Norm in The Wave: High Stakes Testing Opt-Out Movement Takes Off

Published Friday, April 18, 2014 www.rockawave.com


High Stakes Testing Opt-Out Movement Takes Off
By Norm Scott

Stories of numerous parents in the city and around the state who have begun a revolt against high stakes testing by having their children refuse to take the tests have recently broken into the mainstream media. Even school principals in Brooklyn and Manhattan have led post-ELA test rallies outside their schools over the impropriety of many of the tests based on the common core curriculum. Quite an achievement by organized groups of parents and progressive teachers who just a year ago were being deemed “oddballs.”

Yes, we are in the midst of the high stakes testing season and the education wars keep heating up between the real reformers who want to make schools inviting spaces for children, teachers and parents and the corporate style ed deformers who are trying to turn the nations schools into a mini-me of the corporate model. High stakes tests and the common core nationally imposed curriculum have become the battle ground. The corporate mentality feeds on “data” and with few economic resources to fight against the billions on the other side, real reformers are using the opt-out movement as a “deny them the data” campaign.

The more than a decade old battle has morphed as many parents of younger children have seen how the focus on tests damage their children psychologically and educationally as schools focus more and more time on test prep. Once the tests are over (in a few weeks) everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The change of atmosphere in schools is palpable. Trips, projects, more interesting curriculum become more common. But there is also a cost as the sense of the school year being over is felt in early May. Teachers start disappearing to be sent to other schools to mark the exams, the results of which are not known until the summer, thus becoming useless as a tool for the teachers to use to improve their current students’ learning.

A word of explanation. I am not talking about removing standardized tests from the equation, but to de-emphasize them in the use as a one snapshot a year of a child’s learning to make judgments about them, their schools and their teachers. And I am not talking about the kinds of tests high school kids take to get into colleges where there can be intense pressure. I am talking about subjecting 8-year olds to the same kinds of pressure we used to reserve for 17-year olds high school kids (and increasingly people are thinking we should not be doing that to them either.)

A few years ago I was part of a group of teachers and parents who founded ChangeTheStakes.org (CTS) to inform parents around the city of the impact high stakes testing was having on their childrens’ education. CTS has put out a series of materials to support parents who want to opt their children out the tests by addressing issues of whether their child will be promoted or get into the middle school of their choice if they don’t take the test (new rules protect these children from retaliatory actions). Also on the agenda has been is what the children will be doing while the others are taking the test. Some school systems require those children to “sit and stare” in the same classrooms – do nothing. There has been a revolt against those policies with calls on schools to provide meaningful activities.

There is still time to opt out of this year’s math tests. If you are a potential opt-out parent you can contact CTS at changethestakes@gmail.com or check out the website.

Teachers are also beginning to take a stand. Some NYC teachers at the Earth School on the Lower East Side have formed a group called “Teachers of Conscience” and have refused to give the tests. teachersofconscience.wordpress.com.

Teacher asks for help for research project at Channel View
Were you a resident of the Rockaways during WW II, or served in WW II? Would you consider being interviewed about your experiences? We are seeking individuals to share their memories of life during WW II. Channel View School for Research’s 8th grade students are exploring life during wartime and the impact it had on the Rockaway residents. We are also investigating the imprint Fort Tilden has left on the peninsula and are petitioning the National Park Service to consider why it is worth preserving. Please contact Annette Malloy at (718)634-1970, or AMalloy@schools.nyc.gov if you are interested.

Testing reform in the news: June 6-12, 2013

From Fair Test:

Many major stories about assessment reform progress this week -- Texas significantly reduces standardized exam mandates; a rally in Albany opposes testing overkill, and major national groups call for a moratorium on Common Core tests.

All our weekly newsblasts are posted on the web at http://www.fairtest.org/news/other - this one will be up shortly.

Texas Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Two-Thirds of Required High-Stakes Exams

http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2013/06/perry-signs-bill-to-reduce-high-stakes-testing/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/10/texas-governor-signs-legislation-to-reduce-standardized-testing/
Rebellion Against a Culture of Testing Bubbles Over
http://www.summitdaily.com/news/6810995-113/texas-state-testing-bubbles

Thousands Protest Standardized Exam Overkill in State Capitol Demonstration
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20130608/NEWS01/306080043
Why we Rallied Against High-States Testing -- OpEd by a former school
superintendent
http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/ricken-too-much-emphasis-on-school-standardized-tests-1.5424228
"Stop the Madness Song" Highlights Anti-Testing Rally
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Campus-Notebook-Testing-protest-meant-to-strike-4584931.php

North Carolina Governor: Public School Students Take Too Many Tests
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/05/2941170/gov-mccrory-public-school-students.html

Oklahoma Lifts Testing Requirement for Learning Disabled Students
http://www.news9.com/story/22553805/new-legislation-changes-testing-requirements-for-special-needs-students

MSNBC High-Stakes Testing Protest Overview
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755822/ns/msnbc-the_ed_show/vp/52151738/#52151738

Major Ed Groups Support Moratorium on Common Core High-Stakes Tests
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/06/common-core-supporters-back-moratorium-on-new-tests-high-stakes/
Unwrapping the Flawed Common Core Tests
http://andreagabor.com/2013/06/03/unwrapping-new-york-states-new-common-core-tests/
Common Core Collides with "Education Spring"
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/?p=716&preview=true
See FairTest Common Core fact sheet "More Tests, But Not Much Better"
http://www.fairtest.org/common-core-assessments-more-tests-not-much-better

Parents Bill Pearson for School Time Wasted on Field Tests
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rEIh17ceiWc/UbJVly6ntpI/AAAAAAAAMvI/JtgJVFbOOZ8/s1600/Invoice+to+Pearson.jpg

