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Fairtest: The Weekly Review of Testing Resistance and Reform

By dianeravitch
September 8, 2015 //
1

With school doors now opening across the U.S., FairTest kicks off its 30th Anniversary of advocacy for assessments that are valid, open and educationally useful. Working with grassroots activists across the country, we are currently making great progress to roll back test misuse and overuse in both the K-12 and university admissions arenas, as our weekly new clip summaries demonstrate. You can help build an even stronger assessment reform movement by making a special contribution today:

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/fairtest

National Latest SAT Scores Raise New Alarms Over “Test-and-Punish” Schooling
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/09/03/latest-sat-scores-raise-new-alarms-over-test-and-punish-education

National Dropping Admissions Exam Requirements Improves Colleges’ Diversity
http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/pf/college/sat-college-diversity/

Multiple States Computer Testing Administration SNAFUS Render Data Useless
http://www.news3lv.com/content/news/story/Schools-have-incomplete-data-with-stoppage-of/N1m0sUVdJ0uYyKnwPMa2-A.cspx

List of Jurisdictions Experiencing Computer Testing Problems 2013-2015
http://fairtest.org/computerized-testing-problems-2013-2015

California How Districts Are Developing New Measures of School Quality

How the CORE districts are designing new measures of school quality

California Governor Supports Bill for Retroactive Exit Exam Repeal
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Legislation-would-retroactively-suspend-Exit-Exam-6486231.php

Florida Independent Report Finds Computerized Test Scores Should Not Be Used for Student-Level Consequences
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/testing/florida-tests-shouldnt-be-used-for-student-level-consequences-report-says/2243631

Florida Inside Look at Rocky Start for State’s New Exams
http://www.bradenton.com/2015/09/08/5979585_an-inside-look-at-the-rocky-start.html?rh=1

Florida Student Tests Deserve an “F”
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-floridas-student-tests-deserve-an-f/2243924

Georgia Last Teacher in Atlanta Cheating Scandal Sentenced to One Year in Jail
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/crime-law/mother-of-infant-last-aps-teacher-to-be-sentenced-/nnWM5/

Idaho Boise School Board Leads Push to Replace Smarter Balanced Assessments

Boise leads new push to replace SBAC tests

Indiana Indiana New Vendor But Testing Concerns Linger
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2015/09/04/new-vendor-istep-concerns-linger/71721420/

Indiana Accountability Pause Would Reaffirm State’s Commitment to Education
http://www.journalgazette.net/opinion/editorials/Account-ability-8586585

Maine Superintendent Decries Testing Mandates
http://www.mdislander.com/maine-news/education-news/superintendent-decries-mandated-tests

Maryland Educators Say Testing Is Chipping Away at Teaching
http://marylandreporter.com/2015/09/03/testing-chipping-away-at-teaching-educators-say/

Minnesota Educators Call for Deep Reductions in Testing Requirements
http://www.startribune.com/teachers-union-wants-to-limit-high-stakes-tests-to-fifth-eighth-grades/325210121/

Missouri First Year of Online Testing Is Challenge for Schools
http://www.wgem.com/story/29934884/2015/09/01/first-year-of-online-testing-proves-challenge-for-local-schools

Montana Recovers $375,000 From Vendor of Botched Spring Exams; State Withholds Other Testing Payments
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/montana-recovers-k-for-spring-testing-glitches/article_c07c96c2-cb5c-5132-8c7b-2bce29b517cd.html

New Jersey Lawsuit Demands State Stop Using PARCC, SAT Tests for Graduation
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/high-school-students-and-parents-sue-state-over-new-parcc/article_7bb4a5e2-51a5-11e5-bddc-4b69fe2265d5.html

New Jersey As School Returns, Testing Issue Has Not Faded
http://www.northjersey.com/news/as-school-returns-state-testing-issue-hasn-t-faded-1.1401967

New Mexico Judge to Hear Request to Suspend State Teacher Evaluation System
http://m.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/judge-to-hear-union-s-request-for-suspension-of-teacher/article_c5070301-1c91-5319-9b1f-2fd846367e79.html?mode=jqm

