Tennessee has had three straight years of computer breakdowns and other problems with its testing vendor, Questar. (Questar is also the test provider for New York State, perhaps others.)
The state is so disgusted by Questar’s performance that Governor Haslam said he might switch the contract from Questar to ETS.
That’s a good one! As testing guru Fred Smith informed me, ETS owns Questar.
ETS is not problem free, either. “The changes highlight a possible strategic shift for ETS whose reputation came under fire last year when the nonprofit had to pay $20.7 million dollars in damages and upgrades after multiple testing problems in Texas.”
Would someone in Tennessee please let Governor Haslam and Commissioner McQueen know?
Questar is the for-profit face of nonprofit ETS. Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.
A distinction without a difference.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Saying you are switching from Questar to ETS for testing is like saying (as NY State did) that you are switching from Common Core State Standards to Next Generation Learning Standards (when the latter is basically the same as the former)
Same drink in a different can.
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Quite so.
Which brings to mind: if Governor Haslam were a student in a charter school and did such a miserable job on his high-stakes standardized tests, his parents would be informed that he had lost his seat in their school and that they should search for another school [hint: that public school aka “factory of failure” down the street] because he “wasn’t a good fit.”
But not doing your homework when it guarantees ginormous amounts of $tudent $ucce$$ for a few adults who make the right kinds of political contributions—
Now that’s what the heavyweights of the “new civil rights movement of our time” would call disruptively creative 21st century thinking!
I feel a disturbance in the farce…er, force…
😎
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KrazyTA
Speaking of disruption and disturbance.
Did you read what “Conservative” William Bennett wrote recently?
If you remove a few words, it reads just like something Diane and others have been saying on this blog for ages about school deform.
Here’s Bennett:
*
“There is a fundamental problem in education that has been on vivid display recently: confusion about whom our schools exist to serve. Our public school system exists to give our children a foundation in literacy and numeracy and to help them become informed citizens. It is not the purpose of the public schools to use children as leverage for the gains of others.
….
We strongly disagree that adults in our public schools should use systematic disruption of students and families … as a tactic to secure financial outcomes. ”
*
/// end quotes
Of course, the few omitted words make all the difference in the meaning and intent of the piece.
The ellipsis between “families” and “as” in the last sentence stands for — that is, strikes or walkouts–
In other words, it’s an attack on teachers, not a critique of school “reform”.
Very interesting, no?
It’s like Bennet has been reading this blog and is simply changing a few choice words here and there to fit his own agenda.
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Unbelievable. Even by their standards.
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They have standards?
For limbo poles?
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This says it all, “Would someone in Tennessee please let Governor Haslam and Commissioner McQueen know?” Thanks, Diane.
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Surely no one here believes that they do not know. The question is, who is related to the group making a killing off this. Before we started all this testing, some of us used to complain that school got too distracted toward the end with graduation ceremonies and awards days. Little could we imagine what interruption would occur when state testing usurped all teacher authority. Testing was ended the first few days of May.
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As always, follow the money and find out who is making himself/herself rich. ” The question is, who is…making a killing off this.”
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Expect ETS and Questar to come up with a new corporate name and rebrand it as the latest next great thing as they promote the same product that failed under the ETS or Questar brands.
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Betsy DeVos
Verified account
As I shared this morning: I’m learning it’s not popular for someone in my position to point out hard truths – to admit the current system isn’t serving every student well. But I didn’t take this job to win over editorial boards and trend on social. I took it to serve students.
Except children in public schools. Which means she has decided she doesn’t serve 90% of students.
And this is not only acceptable in DC, it’s cheered. Considered a perfectly valid ideological “choice”. The option to do 10% of your job.
Maybe we could hire an additional Sec of Education. One who has some interest in the actual existing schools 90% of Americans attend, instead of an abstract market theory of a privatized system that doesn’t exist.
Betsy DeVos can serve the imaginary students enrolled in the system she envisions and while she’s doing that the additional person can do her job.
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The United States Department of Education spent another workday bashing public schools in order to promote private schools, and you all had the privilege of paying them to do it:
https://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/prepared-remarks-secretary-devos-alfred-e-smith-foundation
Once again the ed reform speechwriting team cannot find a single positive example of a single public school student anywhere in the country.
The cynicism of this approach is just breathtaking. They smear every public school kid in the country as ignorant, thuggish bullies to promote The Agenda and they do it in every single speech that comes out of that place.
And ed reformers give this garbage standing ovations.
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Can public school parents ask DC to make up a list of what they have done this calendar year to benefit any public school kid anywhere in the country?
Specifically. January to June. Publish it June 1st.
If they don’t work for public school students they’re not doing 90% of their jobs and we can safely cut 90% of them.
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I know very few of our “public servants” attended public schools or would ever dream of sending their children to one, but they really need to occasionally enter one, because it really isn’t how they portray it.
Our kids really aren’t all low performing bullies and drug addicts. Despite what the Secretary of Education tells her fellow anti-public school zealots.
Their belief that public schools are grim and dangerous hellholes full of violent thugs is just not accurate. We take that depiction personally because our children ARE the students these adults are smearing.
And we’re paying them.
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“The Testing Hydra”
Every time you sever head
Another grows in place
The testing Hydra’s never dead
But simply changing face
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“The Rollotest” (play on Rolodex, of course)
Give the Rollotest a spin
To choose a standard test
With Rollotest, you always win
Cuz Rollotest is best
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