 15 in Brooklyn, which had the highest rate of test refusals in the city last year, said that for an educator to encourage opting out was a political act and that public employees were barred from using their positions to make political statements.
On March 7, the teachers at Public School 234 in TriBeCa, where only two students opted out last year, emailed the school’s parents a broadside against the tests. The email said the exams hurt “every single class of students across the school” because of the resources they consumed.
But 10 days later, when dozens of parents showed up for a PTA meeting where they expected to hear more about the tests, the teachers were nowhere to be seen. The school’s principal explained that “it didn’t feel safe” for them to speak, adding that their union had informed them that their email could be considered insubordination. The principal, Lisa Ripperger, introduced an official from the Education Department who was there to “help oversee our meeting.”
Several principals said they had been told by either the schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, or their superintendents that they and their teachers should not encourage opting out. There were no specific consequences mentioned, but the warnings were enough to deter some educators.
Devora Kaye, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said that teachers were free to express themselves on matters of public concern as private citizens, but not as representatives of the department, and that if they crossed that line they could be disciplined. Asked what the disciplinary measures might be, Ms. Kaye said they were determined case by case.
“I don’t think that the teachers’ putting themselves in the middle of it is a good idea,” Ms. Fariña said in an interview.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Notice how Mulgrew pulled the plug on a teacher who voiced a professional opinion! It’s time to vote Mulgrew out of office. Vote MORE!!!
Also why is our Progressive mayor allowing Farina to blog the first amendment!
In fairness, this is a reporter telling us what a principal told the reporter about what one or more teachers told the principal about their union representative told them. And in light of the message the DOE seems to be sending down through the ranks, it sounds like the email could indeed “be considered insubordination.” So it’s not clear this is a case of Michael Mulgrew pulling plugs.
Block not blog…..I hate my IPad 2 since the update!!!!
First we hear about the growing teacher shortage across the nation, and then we hear that our teachers are being told that they must keep silent or be “disciplined.” The connection suggests that “disciplined” has simply become a synonym for “disappeared.” ciedieaech.wordpress.com THE DISAPPEARED
There’s no teacher shortage in New York City or New York State.
http://ny.chalkbeat.org/2015/08/18/why-new-york-city-doesnt-have-a-teacher-shortage/#.VvZ7qEb3bCQ
Yes, They “churn out’ new teachers, and these novices fill the places left when they sent the real teachers packing using this process:
But, as anyone who knows teachers in NYC, except in a few ‘good schools’ with real principals who respect their professional staff, there is no support for the movie, who quickly finds that they made huge mistake choosing teaching as a career… and the leave.
This keeps the budget low, and they save $60K for ever teacher who is not vested in pension and benefits.
Yeah! lots of candidates.
And these newest teachers are endlessly harassed and endlessly blamed. You can’t fault them for leaving, but oh my what this is doing to the whole concept of teaching as a true profession.
You got it right!
Tim
Over 15,000 teachers in NYS were dismissed due to NYSED’s underfunding of schools and the resulting program cuts. This very large pool of certified teachers looking for jobs were put on call lists. They have either returned to teaching, moved to another state to teach, or changed careers. This call list is just about tapped out. Pay close attention to the looming teacher shortage in NY. It’s lurking in the darkness of Cuomo’s Regents Reform Agenda.
The ed schools that keep warning of a shortage might do well to look at state enrollment trends. Like other high-tax states (see the shocking mid-census population loss in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois reported last week), NYS public schools have been bleeding enrollment for years, and only modest growth due to foreign immigration, primarily in the NYC area, has kept enrollment from shrinking.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2015/01/23/tough-job-market-teaching-candidates/22235837/
As for your remark about funding, I’ll assume it was a bad joke. New York State districts spend more on K-12 than anywhere, even 30-40%+ more than neighboring states with similarly high taxes and costs of living (CT, NJ, MA, VT).
Such a shocking loss of population! Middle income and poor people are fleeing. Who carries the heaviest tax burden? It ain’t the high muckety mucks who are intent on owning more and more of the state. Rahm and his neolib and corporate buddies continue to feed the 1% as they drive people of more modest means from the city with gentrification. Chicago is going to turn into the first gated city if Rahm and his ilk continue to drive policy. He has spent all his time on creating a playground for the wealthy and has ignored the needs of the ordinary citizen.
