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Those Phony, Misleading Test Scores: A NY Principal Reacts

By dianeravitch
August 8, 2013 //
55

Katie Zahedi is principal of Linden Avenue Middle School in Red Hook, New York, which is located in upstate Dutchess County. She is active in the association of New York Principals who bravely oppose the State Education Department’s educator evaluation plan based mostly on test scores. Zahedi has been a principal and assistant principal at her school for twelve years. The views she expresses here are solely her own and not those of the district or her school. Suffice it to say that she is a woman of unusual integrity and courage, who is determined to speak truth to power. She wrote this piece for the blog in response to the release of the Common Core test results in New York, in which scores collapsed across the state.

Katie Zahedi writes:

Days before the release of embargoed New York Common Core test scores, laced within comments/double talk about “higher standards”, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Commissioner John King in assuring New Yorkers that lower scores on the Math and English Assessments were expected.  The NYSED claims to have formulas to account for all sorts of nuanced variables so maybe they will produce one for the testing fiasco called the Bunkum Conversion Table!

What the public may not understand in the midst of today’s controversy is that when a test yields 80% (of a particular cohort) of students passing over a 5 year span, and scores suddenly drop to below a 35% passing rate, that the problem is probably unrelated to student performance. In fact, the last two years of tests produced by the NYSED have been rife with mistakes, missing tables needed for computation, and confusing and misleading questions.

The failure rates on the NYSED site are dissimilar to reported numbers in the 8/6/13 New York Times, leaving principals unsure how the data is being or will be manipulated for public reporting.  What is immediately clear is that the NYSED is out on a limb with its political machinations of student test data.

Historically, up to 15% of my students have been scheduled for Academic Intervention Services (AIS) for remedial help. Now, thanks to “higher standards”, those students’ needs are obfuscated by the new facts that nearly 70% of my students have been identified (by a state test) to be in need of remedial math.

I shouldn’t complain since I serve as principal of a high performing middle school. Last year our 8th graders (the same cohort described above) won the New York State Math League Award for 1st place in Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Rockland Counties, which is the reason that up to 70% of my students will require special pull-out classes designed to work on “their weaknesses”. After all, that is much better than many New York schools having 80-90 % failure rates.

Sitting around a table with my fellow administrators, our astonishment was somehow normalized in the run-off of a year saturated in convoluted, nonsensical, time-consuming and expensive directives from the NYSED. After disbelieving stares, I said “people, we have a responsibility to directly address the individuals responsible for this fiasco”.  Educators are a hearty bunch so after a brief pause we got back to work on compliance.

While not representing the views of my school district, I submit that we ought to take a look at the core problem.  We have a duty to speak truth to power (and his best friend: money) and hold the NYSED “accountable” for the failures that they are producing. The NYSED is need of internal reform. Straight up, my school is not in need of full scale revision and neither are most schools in New York. All schools should run in a constant state of improvement led by experienced principals and struggling schools need investment, support and a team relationship with a partner school that is successful. 

Mistakes like the fiasco of the NY State Assessments are to be expected when individuals who are scarcely qualified to apply for an assistant principal role in a district like mine are appointed to lead the state and federal education departments! Unsurprisingly, much time and public money will be wasted by well-meaning people who are appointed to important posts based on political association and/or possession of inordinate amounts of money.

The NYSED is a stately and dignified building that is waiting for benevolent and wise leadership. Doing his best, John King is working hard, holed away with privately hired “fellows” who are young, overpaid and fabulously confident considering their profound lack of experience in teaching and school administration.  Regardless of the plausibly good intentions of NYSED leadership, it is objectionable for New York State to allow the normal process of schools to be interrupted and for principals and teachers to be distracted from their important work with students to try out the half-baked ideas of politically appointed newbies. Whether on the state or federal levels, the appointment of individuals with insufficient experience in public education, should be discontinued.

If the name of the game is accountability for higher standards, let’s require that all appointees to state and federal leadership roles possess the education and experience required to serve with wisdom and dignity.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Common Core, New York, Testing

Bloomberg Hails the Collapse of City’s Test Scores as “Very Good News”

By dianeravitch
August 8, 2013 //
116

Despite the fact that the new Common Core tests showed that only 26 percent of students in New York City “passed” the new state tests in reading, and only 30 percent in math, Mayor Bloomberg hailed the sharp decline in test scores as “very good news.”

The scores were especially grim for black and Hispanic students, as well as students with disabilities. The achievement gaps on the tests were very large.