Teachers Open Letter to Pearson: Send Profits Back to the Classroom http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/06/05/33tanenbaum.h32.html

Pearson Field Tests Earn an "F"
 http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/An-exam-that-gets-an-F-from-critics-4581122.php

Great Neck School Board Adopts Resolution Blasting Over-Testing
http://www.theislandnow.com/great_neck/article_26cc3ec6-ceb4-11e2-af0a-001a4bcf887a.html
Read the Great Neck Resolution
http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/gnps/pages/TestingResolution2013.pdf
Sign the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing
http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/

Third Graders Slam School Time Wasted on Testing in Letters to New York
Governor
http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nation/rockland-kids-slam-state-exams-write-to-cuomo-we-re-only-in-third-grade-for-heaven-sakes-1.5415097?qr=1

Indiana Computerized Exam Should Fail Independent Test
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-istep-failure-shouldn-t-pass-outside-test/article_428d4d4f-1b90-5912-8add-c001b5f1fc81.html

Local School Board Opposes Rhode Island State Grad Test Plan
http://www.heraldnews.com/newsnow/x793338210/Tiverton-School-Committee-blasts-NECAP-requirement-in-meeting-with-state-officials#axzz2W0b62ss0

Jeb Bush's "A to F" School Grading Scam Hurts High-Poverty Districts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/07/superintendent-virginias-new-a-f-school-grading-system-will-hurt-high-poverty-districts/

Play the Value-Added Evaluation Game or Help Your Students?
http://edge.ascd.org/_Play-the-Evaluation-Game-or-Help-Your-Students-You-Must-Choose/blog/6532486/127586.html

More Ed. Leaders Should Fight Damaging School "Reforms"
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/06/why_arent_more_school_leaders_fighting_against_ed_reform.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS2

Asking the Right Questions to Close Achievement Gaps
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/210647341.html?page=1&c=y

An Alternative Vision of Real School Reform
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/civic_mission/2013/06/extraordinary_people.html?cmp=SOC-SHR-TW
Final Installment of Excellent Video Series "A Year at Mission Hill" --
The Impact of Testing Mandates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VduHn6GmVt4&feature=youtube

Sign a New Declaration to Overhaul Test-Driven Schooling
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2013/06/in_counter_to_joyless_schools_%20coalition_demands_supports_based_reform.html

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

NYSUT/AFT Uses Fear Tactics to Urge Rejection of Carol Burris Petition

The Burris petition’s call upon the Governor and Legislature to place a moratorium on high stakes testing would, if adopted without federal action, put New York’s public schools at risk of loss of federal Title funding, on which they so depend to support students. Indeed, there is the potential that action on this issue at the state level could result in the forfeiture of funds already paid out by the USDOE—a result that would be devastating to our schools and students.--- New York State United Teachers, a subsidiary of the UFT*

Well, here they go again. Apparently, the fact that top level principals like Carol Burris is a hero to many teachers for leading the fight against a faulty evaluation system while the UFT/NYSUT/AFT has sat on a spiky fence (or worse, played the other side), has once again irked the NYSUT leaders.

*In NYSUT the 200,000 member UFT is the tail that wags the dog. So when Unity Caucus clones come calling with a message that Mulgrew was not the guy who made the eval deal for a state law with Tischless and King, don't believe it.

I got into somewhat of a running battle the other day when a tweet came in asking me what it would take to get the teacher unions to take a strong stand against HST. I said they never would and she seemed confused as to why they wouldn't. I couldn't delve into the details at that time but ended up with responses from Weingarten and Leo Casey defending their record on HST, to a wonk like me, really funny stuff which I will post on a follow-up.

Meanwhile you should read a great post from RBE at Perdido Street School today listing some of the ways the union has supported HST:

Reading The Tea Leaves On Mulgrew's Evaluation Update

Here is the full NYSUT missive: 

Subject: from NYSUT sent to members.

It has come to our attention that a petition is being circulated by Carol Burris, a principal at a Long Island school district, which is entitled “Petition to Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to End High Stakes Testing”. The petition demands that the state place a moratorium on “high stakes” testing. We have been receiving some inquiries about NYSUT’s response and recommendations relating to this petition.

First, NYSUT’s Tell It Like It Is initiative is NYSUT's strongly recommended approach to communicating the concerns that we share about testing, because it allows for a more meaningful, personal, fact-based response than an e-petition. Any member considering signing the petition should be encouraged to instead participate in the Tell It initiative, which is already well underway, will continue up to the NYSUT RA, and is having a positive impact.

Second, action to reduce reliance on testing must come from the federal government, which has conditioned funding to the states on compliance with federal testing requirements. We must persuade the federal government to change its testing requirements. This is why AFT has initiated, and NYSUT strongly supports, a petition drive directed to federal policy makers. We encourage our members to sign the AFT petition, which is directed to the right audience. The Burris petition’s call upon the Governor and Legislature to place a moratorium on high stakes testing would, if adopted without federal action, put New York’s public schools at risk of loss of federal Title funding, on which they so depend to support students. Indeed, there is the potential that action on this issue at the state level could result in the forfeiture of funds already paid out by the USDOE—a result that would be devastating to our schools and students.

NYSUT believes that the dual initiatives of expressing to NYSED the real and serious concerns that our members have about the current testing program through NYSUT’s Tell It Like It Is, and of advocating for changes in the federal testing policy through AFT’s petition, are the best and most responsible strategies to protect and support our students and our members.

As always, you are welcome to contact me with questions or concerns.

==================
 

The opinions expressed on EdNotesOnline are solely those of Norm Scott and are not to be taken as official positions (though Unity Caucus/New Action slugs will try to paint them that way) of any of the groups or organizations Norm works with: ICE, GEM, MORE, Change the Stakes, NYCORE, FIRST Lego League NYC, Rockaway Theatre Co., Active Aging, The Wave, Aliens on Earth, etc.