I don’t know why small business owners get caught up in Rauner’s rhetoric. Nothing he suggests is going to aid the neighborhood business. He is for the Walmartization of Illinois. He can’t do enough for his corporate cronies; no one is asking them to sacrifice (take away their perks) for the good of the state. The Walmarts of the world have made it abundantly clear that the health of the local community and its economy are of no concern to them. Yes they dabble in philanthropy until they decide to pull up stakes; one must do something to cover the destruction they are creating. Once they have sucked an area dry, they move on to greener pastures.
It’s easy to compare statistics, Tim. It’s not so easy to interpret what they truly mean.
I read that article. let me point out the incredible chutzpah that was spewed by the UNION and the NYC Chancellor.
1- “ The school’s principal explained that “it didn’t feel safe” for them to speak, adding that their union had informed them that “their email could be considered insubordination.”
ME: HUH? [REALLY… emails and talking to parents about invalid assessments/evaluations is ‘insubordination? This from the UFT! Thanks, Mike Mulgrew!
But then, stepping on the civil rights of Americans who happen to be teachers has been their modus operandi for over a decade. COMPLICIT is a word I use often.
2- “The principal, Lisa Ripperger, introduced an official from the Education Department who was there to “help OVERSEE our meeting.”
ME; LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT: The union was NOT there to defend the right of the professional to speak about tests. Oh, NO! The top-dogs were there to ‘oversee’ the propaganda.] LOL! Orwell is laughing! Lies are truth !
3- “Several principals said they had been told by either the schools chancellor, Carmen Fariña, or their superintendents that they and their teachers should not encourage opting out. There were no specific consequences mentioned, but the warnings were enough to deter some educators.”
ME: NO SPECIFIC CONSEQUENCES? Am I going crazy? Deter? Ya think?
Telling them that it is “Insubordination” —which could put them in the rubber room – or demote them to a substitute teacher, as they did with Francesco Portelos and hundreds of the ‘real’ teachers.!
THIS has worked for 2 decades with no accountability for such arrogance and veiled threats! NO wonder they spit on teachers!
3- “I don’t think that the teachers’ putting themselves in the middle of it is a good idea,” Ms. Fariña said in an interview.”
ME: But of course, THAT is EXACTLY what she and the board are doing…and yes Carmen, you don’t think very well about teachers… which is why so many tenured veterans disappeared when you were principal and superintendent.
Gotta’ love the irony. Geeeze . I am a playwright and I could not write dialogue that was so revealing of intentions!
4- “ Asked how schools could engineer balanced conversations, she said that parents were “very good at researching things”
ME: Ya think? Parents have so much time to be soooo INFORMED… why would parents want to hear what the professional practitioner has to say about invalid tests?
5- “and that a conversation could consist of parents’ explaining why they were or were not having their children take the tests.”
ME: R U KIDDING! THIS is the conversation that these oligarchs want to engineer?
The CONVERSATION ABOUT VALID Performance Assessments are the CORE of most recent “THE AMERICAN EDUCATOR”
http://www.aft.org/news/american-educator-looks-performance-based-assessment .
Geeze! I have been talking about the ABSENCE of this conversation forever.
Perhaps if the ‘parents and the public had the real studies –this 3rd level research for which my classroom practice was a cohort — which was NEVER DISSEMINATED, instead of the NCLB they might be able to do “some research.”
The words ‘ ENGINEER CONVERSATIONS’ are the telling details!
“Look for TELLING DETAILS in a play’s DIALOGUE, since plays have NO NARRATIVE which could inform the audience as to the nature of the characters on the stage… no narrative to describe the person’s intentions! THEIR BEHAVIOR DOES!
The narrative in this nation has been “engineered” by the EIC
Click to access eic-oct_11.pdf
from which Carmen and the Board of Ed, take their orders. Their behavior betrays them!
MY FINAL WORDS: When there is NO accountability for threatening Americans who are teachers, because civil rights have disappeared from the educational workplace… THIS is the result — the CON. when the union (LIKE OUR CONGRESS) fails to DO THE JOB!
http://www.perdaily.com/2011/01/lausd-et-al-a-national-scandal-of-enormous-proportions-by-susan-lee-schwartz-part-1.html
I use Lorna Stremcha’s story often, because that story is the culmination of what occurs when administrators do this… utter lawlessness. She talks in that ‘Lawless’ video I have put up at this site so many times, about the ’higher-ups’ who encourage this.