New York Opt-Out Letter Gains Traction Even Before Schools Open
http://wamc.org/post/opt-out-letter-circulates#stream/0

New York Superintendent Slams Evaluation System in Letter to Teachers, Principals
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/michael-hynes-patchogue-medford-superintendent-slams-evaluation-system-in-letter-to-teachers-1.10798592

Vermont State Surprised By Number of Districts Offering to Test New Quality Review System

State surprised by number of schools to test quality review program

Virginia Pressure Around State Test Prep Begins on First Day of School
http://www.13newsnow.com/story/news/2015/09/03/pressure–sol-test-prep-begins–first-day–school/71647136/

Washington Testing a Major Issue in Seattle Teacher Strike Vote

It’s unanimous, Seattle teachers vote to strike and this is why

Washington Too Much Testing in High Schools Should End
http://sammamishreview.com/2015/09/01/editorial-too-much-testing-in-high-schools-should-end

Why Some Progressives Fall for “Accountability” and Phony Education Reform
http://www.alternet.org/education/why-even-progressive-democrats-fall-accountability-and-phony-education-reform

To Measure, Or to Assess Learning? Human Judgment Is Not the Problem, It’s the Solution
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/08/26/we-must-teach-for-range-and-depth.html

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director
FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing
office- (239) 395-6773 fax- (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org

Categories Resistance, Standardized Testing

NY Daily News to Opt Out Parents: DROP DEAD

By dianeravitch
September 6, 2015 //
59

In 1975, New York City’s government teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. The city’s leaders appealed to the Gerald Ford administration for financial help. President Ford said no.

The New York Daily News published a headline on its front page that was immediately iconic:

FORD TO NYC: DROP DEAD

Today the same newspaper published an editorial with the same sentiment, this time directed at the parents of the 220,000 children who refused the state tests.

The editorial argues that the parents have been manipulated by the teachers’ union, which is not only false but implies that the parents are dupes.

The editorial claims that the state must stand by the Common Core standards, which (they say) were “developed over many years by the nation’s top education experts.” Would the editorial board please tell us how many years they consider “many,” like two? Would the editors please name the nation’s “top educational experts?” David Coleman of McKinsey? Jason Zimba of Bennington College? Representatives of the College Board and ACT? Are these our “nation’s top educational experts”? Who says so?

The editorial argues that the state must support Governor Cuomo’s demand that 50% of teachers’ evaluation be tied to student test scores, ignoring the research and experience showing that this policy has no basis in research or real life.

Has the editorial board read the statement of the American Statistical Association, which found that teachers affect 1-14% of the variation in student scores, while the family and home have a far greater effect?

Is the editorial board aware of the legal battle of Sheri Lederman, an exemplary fourth-grade teacher in Great Neck who was rated “ineffective” on student growth? Sheri received accolades from her superintendent, her principal, parents, and former students. Should respected and successful teachers like Sheri be fired and replaced by new and inexperienced teachers? Why?

The editorial piously says:

“Kids in struggling schools have for years been plagued by low expectations and too many lower-performing teachers.”

So the editorial wants readers to believe that the Common Core tests that failed 96% of English language learners, 94% of children with disabilities, and more than 80% of Black and Hispanic children are in their best interests. Never mind that the same tests, with their absurdly unrealistic passing marks, widened the achievement gaps among groups. Why does the editorial board think that students in “struggling schools” will fare better academically if most of them fail the Common Core tests year after year? How will repeated failure create higher expectations? More likely, it will produce among the children a sense of despair and low self-worth.

It may be comforting to the editors of the Daily News to think that their arch-enemy–the teachers’ union–is pulling the strings, but the reality is that parents across the state are fed up with the excessive emphasis on testing. They know it robs their children of the arts, science, history, even physical education and recess.

The union doesn’t tell them that their children are cheated by the obsessive focus on testing. Parents see it with their own eyes. And parents across America agree with parents in Néw York. A recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll reported that 67% of public school parents and 64% of the public nationwide think there is too much emphasis on standardized tests in school.

