Archives for category: Standardized Testing
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Letter to the U.S. Senate Opposing High-Stakes Testing: Your Organization Should Sign Too

By dianeravitch
June 17, 2015 //
16

From: The Network for Public Education

To: Members of the United States Senate

Re: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

To the Senate:

We, the below undersigned organizations oppose high-stakes testing, because we believe these tests are causing harm to students, to public schools, and to the cause of educational equity. High-stakes standardized tests, rather than reducing the opportunity gap, have been used to rank, sort, label, and punish Black and Latino students, and recent immigrants to this country.

We oppose high-stakes tests because:

  • There is no evidence that these tests contribute to the quality of education, have led to improved educational equity in funding or programs, or have helped close the “achievement gap”.
  • High-stakes testing has become intrusive in our schools, consuming huge amounts of time and resources, and narrowing instruction to focus on test preparation.
  • Many of these tests have never been independently validated or shown to be reliable and/or free from racial and ethnic bias.
  • High-stakes tests are being used as a political weapon to claim large numbers of students are failing, to close neighborhood public schools, and to fire teachers, all in the effort to disrupt and privatize the public education system.
  • The alleged benefit of annual testing as mandated by No Child Left Behind was to unveil the achievement gaps, and by doing so, close them. Yet after more than a decade of high-stakes testing this has not happened. Instead, thousands of predominantly poor and minority neighborhood schools —the anchors of communities— have been closed.

As the Seattle NAACP recently stated, “Using standardized tests to label Black people and immigrants as lesser—while systematically underfunding their schools—has a long and ugly history. It is true we need accountability measures, but that should start with politicians being accountable to fully funding education and ending the opportunity gap. …The use of high-stakes tests has become part of the problem, rather than a solution.”

We agree.

Yours sincerely,

Network for Public Education

50th No More (Florida)

Action Now

Alaska NAACP

Alliance for Quality Education

Badass Teachers Association

Better Georgia

Chicago Teachers Union

Class Size Matters

Community Voices for Education

Defending the Early Years

Delaware PTA

EmpowerEd Georgia

FairTest

HispanEduca

Indiana PTA

Indiana Coalition for Public Education

Indiana State Teachers Association

Journey for Justice

More Than A Score

Newark Parents Union

Newark Students Union

NJ Teacher Activist Group

NY State Allies for Public Ed

Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education

Opt Out Orlando

Oregon NAACP

Parents Across America

Providence Students Union

Rethinking Schools

Save Our Schools March

Save Our Schools NJ

Seattle King County NAACP

Students United for Public Ed

Texas Kids Can’t Wait

The Coalition for Better Education

The Opt Out Florida Network

United Opt Out

Voices For Education (Arizona)

Washington State NAACP

We Are Camden

Young Teachers Collective

[Readers: If your organization wishes to add its name to this statement, please contact NPE executive director Robin Hiller at rhiller@voicesforeducation.org

Categories Education Reform, Equity, NCLB (No Child Left Behind), Network for Public Education, Standardized Testing

Free E-Book about Teacher Who Refuses Test

By dianeravitch
June 16, 2015 //
14

You can download this e-book today. It is free today only. It was written by a Florida teacher using a pseudonym.

“This book is a way for me to come to some sense of understanding with the testing culture. I think parents, teachers, and students will relate to the experience of the characters in the book. It fully depicts the scenario of an opt out student and I wrote it geared to young adults (6th to 12th grade).

“Synopsis: In the story, a favorite teacher, Ms. Sandy, gets fed up during a state test and walks out of her classroom and career forever. The readers follow along with the students and fellow teachers as they try to make sense of Ms. Sandy’s actions, and as they discover her secret: she is a badass teacher with a ton of important information about testing. In the end, the community comes together to stand up against testing.”

Categories Resistance, Standardized Testing, Students, Teachers

New York Regents Battle Over Teacher Evaluation

By dianeravitch
June 16, 2015 //
23

At a heated meeting yesterday, the Néw York Board of Regents voted to approve changes to the teacher evaluation rules. The source of the contention was a harsh plan created by Governor Cuomo and jammed hastily into the state budget bill. Cuomo wants 50% of teachers’ evaluation to be based on state tests. It is payback for the failure of teachers to support his re-election last fall.