You see it in the NY Times article.
Excellent response, Susan!
The link to the American Educator which talks about PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS above does not work, so here IS the real one.
http://www.aft.org/news/american-educator-looks-performance-based-assessment
If you read what I write here, then you know I talk constantly about the real national standards WHICH BY THE WAY, was the HUGE research on PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS which proved WHY they were crucial to LEARNING.
The research disappeared– which in itself tells you the POWER of the oligarchs in the EIC.
You see this MILLIONS of dollars were given by Pew to the 12 districts for this research OUT OF HARVARD! I mean folks, this was real THIRD LEVEL RESEARCH… which means that it had to work everywhere, not in a few class in Tombuktoo or Oshkosh.
It was not based on a few observations of teachers. Over several years ,and thousands of teachers, the PRINCIPLE OF LEARNING were tested.
Four things successful teachers do.
Genuine performance evaluations for the use of the teacher was the ONLY principle that dealt with a ‘test’ of any kind.
REAL student work was assessed– Tests were nowhere in these standards — except for the ones teacher devise in class, and use to determine what lessons to do next to reach all the kids.
Four things that SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS MUST DO.
Testing was not among them
This research and the amazing standards for learning and Performance ASSESSMENT disappeared, replaced by the NCLB.
Gone. Poof!
and its place Gates gave us the CC crap, and VAM was put into place… because teachers had NO CHOICE OR OPTIONS!
Imagine telling doctors to do signs that killed patients.. and then blaming them. This is what our national media did…just as they gave us TRUMP and Hillary and ignored Bernie.
I will NOT let this go away.
Go to the American Educator. READ! There is a group that is bringing performance assessment into teacher practice.
‘ “…that parents were “very good at researching things” ‘
And would you think that a good researcher is going to look for primary sources like TEACHERS?!
HUH A good researcher? RU pulling gym leg?
The professional in the room with emergent learners is unable to be coherent about what?
Gimme a break.
Here is the March 7 email referenced in the article
Dear Families of PS 234,
It is with sincere mutual respect and trust as your children’s teachers that we reach out to you to start a conversation about our concerns with the current state of the standardized testing climate. Last week you received an email from our principal, Lisa Ripperger, about the school’s reflection on test prep and why it has been shortened from six weeks to three weeks this year. As teachers we wanted to reach out to you and let you know our thoughts.
Our educational values do not align with the choices elected officials have made for us. Against our better professional judgment, we are forced to administer the 3rd through 5th grade New York State ELA math, and science tests. This is at odds with our core philosophical values. More importantly, this conflicts with what we know to be true about effective teaching.
At PS 234, we value authentic inquiry and collaboration. We know that learning occurs within meaningful contexts that are relevant to students’ lives and when students are deeply invested in their growth and development. We have the privilege to construct curriculum where informative assessment drives student progress. These assessments help us to make careful choices about instruction.
Here are our thoughts:
Test scores are not an accurate representation of your child’s educational progress.
State testing does not inform instruction. Teachers do not receive any informative data from state assessments, nor do they know what will be on the tests.
Testing negatively impacts every single class of students across the school. Financial and staffing resources spent on preparation and administration of the test would be better used to aid classroom instruction.
Across the city and state, participation in these tests has led to a misguided assumption about how to best educate students.
We believe in useful assessment and are not opposed to standardized testing.
We are asking for your help. Educators and students are trapped in a system designed to halt innovation and sustain oppression. Current conditions have left us in a state of fear, but we can no longer be silent. As educators, we can voice our opinions and discuss the implications, but we cannot do more without your partnership.
Here is how to help:
Start a conversation with your student’s teacher about testing.
Talk to other families about testing.
Come to the PTA meeting on March 17th at 8:30 AM or that evening 6:00 PM to hear staff perspectives on testing and share your thoughts and concerns.
Visit http://www.changethestakes.org to get more information.
If you are considering opting out, write a letter to Lisa to express your concern over state tests and refuse your child’s participation in the tests. Opting out of the state tests is your choice. We want you to make an informed decision.