“In math, 15 percent of black students and 19 percent of Hispanic students passed the exam, compared with 50 percent of white students and 61 percent of Asian students.

Students with disadvantages struggled as well. On the English exam, 3 percent of nonnative speakers were deemed proficient, and 6 percent of students with disabilities passed.”

Despite the drop in scores, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appeared on Wednesday at a news conference just as he had in years when results were rosier. He rejected criticisms of the tests, calling the results “very good news” and chiding the news media for focusing on the decline. He said black and Hispanic students, who make up two-thirds of the student population, had made progress that was not reflected in the scores.”

The mayor saw the upside of the scores. The lower the scores, and the higher the bar, he reasoned, the harder students would work to improve their test scores in the future:

“We have to make sure that we give our kids constantly the opportunity to move towards the major leagues,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

Categories Bloomberg, Michael, Common Core, New York, New York City, Testing

Arne Duncan: We Lied to Our Children and Now We Tell the Truth: “You Failed!”

By dianeravitch
August 7, 2013 //
145

The scores are out for New York, and they are devastating.

The story in the New York Times reports:

Across the city, 26 percent of students in third through eighth grade passed the state exams in English, and 30 percent passed in math, according to the New York State Education Department.

The exams were some of the first in the nation to be aligned with a more rigorous set of standards known as Common Core, which emphasize deep analysis and creative problem-solving.

City and state officials spent months trying to steel the public for the grim figures, saying that a decline in scores was inevitable and that it would take several years before students performed at high levels. Under the old exams last year, the city fared better: 47 percent of students passed in English, and 60 percent passed in math.

Statewide, 31 percent of students passed the exams in reading and math. Last year, 55 percent passed in reading, and 65 percent in math.

Some educators were taken aback by the steep decline and said they worried the figures would rattle the confidence of students and teachers.

When you read these figures, please bear in mind that the State Education Department determined what the passing score would be.

This was a judgment call, a political calculation.

Arne Duncan defended the collapse of test scores as a good thing, Now we are telling the truth about the failure of public education, he says.

The kids didn’t fail.

The State Education Department failed.

The New York State Board of Regents failed.

They are in charge of education in New York.

They decide on curriculum, instruction, standards, teacher qualifications, and allocation of resources.

They have failed, not the students.

They should be held accountable.

 

 

Categories Accountability, Common Core, New York, New York City, Testing

Joel Klein Admits His Failure, Says It is a Good Thing

By dianeravitch
August 7, 2013 //
19

In this article, Joel Klein acknowledges that scores across New York state, obviously including New York City, will be devastatingly low.

He was in charge of the New York City public schools from 2002, when he was selected by Mayor Bloomberg, until January 2011, when he was succeeded by the ill-fated publisher Cathie Black.

During his tenure, Klein boasted every year of “historic gains.”

The mayor was twice re-elected because of those alleged “historic gains.”

Klein traveled to Australia and persuaded the Minister of Education Julia Gillard that there was a New York City miracle, and she fell for it. Now Australia is copying the New York City model of test, test, test, test.

Now, Klein tells us that the students for whom he was responsible didn’t learn much at all, and that the new test scores will show just how terribly they are doing.

Australians might well ask if they can abandon the Klein plan now that its failure is evident even to Klein.

Having failed to improve achievement in New York City over his long tenure in office, he has found the answer that eluded him: the Common Core standards.

This is the miracle cure we have all been waiting for.

Is there any evidence that the Common Core standards will improve test scores?

No, the evidence is that they cause test scores to plummet, as they did in Kentucky–by 30 points–and as they have in New York.

Will they lead to higher achievement in the future? No one knows.

 

 

Categories Common Core, International, Klein, Joel, New York, New York City, Testing

Warning: NY Aligns Scores to NAEP

By dianeravitch
August 6, 2013 //
82

New York City’s chief academic officer–a testing zealot–here announces that scores will plummet on the new Common Core tests administered last spring for the first time. They will plummet because the state decided to align its standards to NAEP, which are far more demanding than those of any state.

Over the years, many researchers have maintained that the NAEP achievement levels are “fundamentally flawed” and “unreasonably high.” If you google the terms NAEP and “fundamentally flawed,” you will find many articles criticizing the NAEP benchmarks. Here is a good summary.

What you need to know about NAEP achievement levels is that they are not benchmarked to international standards. They are based on the judgment calls of panels made up of people from different walks of life who decide what students in fourth grade and eighth grade should know and be able to do. It is called “the modified Angoff method” and is very controversial among scholars and psychometricians.