Recently a group of seven dissident Regents issued their own statement, proposing a year-long delay in implementation and increased focus on performance assessments.

At the meeting yesterday, the dissidents won some compromises–the main one being a four-month delay , which effectively pushes implementation off for a year.

But the seven dissidents who heroically defended students, teachers, and education, dropped to six as Regent Josephine Finn, a noneducator, joined the majority.

As I understand the details better, I will post them. From what I hear, the six dissident Regents are trying to craft a wise policy that will improve education, and they won significant compromises in the formula.

The majority clings to the vain hope that more testing equals better education. Call them the NCLB majority. Time is running out for their failed ideas.

Some 200,000 students–nearly 400,000 parents–refused the tests this past spring. Expect that number to grow as the Regents majority ignores the popular rejection of their failed policies.

Categories NCLB (No Child Left Behind), New York, Standardized Testing, Teacher Evaluations

Forget the SAT, Says the U. Of Puget Sound

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2015 //
24

The University of Puget Sound has joined some 800 other colleges and universities by dropping the SAT

“Put away your study guides, college applicants — the University of Puget Sound doesn’t care how you do on the SAT or ACT.

“The Tacoma university has joined a small number of Washington colleges, and a growing list of colleges nationally, that don’t require undergraduate applicants to submit standardized test scores when submitting an application for admission.

“The reason? UPS has found that grade-point averages are much more predictive of how a student will do in college than a score on a test.”

Categories Higher Education, Standardized Testing

A Reason Not to Take the SAT

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2015 //
44

The College Board, which sponsors the SAT, is data mining students and selling their data.

This is unbelievable. Students think they are taking a college admissions test, nothing more. Are they asked to grant permission to sell their data?

Categories Data and Data Mining, Standardized Testing

Laura Chapman: How to Get Very High SAT Scores

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2015 //
31

Our frequent commenter Laura Chapman reveals the secrets about how to get very high test scores:

 

She writes:

 

“For decades, arts educators have pointed with misplaced pride at the relatively high SAT scores of students who have taken at least three or four years of art in high school. This relationship of SAT scores to course taking has served as a tool for advocacy of more arts education.

 

“Of course the proportion of high schools where consecutive years of study in all of the arts is not huge, and advocates rarely identify the particular art forms and studies associated with high SAT scores. And I have never seen comparisons of the SAT performance of students who have taken arts courses compared with other patterns of course-taking.

 

“I just downloaded the College Board Total Group Profile Report for 2014, the most recent available. If you are hankering for high SAT scores here are some things you can do to get yourself there.

 

“First, get yourself some parents who are “White,” or Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander. Make sure they have a graduate degree and an income of more than $200,000.

 

“Then go to an independent school where you can study Latin and/or Chinese, British Literature, European History, Physics, Calculus, Computer Programing, Theater and Music theory/appreciation (not performance). You can study other things, but these are the “best in class” for getting a high SAT score.

 

“Study all of these subjects for multiple years and take advanced placement courses galore.

 

“As a final touch, aspire to a doctoral degree and choose a major based on how you score on the SAT. That means math and statistics if you get the highest SAT score in math. It you score at the highest levels in critical reading and writing, get yourself a major in “Multi-Interdisciplinary Studies.”

 

“Among the intended college majors for this cohort of tests takers, 19% wanted to major in Health Professions and related Clinical Services; 12% wanted to major in Business Management, Marketing, and related Support Services; 10% selected an Engineering major; 7% intended to major in Biological an Biomedical Sciences, 7% intended to major in the Visual or Performing Arts; 5% intended to major in Psychology. Only 4% expected to major in Education.

 

“About 2% of the SAT test takers are planning to enroll in a Certificate or Associate degree program a trade or personal services occupation.

 

“The College Board CEO is the same person who takes credit as the architect of the Common Core State Standards, with two subjects proposed as if sufficient for college and career readiness. To that we can say, the SAT scores tell a different and well-established story about priviledge and opportunity to learn.”

Categories Standardized Testing

Teacher: The Toxic Reach of Common Core into Kindergarten

By dianeravitch
June 14, 2015 //
16

A post yesterday described the intrusion of Common Core into a Headstart program for babies.