Please consider coming to either of the meetings to continue this conversation. We cannot take this important stand without your help. As a community, this is the chance to voice our grave concerns with the state of education.
Teachers are involved no matter what they do.
Whether it is fair or not, logical or not, parents will generally assume that if public school teachers are concerned and worried and upset about the impact of standardized testing on their students that they will speak up, most especially to the parents of the students that sit in their classrooms every day.
In other words, silence—even if enforced by every means fair and foul—will be generally interpreted not as unwilling compliance but as hearty agreement.
This is a very difficult issue for every teacher and member of a public school staff, but they need to remember that when the rheephormsters mandating this look for folks to blame for the inevitable train wreck, they are going to blame—
That’s right, teachers above all.
Contrary to the words of Ms. Fariña, teachers ARE in the middle of it—and she knows it.
A note: The seeming escape valve of the notion that [from the blog posting] “teachers were free to express themselves on matters of public concern as private citizens, but not as representatives of the department” is an untenable hoax. At an elementary school in LAUSD targeted by ParentRevolution, a number of the teachers had THEIR OWN CHILDREN [!] attending the school at which they worked, but were informed/threatened—up close and personal, in their own building, by enforcers sent over during the Deasy interregnum—that they were not to talk at any time about the attempted takeover by rheephormistas. Period. So their status as mothers and parents were erased in order to ensure complete and total obedience. Note: no surprise that it didn’t work out as John Deasy and his Soviet-era style apparatchiks hoped. Turns out that elementary teachers aren’t the patsies that edubullies take them to be. When push came to shove, LAUSD had to grudgingly allow the teachers (especially the parents) something as outrageous and un-American as—
Free speech. And the right to voice their professional concerns. You know, for example, when the teachers weren’t at work and at home near the school and ParentRev petitioners (brought from outside, staying in paid-for housing) were on public sidewalks near businesses people frequented, or going door-to-door.
Evidently the rheephormsters thought that, the teachers being women, they would just bow their heads down and passively accept the latest beat down by the enforcers of corporate education reform.
One version of a bit of Harriet Tubman’s 1851 speech: “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! ”
And they did. ParentRev—buh bye! And with their tail between their legs.
So with all due respect, teachers and other public school staff in NYC need to think this through.
Just sayin’…
😎
Imagine if the State tried to prevent physicians from voicing their professional opinions about potentially harmful drugs and medical practices …
Exactly! Do we really ACCEPT that educators should not practice their First Amendment right to free speech by challenging the administration of standardized test that they believe are detrimental to the education of their students? Where are the UNIONS? 16 years is long enough for reformers to provide evidence that these tests are making a difference. They are not—it is time for the Unions to tell the States that the educators do not work for the testing companies. We spend 3 to 4 weeks proctoring the standardized tests and disrupting our schedules and instruction. If the testing company had to provide proctors for these tests it would cut into profit. We are relying too heavily on opt-out. Time for the Unions to stand up against this profit driven industry.
Now THAT is a question I asked Randi Weingarten was the union when I was harassed for 3 years, charged with incompetence even as I was the NY State Educator of excellence, and in ‘WHO’S WHO AMONG AMERICA’S TEACHERS, 4 times, AND the Pew choice in NYC for the cohort for the REAL National Standards.
http://www.opednews.com/author/author40790.html
Dan Rather, asked me that when I told him my story,on a personal cant with him, who I when I was a celebrated teacher.
Where are thy in LAUSD
http://www.perdaily.com/2014/03/lausd-and-utla-collude-to-end-collective-bargaining-and-civil-rights-for-teachers-part-2.html
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/LAUSD-OR-TARGETED-TEACHERS-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Deception_Evidence_Fired_Innocence-150720-360.html#comment555646
When two years ago, Utah announced that teachers could face state action against their licenses if they even mentioned opting out, I contacted the UEA. The UEA told me that their lawyers had told them that we had NO RIGHT to talk about opting out.
YES. Also imagine if our public hospitals methodically pushed out long-term experienced doctors, hired only very young and inexperienced doctors, and then told everyone on staff that All doctors would be interchanged within departments because, well, doctors are doctors…. ciedieaech.wordpress.com THE COST OF BEING COST EFFECTIVE
The DOE hasn’t prevented teachers from voicing their professional opinions about testing. They are free to write letters to newspapers, to picket and hand out fliers, to organize and to make their voices heard in whatever manner they wish.