Fred Smith Celebrates The Night Before…

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the state

Tisch was telling the Regents that she couldn’t wait.

The new year was coming, surely bringing the best;

Every school overflowing with test after test.

The Common Core Standards would arrive any day,

Educational nirvana was well on its way.

And in the Tweed Courthouse joy was also in season.

Tests, yet more tests on top of tests were the reason.

Dasher Klein passed the torch to Walcott, the Dancer;

Year-round testing, K-12 was the obvious answer.

On Bloomberg’s A team was no reindeer named Cupid,

But Polakow-Suransky was left to play stupid,

Explaining how tests were mere all-purpose tools

For holding back kids, judging teachers and schools:

If test prep and drilling took the entire school day,

Such a sacrifice was but a small price to pay.

If History was lost and Music and Art,

Well, you know everybody has to do their part.

If kids are nervous and are sick or are stressed,

That’s kinda sad, but the state and Fed say we must test.

When tests make special need and ELL kids feel dumb and sob,

Again, blame the Fed, we’re only doing our job.

If teachers feel pressured and are tempted to cheat,

We’re sure that’s so rare it’s not worth a tweet.

When teachers are rated by tests that won’t let them teach,

Hmm. I’ll get back to you soon. That’s not part of my speech.

If teachers don’t add value and their names make the press,

I really don’t like that either, I must confess.

When teachers quit because they can’t stand the grinding,

We’ve not done a survey that proves what you’re finding.

And so on and so forth on this Christmas Eve.

Here’s a list to check twice of things I believe:

If children come first, then parents come second.

That’s a clear truth that never gets to be reckoned.

So Albany and Tweed, you must let in the sun;

You and the privateers are not Number 1.

And that goes for Pearson and all of the charters;

We’ll call you if we need you! How’s that for starters.

Don’t keep parents in the dark about testing you’ve planned.

And spring tests on our children with your high hand.

Inform us of field tests and all other exams;

We’re not here to be led around like little lambs.

Let us decide to opt out or give our consent,

If we think taking these tests is time that’s well spent.

Be sure to assess what’s important to measure,

The work kids can do and the growth that we treasure.

Not the bubble sheet tests sold by grubby green vendors

To the grinches on Tweed Street—education’s pretenders.

That’s the kind of New Year that I hope will be seen;

Merry Christmas to all and Happy 2013.

NYC Schools Face Another Wave of For-Profit Field Testing

Parents and Educators Protest Unsound Testing Policies

If you want to help in this fight, join our Change the Stakes group.

www.changethestakes.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


October 24, 2012

NYC Schools Face Another Wave of For-Profit Field Testing as
Parents and Educators Protest Unsound Testing Policies

Reference material on this week’s field tests and additional updates on challenges to New York City and State’s high stakes testing programs and policies

Pearson’s New York State Field Tests

The New York State Education Department has assigned 169 NYC schools (559 schools statewide) to administer stand-alone field tests to children in grades 3-9 this week.  The stated purpose for October field testing is to try out questions for future testing products. This is the third time this year that public school children in NYC have been subjected to experimental testing solely for the benefit of the state’s test development contractor, NCS Pearson, Inc. 

NYC children are expected to participate in this for-profit research effort despite the fact that parents have received no notification.  Change the Stakes reaffirms the position our organization took in the spring that the State Education Department and NYC Department of Education must notify families of affected students and only administer field tests to students for whom explicit consent has been obtained. 

Earlier in the month, Change the Stakes joined ParentVoicesNY and Time Out From Testing in an effort to educate and inform parents at NYC schools selected for October field testing.  As a result, we have heard from parents and educators from across the state looking for information on ways to challenge this unfair practice.

New York City’s Assessment Policies are Failing Students and Communities

Stand-alone field testing, an ineffective way to try out new test questions, is disruptive to classroom instruction and learning.  Unfortunately, field testing is just part of a larger problem.  In many schools, preparation for high-stakes testing has come to dominate curriculum and instruction, to the exclusion of more-comprehensive, rigorous, and substantive education.  Change the Stakes joins others who argue that inflexible and severely flawed assessment policies waste human and financial resources by narrowing curricula and preventing teachers from using their training and experience to provide optimal educational opportunities for their students, causing particular damage for the most needy and vulnerable students. 

Most New Yorkers are not aware of the excessive amount of testing that occurs in NYC schools throughout the school year. While the State is responsible for the development of standardized tests and the misguided new test score-based teacher evaluation program, specific NYC Department of Education (DOE) policies and practices place ever-mounting pressure to dedicate valuable classroom time and resources to test preparation.

               

• DOE student promotion policies, modified this past summer, are still essentially entirely based on test scores from seriously flawed exams.
• DOE School Progress Reports continue to provide parents and community members with extremely limited and misleading information on the quality of education offered at an individual school.  Despite widespread criticism of this reporting tool, individual school grades continue to guide decisions on school closing and other critical matters.  

Explosion of Parent, Educator and Community Protest across the State

Over the past year more New York parents have begun to fight back against test-driven education by refusing to allow their children to participate in standardized testing.  A number of NYC parents took this action during last April’s annual state exams, and many more refused to participate in field testing conducted in June (press coverage of these actions can be found on the Change the Stakes website).  A number of NYC schools have formed parent committees focused on challenging high-stakes testing policies and practices. 

Over 2,100 parents and other citizens concerned about the impacts of high-stakes testing have signed a Change the Stakes petition calling for a non-punitive process by which New York parents can opt their children out of standardized tests, with many expressing deep concerns about unbalanced and ineffective testing policies. 