This teacher tried but could not escape the dead hand of test-driven Common Core:

“I am just completing my 10th consecutive year teaching Kindergarten. I began the first year of the NCLB standardized testing. I previously taught grades 3-5, 10 years prior and strongly objected to the tests at that time. My principal who always praised the way I taught reading told me that I would have to restructure my program to include more workbooks and test prep.

“Luckily a position in K opened up and i was able to get away from the testing and enjoy teaching in a creative way again with thematic units and high interest books. But slowly, ever slowly that began to change. For the past 4 years I have been forced to use a “CC aligned” curriculum that I hate and must use the assessments from the program that is extremely developmentally inappropriate. And there are A LOT of benchmark tests, at least one every 2 weeks that have as many as 65 multiple choice questions like on the final ELA benchmark I gave just this week….. So now of course they would come for the babies next, not surprised, this is the trickle down effect of the poison of back mapping.”

Categories Childhood, Pre-K, K, Common Core, Standardized Testing

Ohio Belongs to Pearson

By dianeravitch
June 14, 2015 //
13

This article was distributed by the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy.

“Dr. Barbara Brothers, Dean Emeritus, Youngstown State University, and current chair of the Education Committee of the Greater Youngstown League of Women Voters, is looking into the Pearson operation in Ohio and wrote what she has found thus far.

Ohio, a Pearson State

The Pearson Corporation is a multi-billion dollar United Kingdom enterprise which has grown from a construction company to include newspapers, entertainment enterprises such as amusement parks, and book publishers among its holdings. In 2000 Pearson spent $2.5 billion to acquire an American testing company in an effort to increase its profits through securing contracts to produce standardized tests and test preparation materials
(http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/pearson-education-115026.html). It has been given enormous control over K-12 public schools in Ohio by the Ohio legislature and governor.

Pearson effectively controls what is taught, who graduates, and even who gets a second chance at a high school diploma through the General Education Diploma (GED) examination. Recently Comcast was prevented from acquiring Time Warner because the federal government determined that Comcast’s control of 60% of the market was too great. But that market share pales compared to the 100% Pearson has been granted by the State of Ohio.

Since 2013, Pearson tests even license teachers in Ohio. Because the tests are designed and graded by Pearson, the company and its employees determine what teachers need to know in all particular teaching fields-English, science, history. Colleges must address what Pearson puts on the tests so that their students will be licensed to teach in Ohio initially and, later, when a teacher seeks professional advancement.

By 2018, Pearson end of course exams in designated subjects in grades 9 -12–PARCC Tests–will determine if a student receives an Ohio high school diploma. PARCC tests-Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and careers-are to be based on Common Core State Standards (CCSS), developed with primary input from Pearson.

In January of 2014 Pearson produced a revised GED exam—a new version of the GED that is to be taken entirely on-line. The pass rate fell 90 percent because the test now measures college readiness rather than what was actually learned in high school.

Pearson controls the curriculum by defining the knowledge and skills a student must master. Pearson assures us the CCSS will be rigorous; i.e. that at least thirty percent or more of students taking the tests will fail. An educator such as Dr. Louisa Moats, who was a contributing writer of CCSS, is just one of many of those critical of the jump to test and fail (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/child-development-central/201401/when-will-we-ever-learn). These standards for which Pearson oversaw the development, helped by tax free money such as an $88 million dollar grant from the Gates Foundation, in turn require the development and selling of both on-line materials and textbooks to prepare the teacher to teach to the test. Pearson produces the materials from which the teachers teach and the tests that tell us if they have performed satisfactorily. In Ohio they have no competitors. If your school “fails” then send your child to a Connections Academy, a Pearson for-profit Charter advertised on their GED webpage.

Teachers, parents, and concerned citizens have criticized the tests on a number of grounds-the number of tests, the time the tests take, the appropriateness of the questions, the secrecy about the test questions, the spying on students’ social media, the use of the tests for punishment, teaching to the test, the ignoring of the arts, the expense and failure of the technology for administering the tests, and the tremendous cost to taxpayers. The mania for testing and collecting volumes of data are destroying our education system and creating a world of big profits for the Pearson corporation and Big Brother-ism–all approved by our Ohio Legislature and Governor and supported by Federal legislation-No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.