So who should we listen to about education? The politicians or public school parents? The politicians or statistical experts?

This is a battle that the Daily News and Governor Cuomo can’t win. If they keep fighting and demeaning parents, next spring there will be 400,000 students who refuse the tests. They will refuse not because their parents are dupes of the union, but because their parents are defending the best interests of their children.

Categories Common Core, New York, Opt Out, Parents, Standardized Testing, Unions

Wendy Lecker: Education in the Age of Robber Barons

By dianeravitch
September 6, 2015 //
40

Wendy Lecker, civil rights attorney, notes that the release of Common Core test scores proved the adage that the tests measure family income.

“Decades of testing evidence show that the only stable correlation that exists, whether it is the CMTs or the SATs and likely the SBACs, is between test scores and wealth. Researchers such as Sean Reardon at Stanford note that wealthy parents not only can provide basic stability, nutrition and health care for their children, but also tutoring and enrichment that gives affluent children an edge over poorer children.

“The wealth advantage extends beyond test scores. Two studies, by St. Louis Federal Reserve and by the Boston Federal Reserve, demonstrate that family wealth is a determining factor in life success. The St. Louis report, published in August, revealed a racial wealth gap among college graduates. A college degree does not protect African-Americans and Latinos from economic crises as it does for whites and Asians. Employment discrimination figures into the disparity, but a major role is played by family wealth. Without a safety net of family assets, graduates of color must make more risky loan and other financial decisions. Last year’s Boston Fed study noted that wealthy high school drop-outs stay in the top economic rung as often as poor college graduates remain in the bottom economic rung. As a Washington Post article put it, rich kids who do everything wrong are better off than poor kids who do everything right. These reports, coupled with the fact that most job openings in the United States are for low-skilled workers, expose the uncomfortable truth that education is not the great equalizer.”

Instead of providing poor kids with smaller classes and other supports, we spend billions on testing.

“Education reformers deflect attention from the supports poor kids need and tell us that all kids have to do is develop some “grit” to succeed. In his best-selling book, “How Children Succeed,” Paul Tough claims there is “no antipoverty tool we can provide for disadvantaged young people that will be more valuable than the character strengths” like grit. Connecticut policy makers are trying to develop tests to measure the degree of “grit” our kids have. We are even told that if students have enough “grit” to get high test scores, our economy will be more competitive….

“Robber-baron education reformers such as Gates fight to protect their wealth to pass on their success to their children. For other people’s children their message is clear, as teacher/blogger Joe Bower remarked: “Let ’em eat grit.””

Categories Economy, Education Industry, Education Reform, Poverty, Standardized Testing

Astonishing Opt Out Rates in Upstate New York

By dianeravitch
September 5, 2015 //
7

Stories about the high opt out rates in Néw York state usually focus in Long Island. However, upstate Néw York–near the Canadian border–also had a huge number of students refuse the state’s Common Core tests.

“The average opt-out rate for Franklin County schools in 2014-15 was about 46 percent for the ELA exam and about 51 percent for the math assessment.

“While a high number of test refusals skews the results to some extent, Griffin noted, “we are very proud of those students who did take the exams last spring.

“We are looking forward to showing even more improvement in 2015-16.”

“Saranac Central School Superintendent Jonathan Parks agrees that a high opt-out rate, which Clinton County also experienced in 2014-15, makes it hard to analyze the exam scores.

“With the average test-refusal rates for Clinton County schools at 41 percent for ELA and 46 percent for math, any analyses or comparisons are difficult to make, and perhaps even statistically invalid,” he told the Press-Republican. “I am not a statistician, but it would seem to me that the only way that any determination of overall results would be accurate would be if there were a random sampling technique used, and this was clearly not happening in schools across the region or the state.

“Without a careful look at the ability levels of all students who refused the tests, it’s hard to really say how well our students did on these tests.”

“The statewide refusal rate — about 20 percent — was much lower than that of the county, he added.