Important petition and letter signing efforts spearheaded by other groups include:

1.      New York State Principals Open Letter of Concern Regarding New York State’s APPR (teacher evaluation) Legislation, signed by over 1,500 principals and more than 5,600 supporters

2.      New York State Professor’s Letter to End the Reliance on High Stakes Standardized Testing, signed by more than 1,100 professors and released in June at a press conference at the New York Civil Liberties Union

3.      ParentVoicesNY petition expressing concern about the role of state standardized testing in New York public education

Resolutions calling for an end to unbalanced and ineffective high stakes testing policies include the following:

1.      New York City Council Resolution calling upon the New York State Education Department, the New York State Legislature, and the Governor to re-examine public school accountability systems and to develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which do not require extensive standardized testing, introduced in June 2012.

2.      Resolutions against high stakes testing adopted by five NYC Community Education Councils (3, 14, 20, 21 and 30) and currently being considered by CEC 6, modeled on the national resolution that originated in Texas and has been passed by hundreds of school boards in that state.

3.      An emergency resolution adopted by the Niagara Region PTA opposing high-stakes testing and calling for the suspension of the statewide testing program for grades 3-8.

Finally, educators such as Carol Burris and Lauren Cohen submitted testimony communicating concern about high stakes testing to the New York Education Reform Commission. 

                                                           -----------------------------------

Change the Stakes (changethestakes.org) is a growing group of parents, teachers and other New Yorkers concerned about the harmful effect high stakes-testing is having on our children and our schools.  We oppose the over-emphasis on such tests and misuse of the results for purposes they were never intended to serve. We believe high-stakes testing must be replaced by educationally-sound, reliable and valid forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.

www.changethestakes.org

Follow us on Twitter or on our Facebook page

 

Sorry, Bob Schieffer: Between Testing and Teacher Evaluations, America's Teachers Don't Feel Too Loved

As someone who has worked in a non-union school, I can tell Ms. Kenny what violates trust between teachers and administrators. Knowing that you can be fired for your personality.  Knowing that there is a fresh crop of well-intentioned, starry-eyed Teach for America kids who can take your place in the time it takes to make a phone call. Knowing that you will be scorned for using your allotted sick days and guilted into working through lunch, during prep time, and hours after the final school bell rings. ----charter school teacher Allison LaFave

Wow1 I'm impressed. There are lots of charter school teachers we can align with and Allison is an example. She sent this to the GEM listserve:

Hi all,

I submitted this article about my experiences re: standardized testing and test-based evaluations in NYC schools to PolicyMic this afternoon.  I hope that it resonates with many of you!  Please feel free to read, comment, and forward as you wish.

And, in honor of Mr. Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002), who reminded us that laborers and teachers are one in the same, "Stand up. Keep fighting."

Thanks!
Allison LaFave

http://www.policymic.com/articles/17490/romney-loves-teachers-what-teacher-evaluations-and-tests-mean-for-american-teachers

Romney Loves Teachers: What Teacher Evaluations and Tests Really Mean for American Teachers

During Monday’s final presidential debate, Bob Schieffer spurred a collective American chuckle when he cut off Romney’s long-winded brown-nosing with the knee-slapper, "I think we all love teachers..."
I'd love to believe Mr. Schieffer, but as someone who hails from a family of public school teachers and spent last year teaching third grade in a New York City charter school, I have to say, “Bob. You’re adorable. But America’s teachers haven’t felt loved in quite some time.”

Last spring, my principal corralled our school's third grade teaching team around a kidney-bean shaped table and apologetically explained that we needed to sign forms acknowledging the weight of our students’ test scores on our end-of-year evaluations. Ultimately, our students’ math and ELA scores would comprise as much as 40% of our annual rating. 

Now, I don't know a single educator who outright opposes the idea of fair evaluations and/or some level of teacher accountability. But as I sat quietly in that little red plastic chair, a voice in me cried:

"You want to evaluate me? Great. No problem.

"But let's also evaluate the misaligned (or nonexistent) curriculum I was given to plan for my classes."

"Let’s evaluate the number of chairs huddled around single desks, because there are more students in the room than there were last year, and the copy machine, the one that never works.

"Let’s evaluate the number of students with IEPs that aren't being adequately serviced, and the number of English Language Learner students sitting voiceless in the back of the room, because they have yet to be admitted into nonexistent ELL classes.

"Let’s evaluate the employers who are smugly underpaying/underemploying my students’ parents or guardians, forcing them to work multiple jobs, likely without ever securing benefits for themselves or for their families. Or the number of students who have lost parents or loved ones due to gang violence, substance abuse, or the labyrinth that is our failing criminal justice system. Or the number of my students who didn't eat dinner last night.

"Let's evaluate how many hours of sleep I got last night, because I was not afforded adequate prep time during my 10 or 11 hour day in the building, or how many times I've skipped out on doctor's appointments and family events to be here for my students.

"And, finally, let's evaluate my motivations for being here — because it sure as hell isn't for the money."

Last week, Deborah Kenny wrote an op-ed piece decrying the heavy influence of test scores on teacher evaluations. Kenny rightfully claimed that the practice “undermines principals and is demeaning to teachers” and leaves little room for innovative teaching and learning. She went on to say that test-based evaluations inhibit the “culture of trust" between principals and teachers and “discourage the smartest, most talented people from entering the profession.”

While I agree that test-based evaluations are inherently flawed (when was the last time our politicians, Democrats or Republicans, truly analyzed a Pearson test?), I am baffled by Kenny’s ultimate argument. It seems that Kenny bashes test-based evaluations because ... wait for it ... they make it harder for her to fire teachers she doesn’t like – specifically a teacher whose students performed “exceptionally well” on the state exam.

Teachers aren’t statistics, but they also aren’t part of some school-wide homecoming court. Administrators shouldn’t cast votes for the teachers they like or dislike. They should work to support all teachers who act in the best interest of students.