You do raise an excellent point with your hypothetical involving the medical industry: teachers who feel that the tests are harmful to children should most certainly opt out of administering them.
Hundreds of thousands of very low information parents in NYC have no idea why the Common Core tests by Pearson have been rejected by high information parents elsewhere in the state. They have bought the Kool Aide – no questions asked. With an overall 80% of students receiving a “free and reduced” the vast majority of caregivers are single parents mired in poverty and overwhelmed by the realities if just trying to get by. The only other explanation is that many low SES parents are simply used to institutional beat-downs and just viewed the Common Core Testing assault by Pearson as one more in a long line. The majority of high information parents in NYC send their kids to private schools where they don’t have to worry about destructive nature of test-and-punish reform.
Any other explanations would be welcomed.
Rage,
Low SES parents are subjected to administrative bullying that would not fly with high SES parents. High SES parents have more access to legal advice. In my district, parents currently are concerned that their children are being poisoned by elevated levels of lead in the drinking water. The lead issue would most probably take precedence over standardized testing participation matters.
The bullying is real. Some might call it oppressive, plantationism.
At least in Utah, Tim, we teachers are not even allowed to write letters or do other things to discuss opting out. I cannot even post in my private Facebook about them, on my own time, on my own computer.
BUT, teachers are sure free to be on news reports discussing how “wonderful” testing is. I’ve seen several reports like that.
YES. Our inner-city district suffered for so many long years under two city “news” papers where BOTH refused to give any teacher’s complaint against school reform space. As teacher voices were never heard, an ongoing string of “journalists” reported only on the wonders associated to school reform. Now our city has elected a school board where every single member favors the devastating invasions tied to test-scores and reform…all in the name of children.
I say it here often, that the assault on teachers, the horrific things that were allowed, the abuse of our civil rights in the workplace that the union permitted by ignoring grievances ( and ( have volumes of evidence because I was there in the nineties when the war began. Here, right now, is the way that the top down administrators are still emptying the schools at will
http://www.bxtimes.com/stories/2016/13/13-ps89-2016-03-25-bx.html
Threatened
You give up your rights under the US Constitution the second you enter the state of Utah.
Except the right to keep 10 wives, of course. 😉
Other than NYC and the state’s other large cities, the places where opt-out has also completely failed are the districts that are frequently held up as examples of how the best of the US’s districts are as good as any public schools in the world–Bronxville, Scarsdale, Edgemont, Byram Hills, Manhasset, Irvington, and so on.
These districts shower resources upon their kids: they spend $30,000+ per student, have very low class sizes, a rich, full array of courses and options, and their physical facilities at the high school level rival what you’d see at a fancy liberal arts college.
The people who choose to make the enormous investment to live in these districts — the median residential property-tax bill in Bronxville is an astonishing $40,000/yr, e.g. — are among the most educationally savvy (and demanding) as you’ll find anywhere. They are completely up to speed on the latest research and trends, agnostic about whether it is “progressive” or “reform;” insistent only that it is the very best for their children. They seldom if ever have to take no for an answer.
And they opt out of “opt out”. Why is that, and how does it square with your “plantationism” theory?
Your continued insistence that poor people of color are “very low information” and incapable of knowing what’s best for their child is shameful and inaccurate. NYC public school parents (including the tens of thousands who are very wealthy) are just as invested and interested as their suburban, exurban, and rural counterparts. Fortunately for them, after 12 years of reform NYC schools have caught up to and surpassed those in the rest of the state, an incredible accomplishment given the funding and resource inequities: http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/new-york-state-student-achievement-test-results-new-york-city%20-public-schools-no-longer-lag-rest-of-state.pdf
Yes, Tim, opt out “failed.” Only 240,000 or children opted out. We need to double that “fail.” Cuomo’s poll numbers went into a dive, and we have a new chancellor of the Boatd of Regents, who understands opt out. Some fail!
You may want to either re-read what I wrote, or not engage in straw man arguments.
But I guess it is fair to look at where opt-out thrived as well as where it did not. Opt-out thrived in socioeconomically and racially homogeneous districts that are middle-of-the-pack to relatively low-performing. Most importantly, it thrived in districts where opting out was supported, publicized, and enabled by teachers, principals, and superintendents. Parents in such districts who wanted their kids to take the tests were put in a tough spot:
“Parents who had their kids take the test on Long Island shied away from CBS2’s cameras, not wanting to offend teachers.”
