After eight long years of punitive Reformer leadership in New Mexico, a new day has arrived. Michelle Lujan Grisham has promised to banish PARCC. Her Lt. Gov. Howie Morales—an experienced educator— is temporarily leading the state’s Public Education Department.
“The governor, who was joined by four teachers at Thursday’s news conference, also said families and students around the state should “expect to see New Mexico transition immediately out of high-stakes testing.”
“Lujan Grisham had vowed on the campaign trail to eliminate PARCC testing in New Mexico if elected, and described it Thursday as a punitive system that has pushed educators to focus on test-taking preparation, not on teaching.”
Over the past eight years, the state’s NAEP scores were stagnant, and it remained near the bottom of all states tested. It also had the second highest rate of child poverty in the nation, exceeded only by that of Mississippi.
Teachers are thrilled. Reformers who supported Governor Martinez and her failed, punitive regime are disappointed. Reformers love high-stakes testing that humiliates teachers and children.
http://www.governing.com/topics/education/tns-new-mexico-parcc-grisham.html
“Amanda Aragon, executive director of the nonprofit group NewMexicoKidsCAN, called Lujan Grisham’s announcement disappointing.
“I think the criticisms of PARCC tend not to be based in real information,” Aragon said. She argued that the rhetoric across the country about PARCC has become politically driven and expressed concern that Thursday’s announcement would leave teachers and students in limbo while they wait for a replacement assessment to be developed.”
I am surprised that “Governing” magazine treats the Reformer group “NewMexicoKidsCAN” as a legitimate education organization when it is obviously tied to the billionaire-Funded 50CAN. The Reformer comment about PARCC is absurd, because PARCC has been a disaster across the country. Of the 26 states it started with, most have dropped out. When New Mexico and eventually New Jersey are gone, PARCC will be down to only four states. It may soon disappear.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Rhetoric across the country about PARCC has become politically driven” — Amanda Rheeformer
Well, at least she got that much right.
The whole DAM Reform movement was politically driven.
Further, Amanda Rheeformer” expressed concern that Thursday’s announcement would leave teachers and students in limbo while they wait for a replacement assessment to be developed.”
Yes, I am sure teachers and students are probably playing the limbo at this very moment waiting for a replacement for PARCC.
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Love it on “politically driven”! I wish I had caught that one without your help!
As for the limbo, I love how she acts like she’s concerned about the teachers and students. Isn’t “in limbo” a situation you don’t want to be in? She has all the educational wisdom of someone who hasn’t taught a day in her life.
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“Amanda Rheeformer” Ha, ha, ha That made me laugh. And, it was a long day. Thanks. Well done.
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Data Driven
When data are driven
Along for the ride
They never are given
A chance to decide
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And saddest national blindness: These days if something is scathingly labeled ‘politically motivated’ it can then be pushed aside as being non relevant?
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“Spring has arrived!”
The ice jam creaks and cracks
The water starts to flow
The polar bear makes tracks
As winter starts to go
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Do not be fooled by the greatest bait-and-switch game ever. For example, Florida. We dropped PARCC and hired AIR (American Institutes of Research) to provide a test. What did we get? Smarter Balanced, PARCC’s competitor in delivering Common Core tests. the demise of PARCC means only that Pearson made a bad business decision in being the authorized provider. But the awfulness goes on under many names and guises.
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A sobering and legitimate point. There do seem to be some unusual details here that suggest room for optimism, but your concern is worth noting. Stay vigilant, citizens of New Mexico!
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Maryland is dropping the PARCC test for a new test (computer adaptive) being developed by New Meridian. Guess who owns the PARCC test?…..ding ding ding you get a prize if you thought New Meridian. Yes, and New Meridian is endorsed by?…….if your thought was Thomas B Fordham Inst you would be correct and we can all agree that this stupid test will never go away!
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The biggest problem is that ESSA requires some form of accountability and the stupid test is the easiest thing to throw at USDE to get approval for the state plan. To hell with giving control back to the state….that’s the real bait and switch and it SUCKS!
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I so agree, Lisa. ESSA requires approval by fed-DofEd of state’s ed-‘accountability system,’ featuring 3rd-8th-gr + 1 hisch yr of state testing– aligned to state stds [also subj to fed approval? not sure], whose results bear spelled-out [i.e., subj to fedDofEd review] consequences [= ‘accountability’].
Informed ones correct me – this was my understanding of ESSA, I could be wrong.
But if I’m right: what diff if a state drops PARCC & replaces it w/brand X? Any replacement test will be aligned to state stds– & has anybody yet seen “new” state stds that are other than a light tweaking of CCSS? And does replacing PARCC mean the state doesn’t link hi stakes to scores?
So I take no joy in NM’s news. It is merely a tiny, belated step in the right direction; perhaps testing days/hrs will be shorter. Untill CCSS & hi-stakes acctblty are gone, it’s CCRAP by a different name.
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Its not the PARRC tests; the CC standards (or the “re-branded” version) are the root of the problem. Test developers are completely constrained by the standards. And the Common Core ELA standards are both unteachable and untestable – in any fair or reasonable way.
There is a simple fix: states should adopt the old MA (or NY) standards. They were far superior to those of the Common Coercion.