Ms. Kenny also takes a not-so-subtle jab at teachers' unions, attacking evil tenured teachers in America, who are clearly exploiting their glamorous roles as K-12 educators. However, unions don't grant tenure; PRINCIPALS grant tenure. And, moreover, Ms. Kenny, like nearly all charter school administrators in America, likely prohibits her teachers from joining their local union.

As someone who has worked in a non-union school, I can tell Ms. Kenny what violates trust between teachers and administrators. Knowing that you can be fired for your personality.  Knowing that there is a fresh crop of well-intentioned, starry-eyed Teach for America kids who can take your place in the time it takes to make a phone call. Knowing that you will be scorned for using your allotted sick days and guilted into working through lunch, during prep time, and hours after the final school bell rings.
I encourage our presidential candidates (and all Americans) to listen to the voices of practicing teachers, who are so often talked about and around during national education debates.

Says Kelly G., a third grade teacher in Brooklyn:

"These teacher evaluations are complex. I honestly used to think that a teacher could indeed be evaluated and held accountable using test scores. And then I started teaching at school that didn't allow me to do the kind of teaching I thought needed to be done in order to develop intelligent children. There's nothing quite like having your teaching micromanaged and then being told it was your fault the kids didn't achieve exemplary scores on the state exam.
 

“My kids are capable of so much already. Come in and look at their writing. Listen to their discussions. Watch them solve math problems. Their tests scores will not reflect their growth from the school year. A one shot assessment does not give a good picture of student achievement. Have you read those exams? Have you been in the room during testing? Test anxiety vomiting is a real thing in the third grade. Too bad they don't evaluate me on sick child comforting and vomit clean up. I'm sure my scores on those evaluations would be proficient."

In popular media, teachers are cast as heroes or villains. They are either lazy, money-grubbing, ne’er-do-wells or Jaime Escalante, the “teacher savior” of the acclaimed film Stand and Deliver.

The truth is, as in most professions, the majority of teachers lie somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. Such romanticized notions of teaching make great stories, but that’s just it; they are stories that too often exaggerate and obscure the truth. Jaime Escalante spent years preparing his students for the AP Calculus exam, not a few inspired semesters. Does that mean that he was an inadequate teacher during the years he spent honing his craft and teaching foundational math concepts to his students? How would Escalante have been rated under the New York City evaluation system?

In his research paper entitled “Effects of Inequality and Poverty vs. Teachers and Schooling on America’s Youth,” David C. Berliner (Regents’ Professor Emeritus in The Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College of Arizona State University) finds that “Outside-of-school factors are three times more powerful in affecting student achievement than are the inside-the-school factors.”

Consequently, he concludes, “The best way to improve America’s schools is through jobs that provide families living wages. Other programs…offer some help for students from poor families. But in the end, it is inequality in income and the poverty that accompanies such inequality that matters most for education.”

America’s education system is in crisis; of this, we can be sure. But let’s stop blaming the dentists for their patients’ cavities.

What If Parents and Teachers Call for Publishing of Tests

I've requested to see my son's fourth grade ELA test, responses and item scores. --- a nyc parent

If I am to be held accountable as a teacher based on a test, I want that test in the public domain. --- a nyc teacher

Parents and children protest at PearsoPinsin NYC, June 2012

 What an idea that has been floating around. To request the materials. And if they don't give them, then go to court. How can they rate a teacher based on materials that may be flawed? Every parent we can get involved and every teacher should be asking for copies of the tests.

Here are some emails from parents and teachers:

No agency of the government has the right to compel a minor child to perform *any* task the results of which a parent is not allowed to witness. Quite aside from the fact that denying access to a test after it's taken means it can have no educational value for the child, our fundamental right as parents to oversee all aspects of our children's upbringing is violated by keeping the tests secret. All parents whose children did take the standardized tests should demand to see them.

Note that the state-mandated academic tests are quite different from voluntarily taken psychological tests, for example, whose exact contents are not revealed to patients in order to preserve the integrity of research. Such tests are never forced on children against the wishes of parents.

They are also completely different from tests like the SAT, taken voluntarily by children who are almost of age and already assuming
responsibilities like driving (and therefore able to judge for themselves whether the benefits of taking the test outweigh the disadvantage to them of not being able to review the results in detail), and different from professional licensing exams, entered into voluntarily by full-fledged adults. In all these cases there is no coercion.

---------------

Parents need to see that the material being used to judge and punish children, teachers, and schools is complete and utter trash. Poorly written, dull, confusing, inane "passages" on the ELA test. Deliberately confusing, awkwardly worded, "trick"y math problems. I imagine a flood of requests would gum up the works, but I'm curious to see how high up the burden goes. Will it inconvenience the school administration or the state ed department?

----------------

What parent is not interested in seeing how their child "performed" on this overly determinative test?   Im interested both for him and on behalf of his incredible fourth grade ELA teacher. My son certainly decreased her value added score this year and he had the best ELA year ever, creating work (for the first time) that sugnificantly moved him in the direction that I value: a rigorous, critical and impassioned thinker and writer.

UPDATE: Read a similar commentary from a NYC teacher and parent:
http://lkell00.blogspot.com/2012/08/join-anti-testing-movement-why-high.html

Today- Change the Stakes Meeting Plus Some Facts

UPDATE: 7PM - I'm sitting at the meeting for the past 2 hours with over 20 teachers, parents, college teachers, researchers and even some kids. On an Friday in August. And every minute of the meeting has been so rich and enlightening. These meetings will continue the 3rd Friday of every month. Next: Sept. 21, 5:30PM at CUNY.

Change the Stake, an offshoot of the  Grassroots Education Movement, has become one of the few true parent/teacher groups that I know of. We have a full agenda today and I will update people on the status of our next film about high stakes testing.