Not wanting to offend teachers by taking a state test? Why in the world would that be the case if this is a “parent-driven” initiative?
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/14/parents-schools-locked-in-battle-over-those-opting-out-of-standardized-tests/
This is from D6 parents FB page:
IMPORTANT FOR D6 FAMILIES! In a private meeting with parents of D15 last night Chancellor Fariña opened the meeting with a discussion about the rights of parents to opt out and said, of her own volition:
I think there is a place and a time to opt out and I’ll give you, like, the two for instances that I certainly as a parent would opt out.
A special ed parent, with a child with an IEP who has a very low frustration level, who no matter how much you’re going to do is never (going to) get to a certain level on this kind of test – that’s not to say that they’re not going to have success in life and so forth but to sit through a test with maybe a level 1 or 2 reader, and having that… I think it is a little bit, you know, too much. So if I were that kind of a parent, I’d probably opt out.
If I was the parent – and this is one of the laws I want to change – if I was a parent of a newly arrived immigrant, and I was taking the test after being in this country for one year, I’d say what are you kidding? Now we’ve been fighting the state on this, we want this changed … I want the NYSESLAT as a whole eliminated but this particular criteria of putting kids through something that there’s no way they can succeed at, again that to me is an option.
When the D15 parents pressed her on making that public, she apparently “began to walk it back,” and talked about kids obtaining services.
It’s been this way in Oregon for a while, administrators telling teachers that it’s insubordination to talk about testing, let alone opting out. Of course it varies by district. One new superintendent was shocked this was the previous supe’s policy and suggested it’s OK to objectively describe testing and opting out procedures if students or parents bring it up. That passes for enlightenment now.
Word on the street is that principals and superintendents are under intense pressure to comply, perhaps more than ever since the success of the opt-out movement. Again, the ESSA presents the usual 95% participation requirement coupled with threats of financial repercussions. I suppose too that uncooperative administrators could be replaced the same as teachers.
For that reason many local education advocates are retired teachers who can’t be fired for speaking out!
MY HEROES!
This scenario reminds me so much of my experiences in the Soviet Union in the ’70’s. Our tour guide introduced a women she openly labeled as our “spy”, and told us not to try to discuss anything that could get her, the guide, fired. She repeated the same instructions for speaking with hotel staff or other Russians in public.
Smugly we thought to ourselves, that would never happen in America.
rbeckley58: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose/the more things change, they more they stay the same.
Rheeally! And in the most Johnsonally sort of ways too…
😎
Yes, indeed. Like the former Soviet Union… or East Germany under the Stasi.
This sort of stuff is why people should not be taken in by the recent change in the Regents head (Tisch to Rosa) because until there is concrete evidence that the policy (testing and VAM) has been changed, it’s only cosmetic. Lipstick on a pig, as they say.
Freedom of speech. Threatening teachers is really awful to me. I may not agree with you or like what you say, but in this country we should be able to say what we think to whomever, whenever. Have a discussion, a debate, give your reasons, listen, communicate, problem solve. Work for a better situation. But don’t use your power to stifle speech. Even though I don’t use it and do not condone it, even hate speech has been protected under the laws of the US Constitution. For good reason. It is too slippery a slope. Who determines what speech is allowed? The Framers wrote it for a reason. Now schools and teachers. They use the “insubordination” threat a lot to control teachers. That is simply wrong. I think teachers can express their opinion in a factual manner and let the parent make his/her own decision. Yes to retired teachers who are speaking out. Referring back to a prior post about a possibly miraculous change on the horizon, I think we need to continue the fight, the awareness and the struggle. A miracle is a wonderful thing and gives hope as you invoke its possibility. Reality, though, means you have to deal with what is. Naive though it is I would want a miracle. But we need to band together to protect the rights we have in this country and the ability to speak our mind freely. (We face rule by the most easily offended otherwise, and where is that going to get us? Reasoned debate, consideration of options and ideas, robust challenge and problem solving, this is part of what we need and probably a good place to start!) Great education is needed in this country.
Yes, time to get off the fear bus. There are 3.2 million teachers in the US. Is it right to silence our collective voices? Who does it benefit?