“And even that rate calls into question the proficiency levels reported by NYSED (New York State Education Department),” Parks said. ”

These are not affluent districts. They are not suburbs. They are semi-rural and rural. Their elected representatives should take note.

Categories New York, Opt Out, Standardized Testing, Students

New York: Opt Out Parent Leaders Respond to Cuomo: “We Won’t Back Down”

By dianeravitch
September 4, 2015 //
7

The following statement was released by the New York State Allies for Public Education:

http://www.nysape.org/nysape-press-release—parents-respond-to-cuomo-tisch-elia.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2015

More information contact:
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com

NYS Allies for Public Education http://www.nysape.org

The Message of 220,000 Opt-Outs Has Not Been Heard: Elia Calls Opt-Out Parents “Unreasonable” and Cuomo Continues Trampling on the NYS Constitution

For over three years parents across New York have called on Albany to substantially change the direction of education reforms built on the flawed Common Core, its intertwined high-stakes testing and fundamentally broken teacher evaluation system.
Despite outrage with the appointment of an education commissioner without a public process, parents initially withheld their concerns with MaryEllen Elia and the reports of her support for Common Core reforms coupled with a heavy-handed, non-collaborative approach that factored in her firing in Florida.

Just a few short weeks into her appointment in New York however, Elia has proven parent skeptics right. She has adopted the “tough-talk” tactics of Andrew Cuomo and Merryl Tisch, apparently as cover for a governor and chancellor who have dramatically softened their education rhetoric to the public. Elia has labeled opt out parents as ‘unreasonable’, opt out supporting educators ‘unethical’ and threatened funding cuts if opt outs are not stopped.

In a press release yesterday expressing “sympathy” for parents, Cuomo called for a review of the Common Core in New York, blaming the State Education Department’s implementation while vowing to revive his Common Core panel to review the mess.

Parents across the state are not fools.

They know the problems are hardly limited to implementation of the Common Core, but the actual Common Core itself, its excessive testing, and a fundamentally broken teacher evaluation system.
Parents know that Andrew Cuomo is not part of the solution. Cuomo is the problem.

It is Cuomo who forced his unproven teacher evaluation system down parents’ throats.

It is Cuomo who slashed and underfunded the State Education Department staffing.

It is Cuomo who accepted ‘Big Donor’ campaign money and enabled the build-up of a privatized, unaccountable shadow government within the State Education Department –The Regents Research Fellows—who created the “Implementation” mess Cuomo now blames.

It is Cuomo who repeatedly tramples on the New York State Constitution–which gives a NY Governor NO authority over education policy—with his serial habit of forming pro-corporate education reform stacked panels, complete with Washington lobbyists salivating to eliminate parental consent for data profiling of children.

Parents of New York are outraged and will continue the fight to take back their schools and classrooms from the Albany shenanigans of Andrew Cuomo, Merryl Tisch and MaryEllen Elia.

“In New York, Governor Cuomo and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch, teamed up for the past five years to turn theory and promise of the Common Core into a living nightmare for our children and their teachers. Parents see through the ploys and will not back down. We will continue to refuse to participate in the Common Core tests that are destroying our schools and our children’s education. Governor Cuomo’s role in this mess will not be ignored.” – Jeannette Deutermann, Long Island public school parent and Long Island Opt Out founder.

“The spirit of our children is being broken. When will Albany start really paying attention and make the changes that parents are asking? We want our classrooms back, we want our teachers to teach, and we want a well-rounded curriculum for all our children. More test prep or testing is not the answer to closing the achievement gap.” –Charmaine Dixon, Brooklyn public school parent and NYC Opt Out member.

“Parents will not stop fighting for their kids. Tests MUST be decoupled from teacher evaluations, state tests MUST be reduced, and student data MUST NOT be shared without parental consent.” –Eric Mihelbergel, Western NY public school parent and NYSAPE founding member.

“The corrupt influence of ‘Big Money’ and ‘Big Data’ Collection in New York has ushered in the most destructive education laws and policies in the nation based on model American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) legislation and “pushed” by the privatized Regent Research Fellows think tank. Parents very clearly see how profit motives are driving the loss of local control in their children’s classroom…and they reject it.” -Lisa Rudley, Westchester public school parent and NYSAPE founding member.