Friday, August 17th, 5 PM SHARP (everyone welcome to arrive at 4:30 for pre-meeting mingling)

Room 5414 CUNY Grad Center, 5th Ave. between 34th and 35th Streets

PLEASE BRING ID TO ENTER THE BUILDING

We have tentatively scheduled a separate meeting on Tuesday, September 4th to specifically discuss the Opt Out experience of last school year, and think strategically about the Opt Out strategy for the coming year.

===

Pat D writes:

Here is a good article to read.  Kohn speaks about boycotting tests as wellas why we should be against them and what we can do. Fighting the Tests by Alfie Kohn

Some Statistics:

... a recent poll in Texas which showed that only 27% of teachers in Texas felt that increased test scores reflected increased learning and higher quality teaching. 85% of teachers said that they neglected subjects not covered by the TAAS exam.

Senator Paul Wellstone Speech on High-Stakes Testing: http://www.wpaag.org/

WellstoneHighStakesTests.htm

The following are from:

Correlations: Pass Rates and Poverty Rates « GFBrandenburg's Blog

 Janine follows:

The link to Sen. Wellstone's speech isn't connecting, (maybe you must be a member?) but lead me to seek it out here: 
http://www.wpaag.org/

WellstoneHighStakesTests.htm

The site that (likely once) had the post is an organization I've never heard of and maybe we should be reaching out to them, since (unless funded by those who are only pretending to be for children), seem to hold the values we also hold:  http://www.
educationrevolution.org/

Though I was not familiar with Sen. Wellstone's perspective on most things, I always thought his death was questionable.  After reading this, I'm even more suspicious......What a loss to this cause.  For those who look further into things like this:  http://www.snowshoefilms.com/
wellstone.html


=======

Lauren Cohen: Today's Testimony to New NY Education Reform Commission

One of the mission statements of this Commission is to examine what is in the best interest of children - not what is in the best interest of testing companies, policy makers, children/schools as a business model; but students as human beings

---- Lauren Cohen, NYC Teacher

The Truth About High Stakes Testing from Change the Stakes/GEM. New version just out. Download from the CTS site. We are making some black and white copies here in Detroit.

What can I say about Lauren Cohen without gushing? I never met her until the April Change the Stakes/GEM/Class Size Matters event GEM/Change the Stakes event held with Carol Burris, Gary Rubinstein, Leonie Haimson, Khalilah Brann and Arthur Goldstein (See links to videos below).

A 7-year teacher who just got her just rewards with after leaving a school with a principal from hell with a position at one of the best schools in NYC, Lauren has impressed everyone she meets with her talents, dedication to children and her smarts. When Lauren was applying for jobs she made sure to include her activism on her resume. "I don't want to work for a principal who considers my activism a negative." Some smart principal grabbed her up. Whenever I think of dropping all this activism and being a couch potato, I think of the pleasure of working with people like Lauren and so many others.

By the way. Did you see who Gotham profiled for testifying today: Anna Hall.

StudentsFirstNY adds an "educator" in time for Cuomo task force (my quotes).

Some educator. Teaches a few years, becomes Asst Princ then princ and after 9 years goes to Students Last. Today people like Carol Burris and Lauren will be testifying -- real educators, not phony ones like Anna Hall. Where are their profiles?

Lauren Cohen
Elementary Educator and member of Change the Stakes


I am submitting this testimony on behalf of the Change the Stakes campaign. We are parents, teachers - both current and retired, administrators, college professors, students, and other citizens who share a concern about the effects of high-stakes testing. We may not share the same relationship to the education system, but we are united in our disquiet about how children are affected, and will continue to be affected, by this testing obsession. One of the mission statements of this Commission is to examine what is in the best interest of children - not what is in the best interest of testing companies, policy makers, children/schools as a business model; but students as human beings --young and open, curious, spirited and eager human beings whose natural inclination leans toward learning, which is not measured by test scores, but enhanced through interactive, meaningful, explorative and rich curriculum.


At a time when schools across the state are underfunded and cutting resources, we see exorbitant amounts of money being spent on testing. I refer not only to the $32 million contract offered to Pearson, but to decisions made at the school or district level. When test scores are used to grade and rank schools, schools must pour an unacceptably high amount of their limited financial resources into improving those scores. A parent in our group reported that his child received two brand new test-prep books from the school, along with a note from his teacher begging parents to donate glue sticks and hand soap. Many similar schools can't afford to keep their art teacher or librarian. Often, instead their priority has been to deploy teachers as "assessment coordinators" and "data specialists." If we want to improve student learning, we should focus our schools’ human resources on working with children directly.


I taught 3rd grade for four years, and an informal experiment on last year’s class illustrates the importance of treating learners as human beings rather than as data points. I gave Book 1 of the 2009 3rd grade NY State English Language Arts test, available on the NYSED website, to my class at different points throughout the year - September, December, March, and June. If I were an effective teacher, all students' scores would go up, and I’m proud to say that most of them did. Some students did well the first time I gave the test at the end of September, leaving them with little room to show “progress.” A few students did poorly every single time I gave the test, even though they had moved up reading levels and made visible strides in their written work (Those were the students who tended to misunderstand the question being asked - a few kids with diagnosed speech/language delays fell into that category). But here is the most interesting part: no student was consistent in multiple-choice questions they answered correctly or incorrectly. This inconsistency has grave ramifications for educators who use test data to determine instruction. Question #5 measures whether a student can infer character emotions from text. Johnny gets that question wrong in September, correct in December, then wrong again in March. Do we believe that Johnny learned the skill of inferring character emotions from text, and then lost it? Of course not. The test is a snapshot of each child for one hour on one particular day.