William Phillis
Ohio E & A

Ohio E & A | 100 S. 3rd Street | Columbus | OH | 43215

Categories Curriculum, Ohio, Pearson, Standardized Testing

Should SAT Prep and Khan Videos Be Part of the Curriculum?

By dianeravitch
June 12, 2015 //
53

The College Board has ambitious plans to make SAT prep a standard part of the curriculum, utilizing Khan Academy videos. The head of the College Board is David Coleman, architect of the Common Core. The ostensible goal is to help more poor kids get prepared to take the SAT and gain admission to college.

“The company wants schools to track students’ progress from eighth to 12th grade using the “SAT Suite of Assessments,” which will be largely paid for by schools and typically administered during the school day, thus ensuring high participation rates. All of the exams will be aligned with the redesigned SAT, which is slated to make its debut next spring. More school-day testing is bound to take time away from traditional instruction, as is Khan prep if schools make it part of the standard curriculum, which appears to be the College Board’s goal….”

“If you ask Coleman, having students do Khan prep in school doesn’t detract from authentic learning. He believes that doing multiple-choice math and reading questions on screen and watching Khan’s YouTube videos constitute an “organic tool” that will work within the existing curriculum to develop academic skills. Meanwhile, Cynthia Schmeiser, who oversees assessment at the College Board, believes that “the sooner a student starts [using Khan prep], the more comfortable they’ll be on test day.”

“These positions fly in the face of test-prep experts, who argue that the SAT is divorced from traditional school work because it is a high-stakes, time-pressured, multiple-choice exam. Tutors typically recommend intense, compact preparation that detracts as little as possible from other educational pursuits and takes months not years. As Brendan Mernin, a founding tutor at Noodle.com, put it, “The SAT is supposed to show what you got out of your schoolwork. It is not supposed to be the schoolwork.”

What do I think? I think this is a corruption of education. The goal of education is to help young people learn and develop in mind, body, and character. School is a time to explore and develop interests and talents. Taking a test is not the goal of education. It is supposed to be a measure, not a part of the curriculum.

It is well-established that students’ grade point average predicts college readiness better than the SAT. Many colleges recognize this,and more than 800 are now test-optional.

The SAT has been losing ground to the ACT. This may be a clever marketing ploy by the College Board to best the competition.

Let’s hope that more colleges recognize that students’ work over four years means more than the SAT or the ACT. Free the students from this unnecessary burden!

Categories Coleman, David, Curriculum, Standardized Testing

BREAKING NEWS: Oregon Passes Strong Opt Out Bill

By dianeravitch
June 11, 2015 //
33

Despite the pressure exerted by the U.S. Department of Education and threats to cut off federal funding, the Oregon legislature passed a strong opt out bill, protecting parental rights.

From: Oregon Education Association

Oregon Senate passes HB2655–first step on path to a better way

Senate Passes “Student Assessment Bill of Rights”

Today the Oregon Senate overwhelmingly passed HB 2655 (24-6) — one of the strongest bills in the nation to support all students and parents on statewide standardized assessments. The bill establishes the Student Assessment Bill of Rights which requires assessment transparency by giving students:

the right to know the purpose of statewide assessments and how the results will be used

when exactly the assessments will be administered

the amount of class time required for the assessment

the learning targets that make up the assessment

how students can self-assess and track their own progress

when the results will be made available
and who will have access to the student’s testing data and how the data will be used

HB 2655 also establishes one of the most parent friendly opt-out provisions in the nation by ensuring that every parent has easy access to information about statewide assessments and how to exercise their right to determine if sitting for the statewide standardized assessment is in the best interest of their child.

More importantly, the legislation brings us one step closer to our ultimate goal–a system where parents, students and teachers are “all-in” instead of wanting to “opt-out.” We have already been working with educators and education leaders across the state to begin to map out a better path for student assessments that focuses on inspiring a love of learning. To learn more about how you can get involved, click here.

This is a huge victory for students and parents, and we’re proud of all the work you did to pass HB 2655 –this bill would not have become law without your commitment to improving public education in Oregon.

Categories Opt Out, Oregon, Resistance, Standardized Testing
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