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Well written, age appropriate standards guide well written, age appropriate curricula, which in turn, guides proper instruction and reasonable, age appropriate grade span testing – with zero punitive strings attached. That would be a fair compromise. And there is o need to reinvent the standards; MA had well written, age appropriate standards before they were forced to adopt CC. They are sitting somewhere in cyberspace (maybe in a file cabinet?) for asking.
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Rage, I disagree, I don’t think you can separate one from the other. Chicken and egg. A law requiring annual state-standardized tests aligned to state stds in elem & midsch puts you in the position of having to design stds that can be “achieved,” every year, as “evidenced” by stdzd – which means scored by computer – tests. Exactly how we ended up w/CCSS-ELA, the bastardization of lang-arts guides for curriculum design – into testable skill bits. NJ also had excellent standards (pre-NCLB implementation). There’s no way they could have been used as blueprints for annual testing 3-8+11– because they were guides for curr design. Testing then was, as you describe: reasonable grade-span– used primarily to guide course selection for the next 3 yrs or so.
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bethree
Re-authorizing or re-writing the new ESSA is not on the radar screen of Congress. Mandatory, annual testing in grades 3 to 8 is, unfortunately, carved in stone for the foreseeable future. So reasonable, age appropriate standards that test basic skills are the best hope.
The only alternative you have is to lobby your legislators in DC and plead for an ESSA re-write that includes grade span testing with reasonable standards – with NO punitive strings attached.
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I was going to ask about bait-and-switch. Thanks for telling the story in Florida. It will probably be the story everywhere that PARCC is “dropped”.
Wake me up when any state outlaws judging students, teachers or school by standardized tests at all.
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The “bait-and-switch” of test development cannot be avoided until states decide give up on the Common Core (or the convenient re-brands). Under the new ESSA, there is no reason that states must stick with Coleman’s Folly. Under the RTTT or the NCLB Duncan Waiver states were coerced into adopting the Common Core standards. This is no longer required. If I could wave the magic testing wand and stay in compliance with ESSA I’d have states use the old MA standards and MCASS. If my wand was really magic we’d go back to grade span testing and the old IOWA test of basic skills. – circa 1964. Test can only be as good as the standards from which they are developed. David Coleman had the hubris to believe that he knew what was best for 75 million students. Unfortunately hubris did not equate with the educational needs of children.
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Even if they got rid of Common Core, they’d just replace that with something else. We need an outright ban on both mandatory standards and standardized testing or we’ll just be playing endless bait and switch.
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See above comment. ESSA is not going away any time soon.
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the deepest cut
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Trust me, we education activists/union activists are always vigilant. However, our new governor has met with educators for years and she gets what the privatizers have tried to do and she is having none of that. The new governor issued two Executive Orders on her third day in office. The first was to get rid of PARCC and the second order was that test scores CANNOT be tied to evaluations.
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The good news is that New Mexico’s Governor Lujan Grisham is asking for educators, students and community members to create an exam that reflects our state. She does not plan to go out-of-state to spend millions. Currently, education activists along with our unions are watching as the corporate “reformers” and friends of our previous, Koch-funded governor are trying to remain relevant. I have to say it is rather amusing.
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Great news! Thanks for sharing. Kas
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The pro PARCC folks will get used to life without it. Lujan Grisham has done away with tieing teacher evals to test scores, and wants observations to become a larger part of said evals. There will be some standardized component to meet Fed requirements. But like I said, they’ll get used to life without PARCC…
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I am usually very cynical about this sort of stuff, but if one considers it in the broader context , I agree with Diane that there is reason to be cautiously optimistic.
The thing about social movements — and opt out and teacher strikes underscore that this is a social movement — is that they are subject to tipping points.
We may not be there yet, but when we do get there, the whole Deform house of cards may start to collapse.
A PARCCollapse Now!
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SDP,
THE REFORM “MOVEMENT” is a fraud.
No social movement in US history was ever led by the most powerful. Read Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World. A win-win leaves the 1% in charge. They own the “movement” they created. It does not threaten them because they spin off dozens of organizations that are paid by them.
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Perhaps I was not clear, but I was referring to the genuine movement against reform
And the powerful ARE subject to the influence of genuine social movements. In fact, it’s the only thing they can be moved by.
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““I think the criticisms of PARCC tend not to be based in real information,” Aragon said.”
I know that Aragon’s information is not based in reality.
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That’s because she is following her namesake, Argon, the inert gas.
She lives in her own little world, surrounded by a complete shell (shill?) of outer electrons, separated and immune to the elements around her.
From Wikipecia
The name “argon” is derived from the Greek word ἀργόν, neuter singular form of ἀργός meaning “lazy” or “inactive”, as a reference to the fact that the element undergoes almost no chemical reactions.
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Well, she need not worry about anyone waiting in limbo! I live in NM, and the state is administering the PARCC again under the pseudonym NMTE: New Mexico Transition Exam. I’m facing adversity as once again I opt my children out. This time, however, the district is telling me my fifth grader cannot be at the school during testing if he is not testing! One last call to central office today will determine whether or not I reach out to the state news organizations. I’ve also got a query in with the governor’s office. Pearson has done well to create some very loyal followers! I pray for the day NM chooses to keep its money at home and pay our own educators to create evaluation tools!
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