We worry about how high-stakes testing damages children's self-esteem and their attitudes about school and learning. The way the testing program has been conducted and the stakes have been intensified has had consequences for students: test anxiety; children becoming ill over the exams; the way they are being labeled/sorted/tracked from an early age; the reinforcement of convergent thinking; and the real danger that the emphasis on doing well on the tests will stifle children’s joy of learning and spontaneity. During this year’s testing sessions, one of my third graders spent twenty minutes crying hysterically because he had spilled some water on his test. He was genuinely terrified that he would be left back because he had “ruined” his test.


We are concerned about how basing teacher evaluations on test scores deforms the student-teacher relationship. Some of the most valuable and effective educators are those who work compassionately to build bonds with the most hard-to-reach students. These educators have the ability to see the positive in students and to recognize the progress they make as learners and citizens. What will happen to these students when a teacher’s job depends on maintaining high test scores? Will they become “unwanted” by teachers who fear poor ratings? How will we recruit new teachers as stories propagate about the arbitrary nature of value-added measures - the “worst” math teacher in New York City being a teacher of gifted children at the Anderson School, the teacher who received a rating of 96 one year and 7 the following year without changing her methods, the 5th grade teachers in affluent neighborhoods where parents pay for tutors to inflate children’s 4th-grade test scores for middle school applications. What message does it send to children when their own teachers feel powerless?


Donald Campbell, a founder of the field of program evaluation, found that attaching high stakes to evaluation led to the distortion of the processes being evaluated. High-stakes testing creates an incentive for schools to narrow the curriculum to focus more on test preparation. Untested subjects are pushed to the side, or even canceled, so that students can have more periods of reading, math, and drilling for the exams. It alarms us that the solution proposed by PARCC involves testing more subjects, including early childhood and the arts.


Preparation for standardized tests often bears little resemblance to the subjects that the tests supposed to measure. Reading and math are no longer about applying those subjects in authentic contexts, but about "test-taking skills." Experienced teachers consider the test a genre in itself: to succeed, students need explicit instruction in navigating the items: looking for cues that may give away the correct answer; recognizing trick questions, along with the kind of “right” response the item writers expect; working backwards from the possible answers on multiple-choice items to the reading passages on which the options are based.


On the open-ended questions that require students to produce a short or extended written response to solve a math problem or respond to a text, the highest-scoring written responses are usually not the ones that show thinking, insight, or creativity; the highest-scoring responses are the ones that follow the prescribed structure and regurgitate the relevant text details. Students are molded to earn more points by answering narrowly in a prescribed mechanistic way. Children must be taught to check their prior knowledge, imagination, and flexibility at the door; and they must be repeatedly reminded that the test-scorers don't want to hear their thoughts and ideas. The tests measure a very limited type of academic success, one that we agree is important; but it is damaging to insist that this one type of success is the one that matters most—simply because it is the easiest to measure. While some people see the testing and accountability movement as “improving our educational system,” we argue that it is actually deteriorating the system. Children are receiving the message that test scores matter more than learning, and in the process they are discouraged from creative thinking, risk-taking, and collaborating with peers. Children who believe that every question has a “correct” answer will not be prepared to grapple with the nuance and complexity of the real world.

The April CTS forum was Julie Cavanagh's last event before hunkering down for the baby. As usual her amazing organizing talents were on view (as was her belly). I can't say enough about how much she has been missed, in addition to her always wise advice. Really, there are not many people who can control my lunacy. She is one of the few that I would follow anywhere (other than changing diapers.)


See all videos from the forum
Leonie Haimson: http://vimeo.com/40760269
Carol Burris: http://vimeo.com/40748945
Khalilah Brann: http://vimeo.com/40758701
Gary Rubinstein: http://vimeo.com/40754465
Arthur Goldstein: http://vimeo.com/40740344
Q and A: http://vimeo.com/40772352

MORE Endorses National Resolution on High Stakes Testing

The Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE), a caucus within the UFT, has endorsed the National Resolution/ on High Stakes Testing.

Of all the attacks and issues affecting educators, some might be surprised that the high stakes testing issue is causing a level of activism amongst the broadest swath of teachers. Why? Well, that is the issue affecting most teachers, even those not under direct personal attack. This is especially true of elementary school teachers, the group often considered the least militant group of teachers. Just the other day 2 teachers showed up to a Change the Stakes meeting pretty much out of the blue, fed up at how their teaching has been purloined. I should remind people that Ed Notes was taking these positions from the very beginning in 1996-7 and that was one of the issues that attracted people who eventually formed ICE in 2003. We were the only caucus to take on that issue and continued to do so through the 2004, 07, 10 UFT elections. NYCORE also took on this issue and that was one of the points that brought ICE and them together, the foundation of GEM. You'll note that our movie goes beyond a simple critique of Waiting for Superman but takes the testing issue head on.

 

So I am pleased to see that the new caucus, MORE, which combines elements of all the activist groups out there, has taken this position.

 

See letter in support of the field test boycott, and MORE positions on testing at morecaucusnyc.org. The National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing is online at http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/
 

 See below for a variety of related issues:

Parent-led Protest Against High Stakes Testing Thursday, June 7th

I will be there to tape this. And see below for notes on Pearson feeling the heat.
See Leonie Haimson at Schoolbook:

The Lessons of Pineapplegate

PRESS ALERT

Press Contacts:

Martha Foote            

Tel 347-967-8159

martha_foote@hotmail.com

Anne Stone

Tel 917-757-3618

anne.judith.stone@gmail.com

Parents in X* Schools Boycott Field Tests for High-Stakes Exams:

Fed Up With Over-Testing, Parents Protest at Pearson Headquarters

"Enough is enough - we want more teaching, less testing!"

WHAT:        Press conference and demonstration against the State Education Department, the NYC Department of Education, and Pearson over excessive and high-stakes standardized state testing.