“The results of the recent annual PDK/Gallup education poll are telling. An overwhelming majority (64%) of Americans say there is too much emphasis on testing in schools and a majority of public school parents oppose the Common Core. How much longer will parents in New York tolerate what Albany is doing to their children’s classrooms? The next election cycle will be very telling,” said Jessica McNair, Central NY public school parent, educator, and CNY Opt Out founder.

NYSAPE, a grassroots organization with over 50 parent and educator groups across the state are calling on parents to continue to opt out by refusing high-stakes testing starting on the first days of school. Go to http://www.nysape.org/resources.html for more details on the how to be part of the Great Opt Out of this decade.

###

Categories Common Core, Cuomo, Andrew, Opt Out, Parent Groups, Standardized Testing

BREAKING NEWS: Seattle Teachers Vote UNANIMOUSLY to Strike!

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2015 //
32

In an action taken in the past hour or so, Seattle teachers voted to strike.

The two big issues: a salary increase; recess time for children. Many children in the district get only 15 minutes a day of recess. Teachers want children to have at least 30-45 minutes a day.

“The union is advocating for a decrease in the use of high-stakes testing. This would include forming a joint committee with the union and the district to accept or reject any standardized testing beyond the federally mandated tests and getting rid of the “Student Growth Rating” that ties tested subject teacher’s evaluations to standardized tests scores. The Seattle School District has inundated our school with dozens of tests that students have to take in their lives as K-12 students, and it’s past time that we reclaim our classrooms for teaching rather than test prep.”

Categories Seattle, Standardized Testing, Students, Unions

The Washington Post on the Steady Decline in SAT Scores since 2005

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2015 //
103

Read the Washington Post’s article about the decline in SAT scores since 2005.

Scores on the SAT have sunk to the lowest level since the college admission test was overhauled in 2005, adding to worries about student performance in the nation’s high schools.

The average score for the Class of 2015 was 1490 out of a maximum 2400, the College Board reported Thursday. That was down 7 points from the previous class’s mark and was the lowest composite score of the past decade. There were declines of at least 2 points on all three sections of the test — critical reading, math and writing.

The steady decline in SAT scores and generally stagnant results from high schools on federal tests and other measures reflect a troubling shortcoming of education-reform efforts. The test results show that gains in reading and math in elementary grades haven’t led to broad improvement in high schools, experts say. That means several hundred thousand teenagers, especially those who grew up poor, are leaving school every year unready for college.

You will see lots of speculation, but what’s missing is a straightforward question about the value of NCLB and test-based accountability. Education doesn’t start in 9th grade.

Categories Standardized Testing

Fairtest Weekly Report Testing Resistance and Reform

By dianeravitch
September 3, 2015 //
0

Though schoolsy are still closed for the summer in many parts of the country, the weekly testing story count is already exploding. No doubt it’s going to be a most exciting and productive year for assessment reformers. Sta with us for weekly updates and be sure to check the news clip archives (http://www.fairtest.org/news/other) for articles you may have missed.

National

Five Years of Stagnant ACT “College Readiness” Scores Show Failure of Test-and-Punish K-12 Strategies
http://fairtest.org/Five-years-flat-ACT-Shows-testandpunish-fails

Focus on Standardized Tests Hurts Learning
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2015/08/30/standardized-tests-opt-out-learning-your-say/71427338/

Most People Don’t Like Current Education Policies, So Why Do Public Officials?
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/people-dont-like-current-education-policies-so-why-do-policy-leaders/

U.S. Bars States From Offering Alternative Tests for Most Students With Disabilities
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/08/27/u-s-education-department-bars-states-from-offering-alternative-tests-to-most-students-with-disabilities/

Multiple States Smarter Balanced Consortium Orders Review of AIR Testing Problems
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2015/08/american_institute_for_researc.html