But when you’re speaking out and no one else is, you just get hung out to dry.
In NYC the tests are taken by most public school students, especially in 4th and 7th grades, because those tests scores are part of the admission criteria for middle schools and high schools. In NYC students need to apply for public schools in those grades. I commend those opting out in other places, but many of them have the luxury and piece of mind knowing they will be going to their local middle schools and high schools. They don’t need to apply for public schools.
Not taking the tests in NYC limits the pool of public schools your student can apply to and limits your options of providing the best fit. I don’t begrudge those who can opt out. I am just worried that if I decided to opt out I am limiting options for someone who would be directly affected by that, I wouldn’t be experiencing the consequences.
It is distressing that they are warning the teachers, but if NYC students opt out, it places a big burden of limiting schools those students can apply to.
“Not taking the tests in NYC limits the pool of public schools your student can apply to and limits your options of providing the best fit.”
It appears that NYC needs to change the criteria for placement—how do they justify equal access and equal opportunity if there are no test scores to use?
The opt-out movement likes to use this as an excuse for why it has gained so little traction in New York City, but it is an absurd overstatement to say that it applies to most children attending DOE schools.
Yes, there are some schools that consider state test scores for admissions, and even though many (if not all) have made accommodations for opting out, sometimes it isn’t clear whether an opt-out applicant is on equal standing with one who doesn’t opt out. This uncertainty could indeed explain the practically non-existent opt-out numbers at a school like PS 234, where all students are aiming for selective middle schools.
In terms of sheer numbers, though, the sizable majority of NYC DOE middle school seats (and high school seats, for that matter) are either completely unscreened or zoned, with no review of state test scores whatsoever. The theory that kids are opting in solely for admissions purposes doesn’t hold any water.
It might be about getting into a selective school for some, but regardless of the score, they still need to take the tests. Some schools may want a variety of scores to make up their student body, others don’t. There is a mix of schools in the city. They can be screened or unscreened, but zoned or district schools might give preference to students in the neighborhood if they qualify, rather than automatic admission. Even elementary schools can’t promise admission in your zoned school anymore. You have to apply to them as well.
I am not a fan of the tests. All they show is that you know how to take that test. Scores of standardized tests are mostly determined by the parents’ education and income levels. This does indeed make them inherently unfair.
I do wish that NYC teachers could speak out more about the test without fear of retribution.
Cindy, there is no need to muddy the waters. Yes, everyone needs to take the procedural step of applying to middle schools, but admission to the vast majority of middle school seats does not include a review of state test scores.
Don’t take my word for it–download a middle-school directory or three from big random districts you aren’t familiar with (not 2, 3, 15) and scan the admissions criteria. Most are zoned, limited unscreened (meaning preference is given to kids who sign in at a fair or open house), or unscreened entirely.
Yet “public charter” teachers continually trek to Albany to drag students and parents through the halls of the state capitol lobbying for more money and resources. If that’s not political, I don’t know what is. The hypocrisy gags me.
They don’t call it a gag order for nothing …
Reblogged this on Politicians Are Poody Heads and commented:
First Amendment? What First Amendment? Apparently, not for New York City teachers.
As public employees, teachers have limited free speech rights. However, Supreme Court case law does allow teachers to speak out against testing as private citizens addressing a public concern.
NYSUT and the UFT provide all members with due process rights, This is a very strong legal protection because it requires the NYCDOE (or any other district) to apply the law to ALL teachers in the same way, It prevents the singling out of a teacher or small group of teachers. The email these teachers sent was a violation that could have been prevented had the UFT/Mulgrew and NYSUT/Elia actually taken the time to inform the rank and file of the legal issues involved.
Rage,
ATRs are receiving less than full due process protections from the UFT. I would not bet the farm on the “union” protecting my First Amendment rights. I was specifically warned by a union higher up of the risks of being insubordinate.
Sorry to hear this. Mulgrew is useless.
Teachers need to preface their remarks with ” I am speaking as a parent” or “I am speaking as a citizen” or “I am speaking as a taxpayer”. Then you have first amendment rights. You don’t give those up because you are a teacher.
Nope. Doesn’t work that way. I was told that I will ALWAYS be seen as a teacher and therefore we have no ability to speak out.