Setting the bar so high is one thing when assessing samples at a state and national level, but quite another when it becomes the basis for judging individual students. It is scientism run amok. It is unethical. It sets the bar where only 30-35% can clear it. Why would we do this to the nation’s children?

Nonetheless, these “unreasonably high” standards are now the guidelines for judging the students of Néw York.

Consequently, teachers and parents can expect to be stunned when the scores are released.

The good news is that teachers and schools will not be punished this year. The punishments start next year.

Here is the letter that went to all public schools with grades 3-8 in Néw York City:

From: Suransky Shael
Sent: Monday, August 05, 2013 1:54 PM
Subject: 2013 State Common Core Test Results

Dear Colleagues,

I’m writing to let you know that your school’s performance data on the 2013 State Common Core tests is now available for you to view. It is important to note that this data is embargoed by the State Education Department (SED)—you are not to share this information until Wednesday, after citywide data is released and the embargo is lifted.

As you review this information and prepare to share it with your school community, please keep in mind the context in which students took these new tests.

At its heart, our ongoing transition to the Common Core standards is about equal opportunity. It is about giving all students a fair chance to develop the skills they will need to pursue higher education and a quality job and have options that will lead to successful and happy lives.

As you know best, this shift is not easy, and so we are also making sure it is not punitive. These results will not be used to evaluate teachers this year, and students and schools will not be punished. The new tests are about developing a realistic understanding of where students are on the path to college and career readiness and adjusting support to improve students’ performance. Educators across the City are investing remarkable energy in this work; from this new baseline, we expect performance to increase.

SED has said the results will be similar to the City’s scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which also measures being on track for college and career readiness—for the City, similar scores would mean proficiency rates around 25-30 percent. Scores for individual student populations could be lower. These numbers might be familiar—in addition to our NAEP scores, the City’s College Readiness Index is also in this range—but seeing these results may still be jarring at first for you, your school community, and the public.

To access your school’s embargoed results now, you may view the State’s verification reports in L2RPT. After the public release, your school’s results will also be made available through the DOE public website, ATS, ARIS, and ARIS Parent Link; see below for a general timeline of when test results are expected in each system. If you need support accessing your school’s results, contact your network data support liaison.

Data System
Expected Timeline
L2RPT
August 5
DOE public website
August 7 (school-level results only)
ATS
Mid-August, within 1 week of State release
ARIS; ARIS Parent Link
Late August, within 3 weeks of State release
Item Skills Analysis reports (available in ARIS private communities)
September
Note: reports will be available according to tested year and current year enrollment; a version based on early October enrollment will be available in October.

The coming days and weeks will be challenging as we work together to explain these results to students, teachers, families, and the public. We will be providing materials and additional information in Principals’ Weekly to make sure you understand and feel comfortable discussing these results and the work ahead. And we will reiterate, time and time again, that students will not be penalized by these new tests and that they can—with hard work and support from their teachers, principal, and family—reach this new, higher expectation.

Ultimately, no one will be pleased by a measure that is expected to show fewer than 30 percent of students are on track for success after high school. But I deeply believe that this change—and the more accurate understanding that will result—is part of a transition that will benefit thousands of students for years to come, and I thank you for your leadership in supporting your school community through this time.

Best,

Shael

To: Principals of schools with grades 3-8
Cc: All cluster leaders; all network leaders; all superintendents

Categories Common Core, NAEP, New York, New York City, Testing

Moskowitz “Success Academy” Sues to Block State Audit

By dianeravitch
July 11, 2013 //
49

When New York State Comptroller Tom Di Napoli informed Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain of his intention to audit its financial records, the corporation sued to block the audit of public funds on grounds it was unconstitutional.

According to the story in a legal journal,

“Success Academy claims that a 2009 ruling by New York’s highest court found the Legislature overstepped its bounds by passing legislation in 2005 that authorized the comptroller to audit charter schools.
“Despite fine-tuning in 2010 that resurrected the audits, they’re still unconstitutional, Success Academy claims.”

In fact, Di Napoli has audited other charters based on the change in the law in 2010 that was written specifically to authorize the Comptroller to audit the use of public funds.

In one of Success Academy’s letters to the Comptroller, it asserts that the comptroller lacked the authority to conduct such audits under the state constitution, which authorizes reviews “of any political subdivision of the state” – which charter schools are not.”