States

Arizona Don’t Blame Teachers for Poor Test Scores
http://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/northwest_chatter/article_8e95e714-4b7b-11e5-b471-e725e920b4a2.html

California Governor Signs Law Suspending Graduation Exam Requirement

Governor signs bill exempting high school seniors from exit exam


California Legislators Consider Retroactive Diplomas for Students Who Failed Grad Test Over Past Decade

Lawmakers consider retroactive diplomas for students who failed exit exam


California Time to Abolish Senseless High School Exit Exam
http://www.marinij.com/opinion/20150831/marin-voice-time-to-abolish-senseless-high-school-exit-exams

Connecticut Education Commissioner Falsely Blames Teachers for Growing Smarter Balanced Exams Opposition
http://jonathanpelto.com/2015/08/25/malloys-education-commissioner-blames-teachers-for-lack-of-support-for-common-core-sbac-testing/

Florida Validity Study Concludes Computer Tests Should Not Be Used for Student-Level Consequences
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/testing/florida-tests-shouldnt-be-used-for-student-level-consequences-report-says/2243631
Florida In Miami-Dade Schools Every Day is a School Testing Day
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article32591382.html
Florida State Headed for Testing Turbulence
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/florida/2015/08/8574987/florida-headed-testing-turbulence

Georgia Superintendent of the Year Says High Stakes Testing Is The “Fools Gold of Accountability”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/08/27/2015-superintendent-of-the-year-high-stakes-testing-is-the-fools-gold-of-accountability/

Indiana Too Much Riding on Standardized Tests
http://www.thestarpress.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/08/28/much-riding-standardized-tests/71345136/

Maryland Teachers Group Launches TV, Radio Ad Campaign on Testing
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/31/maryland-teachers-group-launches-ad-campaign-on-te/
Maryland “Less Testing, More Learning” Campaign
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-school-testing-20150831-story.html
Maryland State Comptroller Blasts Pearson Testing Contract
http://marylandreporter.com/2015/08/26/franchot-flips-out-over-standardized-testing-contract/

New Mexico You Can Do Something About Testing Overkill
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-opinion/ci_28695808/rep-bill-mccamley-you-can-do-something-about

New York State Education Commissioner Says Parents Have a Right to Opt Kids Out of Tests
http://wamc.org/post/ed-comm-says-parents-have-right-opt-out-kids-tests#stream/0
New York Why So Many Families Opted Out of Standardized Exams
http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/letter-there-are-many-reasons-why-students-opted-out-of-tests-20150826
New York Gropes for Alternatives to Sanctions to Slow Surging Opt-Out Movement
http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_b59e92f0-4bf0-11e5-a426-bb5a41f55d91.html

North Dakota State to Recover More Than $316,000 for Testing Glitches
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/education/3827308-nd-recover-more-316000-testing-glitches

Oregon Opt Outs Hold Participation Rate Below 95% in 21 School Districts
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/3461266-151/common-core-21-districts-miss-mark-for-test
Oregon Students Return to Changing Testing Environment
http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-schools-standardized-tests/
Oregon Kindergarten Testing is Bad for Kids
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/kindergarten_testing_is_bad_fo.html

Pennsylvania Don’t Let Muddled Test Strategy Determine Our Children’s Future
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20150826_Don_t_let_muddled_test_strategy_determine_future_of_students.html
Pennsylvania The Wrong Way to Get Teacher Evaluations Right
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2015/08/getting_teacher_evaluations_ri.html#incart_river

Rhode Island Graduation Test Requirements May Get Second Look
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150825/NEWS/150829615/13748/NEWS

Tennessee The Obvious in School Test Scores
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/8/26/306959/The-Obvious-In-School-Test-Scores.aspx

Texas Many Students Now Graduate Without Passing STAAR Exit Exams
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/local/education/2015/08/28/many-texas-students-graduate-after-flunking-staar-tests/71285686/

Washington 48,000 Students Opted Out Across the State

48,000+ students refused the testocracy in Washington State by opting out. This isn’t an “anomaly”, it’s an uprising