You were told (threatened) by someone who was ignorant of established case law rulings, or they simply assumed you were ignorant. Check to see if Utah has a statute that prevents teachers from speaking out as concerned citizens. My guess is that none such law is on the books and that those threats were baseless.
This is not new news. I just retired last year and we were threatened with our license in the state of Ohio for speaking out regarding testing.
Dona Givens
I’m wondering, & this is probably a question for a lawyer, if it would still be considered a “political statement” if when the teachers announced the tests, they included a statement that students have a right to opt out without negative consequences? As long as they are not expressing a preference for any particular position, it’s simply stating a fact.
I realize even this could be problematic. Before retirement, my wife was a NYC school social worker in East Harlem, sometimes going up against a hostile administration to advocate for kids to receive services. At one point she was called out by a “superior” (& I use that term loosely) for the unspeakable crime of *actually daring to inform parents of their rights!* (I know it’s shocking – I’ll give you a moment to regain your composure…)
There… ready? At first my wife was worried when the supervisor threatened to put a letter of reprimand in her file, but she quickly realized a written record would provide ammunition for a legal protest. She eagerly watched her school mailbox in anticipation, but the promised evidence never materialized. She never heard any more about the matter, & assumed the supervisor had discussed it with counsel & realized there were no legal grounds.
Another possibility that occurs to me – & this would be more complicated to pull off, but certainly fun to watch: Could study of this issue be incorporated into classes in some age-appropriate way, with both sides presented & students discussing the pros & cons? That approach has been done with various issues in history, why not a current one directly relevant to the students’ lives? If there were teachers willing to take the heat, it would certainly be interesting to see how school or district administration responds. Anyone who objects could be invited to present their case to the students for discussion. Like I said, fun to watch. 🙂
“Political Hacked”
Quoting fact?
Political act
Telling truth?
Banned, forsooth
Using science?
Pure defiance
Huh?
” that for an educator to encourage opting out was a political act ”
Typical adminimal crap spewed from a less than adequate mind.
No, it’s not a political act (unless one considers all communication a “political act”).
It is a PEDAGOGICAL ACT in the best interests of the students.
If speaking out against Common Core tests is a deemed a “political act”, isn’t this admitting that these test have been “political tools (weapons)” from the get go? Instead of the pedagogical tools that they are supposed to be.
““I don’t think that the teachers’ putting themselves in the middle of it is a good idea,” Ms. Fariña said in an interview.”
Really, Ms. Fariña?? How condescending that you say so. Poor widdle hellpless teachers!! Were I a believer in hell; Ms. Fariña, there would be a special place in it for you!
Sometimes religion comes in handy — eg, belief in hell for the people you don’t like.
Cross posted at http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Teachers-Are-Warned-About-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Accountability_Civil-Rights-Violations_Intimidation_Lies-160325-771.html
My comment there is the same as I posted here with this addition, which has embedded links there.
For goodness sakes, if you are reading this, you will hear how this intimidation and lies about OPTING OUT, is the rule in other states and districts. So, go read the conversation about this article, at the RAVITCH site.
Public education is going down and it is the end of democracy, as well as the closing of the ONLY road to opportunity and income equality. Learn how the fiasco is being run,and tell people to follow the tory.
This ain’t about schools. It is about YOUR America!
They will find a different way to shut teachers up if necessary. In NC, it is in our code of ethics as a teacher that we cannot discourage anyone from taking the tests.
Tim, I am not muddying the waters if it is the experience of my children who go to school in district 3. When I’ve looked at applications, I’ve selected a mix of screened and unscreened schools based on what would be the best fit. Having my children take the test is the only way I can put in a lot of choices to rank when the application is sent in. This is no straw man. It is reality.
64% of NYC middle school seats and 70% of high school seats do not require test scores for admissions.
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160401/upper-west-side/how-get-into-uws-middle-school-if-your-child-opts-out-of-state-testing
Tim, that’s not exactly what the article says. It states, “Across the city, 30 percent of high schools look at state test scores and 36 percent of middle schools look at state test scores “as one of the multiple measures” of a student’s performance, Altschul said.” It says those schools will look at scores as part of a student’s performance. It does not say that the rest do not require them. I bet they look at them too if available. I hate these tests, but I am not about to cut off my son’s nose to spite Cuomo’s face.