Not being “a political subdivision of the state” is another way of saying that the charter corporation is a private contractor, NOT a public school. This has been the standard line of charters across the nation to evade state labor laws and other laws that apply to public schools but not to private contractors.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Harlem Success Academy, New York, New York City

Teacher: Why Is New York Manipulating Passing Mark?

By dianeravitch
June 26, 2013 //
32

Chris Webster, a high school English teacher in New York, wrote an outraged letter to State Commissioner John King. Why is the state manipulating the passing mark? Are they making the scores lower to make public education look bad?

Here is Chris’ letter:

Dear Commissioner King:

You often tell the story of a teacher who had a positive influence on your life. We all remember a teacher who acknowledged who we are; one who valued our talents and dreams. That is why I became a teacher. I wanted to have an influence on the next generation; I wanted to help mold and guide young adults and show them their value. And, of course, I wanted to express and share my love of literature. Therefore, I have enjoyed spending the last 16 years as an English Language Arts teacher. And so it is with a heavy heart that I watch the New York State Education Department blatantly manipulate data for their own agenda, the true victims being the children they purport to represent.

I will not nor can I speak to politics and what goes on behind the scenes. I am, however, right there on the front line, not in educational theory but in the classroom. My students completed the New York State Comprehensive Exam in English (the “Regents Exam”) this past Tuesday, and I am shocked and appalled by what the State is doing. I am not a statistician but I can speak in real terms of what I’ve noticed.

On the English Regents Exam, a student can score a maximum of 25 points on the multiple choice questions, and a maximum of 10 points on the three written components. These “raw scores” are then converted into a score out of 100. When one looks at the score conversion chart, one looks at the multiple choice responses along the y-axis, and the essay score along the x-axis, finds the convergence point, and within that box there is a converted score on a 100 point scale. With 25 points along the y-axis and 10 points along the x-axis, there are a total of 250 “boxes” within the chart, each with a score out of 100.

The June 2013 scores introduced a disturbing change. In the last three administrations of this exam, June 2012, August 2012, and January 2013, a passing score of 65 or higher was available in 70 of the boxes. This represented 28% of the possible scores. In the most recent administration, June, 2013, this number was reduced. The 70 boxes with passing scores were reduced to 57 boxes. This represents 23% of the possible scores. Looking at it in this manner – the state is using the same chart with the same raw data, but reduced the passing score possibilities by 5%. Another way of looking at the same data is to look at the passing score numbers. The State went from 70 boxes of passing scores to 57. This is a reduction by almost 20%.

These same numbers work when one looks at Mastery (score 85 or higher) rates on the exam. Again, using the June 2012, August 2012, and January 2013, Mastery scores were available in 15 of the boxes, representing 6% of the scores. In the most recent administration, June 2013, this number was reduced. The 15 boxes with Mastery scores were reduced to 12. This represents approximately 5% of the possible scores. Again, the State reduced this by 1%. Nevertheless, look at the same data in another light. The State went from 15 boxes of Mastery scores to 12. This is a reduction of 20%.

There are yet other concerns. Across the board, with all scores, the scores in the corresponding boxes have been reduced. For example, in the June 2012 administration, a student who scored a 17 on the multiple choice and a 7 on the essays earned a grade of 66. In August 2012 the score was 67. In January 2013 the score was 67. In June 2013 the score was 63, a failing grade, despite the raw scores being exactly the same as the 3 previous administrations. A second example: using the last 3 administrations of the test once again, if a student’s raw score was 24 on the multiple choice and an 8 on the written responses, the grade earned was an 85 (considered Mastery level). However, in the June 2013 administration, these same raw scores converted to an 83, a drop of two points, and, more importantly, failure to achieve Mastery.

It is only a matter of time before we see the newspaper headlines saying “Regents Scores Drop Across the State.” The test has NOT become more difficult or easier; it is similar to recent exams. The State has simply made it more difficult to pass. In my opinion, this feels like one more attempt to prove that public education is not working.

In an effort to push your reform agenda, the students are the victims. New York State’s high school students deserve better. If an 11th grade student took the exam last year, statistically speaking, he or she had a 20% higher chance of meeting with success. The “high stakes” testing agenda is shameful.

Sincerely,

Christopher A. Webster

English Department

South Side High School

Rockville Centre, NY

Categories Accountability, New York, Students, Testing

How to Get Very, Very Rich While Providing Poor Services

By dianeravitch
June 21, 2013 //
22

This is a story about a private contractor who figured out how to make big money: open a center to diagnose and treat preschoolers with disabilities.