Washington Testing Is One of Top Issues in Teacher Contract Negotiations
http://kuow.org/post/seattle-teachers-say-recess-testing-are-among-top-issues-contract

Canada Mega-Testing Creates Illusion of Badly Failing Schools
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1308459-mega-testing-merely-creates-illusion-public-education-is-failing

Bad News for Testing Advocates

Bad News for Testing Advocates

Student Teachers Are New Casualty of High-Stakes Testing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/08/30/a-new-casualty-of-high-stakes-testing-student-teachers/

Free Copies of “Defies Measurement” DVD Available on Request

Get a Free Copy of “Defies Measurement” and Show It to Friends and Neighbors

Bob Schaeffer, Public Education Director

FairTest: National Center for Fair & Open Testing

office- (239) 395-6773 fax- (239) 395-6779
mobile- (239) 699-0468
web- http://www.fairtest.org

Categories Education Reform, Resistance, Standardized Testing

U.S. News: The Rationale for Common Core Testing Is Gone

By dianeravitch
September 2, 2015 //
73

U.S. News and World Report points out that the rationale for Common Core and its tests was that parents needed to know how their child compared to children of the same age in other states.

But with two different testing consortia, and with so many states dropping out of those consortia, the rationale has been eviscerated.

Frankly, it never made any sense to argue that parents everywhere were hungering to compare their own child’s test score to children in other states. Maybe it is just me, but I never met a parent who said, “I’m desperate to know how my child’s test score compares to children in the same grade in Alaska and Maine and Florida. And to insist that having this information would somehow improve education or benefit students made no sense either. What we learn from standardized tests is that family income matters. Having the same test everywhere doesn’t change that fact. What if the same energy had done into reducing poverty and segregation? We might have made a dent. Instead, our whole country is pointed to the wrong goals.

Says U.S. News:

Even when all the results are available, it will not be possible to compare student performance across a majority of states, one of Common Core’s fundamental goals.

What began as an effort to increase transparency and allow parents and school leaders to assess performance nationwide has largely unraveled, chiefly because states are dropping out of the two testing groups and creating their own exams.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told state leaders in 2010 that the new tests would “help put an end to the insidious practice of establishing 50 different goal posts for educational success.”

“In the years ahead, a child in Mississippi will be measured against the same standard of success as a child in Massachusetts,” Duncan said.

Massachusetts and Mississippi students did take the PARCC exam this year. But Mississippi’s Board of Education has voted to withdraw from the consortium for all future exams.

“The whole idea of Common Core was to bring students and schools under a common definition of what success is,” said Tom Loveless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “And Common Core is not going to have that. One of its fundamental arguments has been knocked out from under it.”

However, if you want to compare state performance, you can always look at the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which has been comparing states since 1992. NAEP also compares a score of urban districts every other year.

Categories Common Core, Duncan, Arne, Standardized Testing

New York: State Superintendent Says Parents Have Right to Opt Out

By dianeravitch
September 1, 2015 //
10

Hello, parents of New York, you have the right to opt your child out of state testing. So says the State Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.

Forget what you heard last week about threats and sanctions. That was then. This is now.

” State Education Commissioner Mary Ellen Elia says she won’t prevent parents who want their children to skip the state’s standardized tests from doing so. The commissioner detailed her views on the controversial Opt Out movement in an interview with public radio and television….

“Commissioner Elia says parents “absolutely” have the right to opt their kids out of state standardized tests, but she says she still wants to talk to them to try to bring them back to the fold.

“We haven’t done enough communication,” Elia said. “But if parents understand it and they still want their child to opt out, that certainly is their right.”

“Robert Lowry, the spokesman for the New York State Council of School Superintendents, says some superintendents did indeed ask for help. Others are trying on their own to convince students to participate. But he says many more believe that the tests themselves are fundamentally flawed.

“The real issue is that the tests have to change,” Lowry said. “Parents are upset for a reason.”

“Lowry says the preparations was not well thought out, and schools get too little information on results too late.”

This is a work in progress.

Message to parents: do what you think is best for your child.

Categories New York, Opt Out, Parents, Standardized Testing, Students
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