The state of New York pays for everything, and no one pays much attention to the quality of the services. The state pays for your beautiful new building and even your Mercedes.

So what if you misdiagnose children? Who will know? Then you order yourself to provide very expensive services, which you don’t really provide.

“Some children whose first language was Chinese languished in classes taught in Spanish or Korean. Others who were supposed to receive individual tutoring were thrown into groups of four or more children, all with different types of disabilities.” Some children didn’t have any disabilities but the state was billed for them too.

So what if your revenues grew over a decade from $725,000 a year to $17 million?

That’s business.

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, New York, New York City, Special Education

NY Commissioner King Will Speak at Gulen Charter Graduation

By dianeravitch
June 18, 2013 //
19

New York State Commissioner of Education will speak at the graduation ceremonies of a charter school in Syracuse affiliated with the Gulen network. King himself came out of the charter sector, so his favoritism towards charters is not surprising.

The Gulen network is the largest charter chain in the nation. It is allied with a reclusive Turkish imam who lives in the Poconos in Pennsylvania yet wields political power in Turkey.

Critics were quick to question King’s decision. Gulen charters are usually distinguished by an all-male, all-Turkish board of directors. Many of their teachers are imported from Turkey. Some Gulen charters exclude students with special needs.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Charter Schools, New York

Carol Burris Reviews John King’s Evaluation Plan and Finds It Wanting

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2013 //
14

Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in Rockville Center, Long Island, spent her Saturday analyzing State Education Commissioner John King’s Educator Evaluation plan. Here is her review:

“When I took a look at the details of the plan imposed by Commissioner King on NYC, I was taken aback. The first thing I noticed was how low the points in the Effective range in the final 60 (other measures) were. These are the points assigned by the principal according to the rubric. I could not understand how the points in the Effective range could be as low as 45. A teacher could be rated effective in the first component, with a growth score of 9 points, effective in the second component the local measure with a score of 9 points and receive 45 points in the effective range established by the commissioner in the final 60 (see page 70) here http://files.uft.org/teacher-evaluation/13%20Attached%20Documents%20to%20NYCDOE%20APPR%20Plan%20Review%20Room%20Submission%20-%20Teachers%20and%20Principals.pdf , but she would be rated Ineffective overall.

“If you add up the points, 9+9+45=63.
In other words, the teacher is rated INEFFECTIVE overall, even though she is Effective in all three categories. At least that is what the statute 3012c would say.

“Let me explain. 3012c, which you can find here: http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2012Meetings/March2012/312bra6.pdf states on page 46 the following when describing points awarded for the local measure:

“(ii) an Effective rating in this subcomponent if the results meet district-adopted expectations for growth or achievement and they achieve a subcomponent score of: (a) 9-17 for the 2011-2012 school year, and for the 2012-2013 school year and thereafter for teachers and principals whose score on the State assessment or other comparable measures subcomponent is not based on a value-added model; or (b) 8-13 for the 2012-2013 school year and thereafter for teachers and principals whose score on the State assessment or other comparable measures subcomponent is based on a value-added model.

“In other words, if the teacher receives a score of 9 – 17 on the local measure, prior to VAM, she is in the Effective category. After VAM, it changes to 8-13. That is defined in the statute. Now look on pages 35 and 36 of the plan imposed by the Commissioner:

Click to access 13%20Attached%20Documents%20to%20NYCDOE%20APPR%20Plan%20Review%20Room%20Submission%20-%20Teachers%20and%20Principals.pdf

“On these pages you will find matrices that award points on the local measure. However, a score of 9 is not in the Effective range as 3012c requires. Rather, a score of 9 is in the Ineffective range. A teacher has to accrue 15 of the 20 points to be Effective without an approved VAM, and 13 out of 15 if there is an approved VAM.

“The entire section is confusing, because it has typographical errors, as it tries to explain the ratings with or without VAM. However, even if VAM is approved this year, the statute does not change. In fact, Effective moves down to 8 points., according to the 3012C.

“Unless I am missing an additional conversion chart, it appears to me that this plan violates 3012C. It gives a weight to test scores that was never intended, and it explains why the points are so low in the final 60. They can be low because John King raised the bar in the local measure, expecting very high student performance, for a teacher to be rated effective in that measure, and that is not in accordance with the statute passed by the legislature.”

Categories New York, Teacher Evaluations
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