WHEN:        Thursday, June 7th at 10:45 A.M.

WHERE:      Outside Pearson headquarters, 1330 Sixth Avenue, between 53rd and 54th Streets, Manhattan.

VISUALS:   Parents and children holding posters and giant puppets; a theatrical marching band; children in costumes.

WHY:         From June 5th to June 12th, children across the state are being forced to give up learning time solely to serve the research purposes of billion-dollar test publisher Pearson, which has a $32 million contract with the New York State Education Department. But parents in an unprecedented number of schools (number to be revealed at the press conference) are fighting back by refusing to allow their children to take these field tests and joining a protest at Pearson headquarters. 

*Number to be revealed at the press conference

Here is a comment from a NYC teacher pointing to the Pearson spin job at the Pearson site: 

In my seven years of teaching, I have written many "tests" to measure the learning of my own students. I weed out unfair questions by reading the test over carefully and revising it as needed. Sometimes I ask colleagues for suggestions about wording or presentation. On rare occasions a student raises his hand and asks for clarification about the wording of a question. If I can answer him without compromising the content I'm testing, I do. Having the ability to recognize when you don't understand something and asking a reliable person for clarification is, after all, an important college- and career-readiness skill. Apparently the test-writing experts at Pearson cannot determine the fairness of a question without subjecting hundreds of students to it first. Field testing DOES affect students; this year I had 3 students (2 with special needs, 1 an English Language Learner) break down crying during the state math test upon encountering untaught non-grade-level material that may or may not have been embedded field items. Now that teacher evaluations are going to be tied to test scores, I guess the field tests will affect me too!

Here is an internal communication about their response strategy.

Dear Colleagues, This spring testing season, we’ve seen misinformation and misperceptions on standardized assessment permeate media coverage and call into question Pearson’s role in the educational testing process. Doug Kubach, our CEO of Assessment and Information, shared information today on NEO to answer your and your customers’ questions on testing.  He also announced the launch of a new social media campaign to demystify testing for parents:  “Parents, Kids & Testing.”  Through the campaign, we will share links to education and testing resources along with information about testing in all 50 states and U.S. territories for parents and their children.  To read Doug’s full announcement, visit his blog on NEO. Regards, Shilpi Niyogi Executive Vice President, Public Affairs ---------------- Another response: Dear Colleagues: Here in our Department of Hispanic Studies at the University of Northern Colorado we have been using the texts published by Pearson.  However, in view of the company’s involvement in high stakes standardized testing and the stranglehold the regimen has on public schools, and thanks to all the information that has come through this open forum subscribers’ list, we dropped Pearson from our Spanish curricula for our Spanish 101 and Spanish 102 classes.  I summarized our rationale in the attached letter to a CEO at Pearson. In appreciation, Don Perl The Coalition for Better Education, Inc. www.thecbe.org  -------   Sandi Kirshner                                                                                                                        Executive Vice President Pearson Higher Education 75 Arlington Street Boston, MA 02116                                                                            May 23, 2012 Dear Sandi Kirshner: I appreciate your detailed response received on May 22nd to my questions regarding Pearson’s “philosophy of education.”  Here in Hispanic Studies at the University of Northern Colorado we have discussed in some depth the most appropriate direction for implementing resources for our Spanish language students.  I think a bit of professional information about me is relevant at this time.  As a middle school teacher in the academic year 2000 – 2001, I was charged with administering high stakes standardized testing to my inner city students.  I studied the issue in considerable depth and after much deliberation decided that I could not, in good faith, administer these tests and still consider myself a professional educator.  That act of civil disobedience began a journey to raise the awareness of the citizenry of the dangers posed by high stakes standardized testing.  Enclosed please find a copy of the letter dated January 16, 2001, stating the reasons for that refusal.  We started a coalition, we forwarded a ballot initiative, we have advertised on billboards on the roadways of Colorado advising parents of their rights as their children face high stakes standardized testing, and have played a part in crafting legislation to take a bit of the onus off the testing regimen. In view of this mission and our moral opposition to the dangers inherent in high stakes standardized testing, and in contemplation of  Pearson’s involvement in the creation of these tests now so ubiquitous throughout the nation’s public schools, we must look to other publishing houses to provide our students with the necessary resources for Spanish language acquisition. Sincerely, Don Perl Department of Hispanic Studies University of Northern Colorado Greeley, Colorado 80639 don.perl@unco.edu 970-351-2746 cc Seth Osburn – Pearson Publishing – 16816 South First Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85045  ------------ Hello, In trolling on the Internet, (I Googled "field test" "New York" "2010"), I somehow stumbled on to this! http://www.fehb.org/gr38ftmatrix-1014.pdf (I've saved to my hard drive and doc is attached, in case it disappears online.) It came from: http://www.fehb.org/ Franklin Essex Hamilton BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) The embedded link to NYSED looks dead, but the info here says that each school's strand number stays the same from school years 2010-11 through 2013-14. So perhaps this is a way to predict what field test your school might be offered next year and the year after! For example, I don't know my school's strand, but from looking at this, it seems my school is "E3." This year's field test was 5th grade math; looks like  next year's is 5th grade ELA. Thanks, concerned NYC parent of a fourth grader/amateur detective ;)

PRESS RELEASE - Change The Stakes Demands Full Disclosure of School Testing Program

 The primary purpose of the June stand-alone testing period is to allow Pearson, the State’s education testing contractor, to perform research for operational exams it will then sell to the SED.  The State is on record as stating participation in field testing is “not mandatory,” yet schools and parents in New York City have been kept in the dark and not advised that they have a choice about whether or not their children should participate.

-----Excerpt from Change the Stakes Press release

UPDATE: Read Gotham Story: With field tests approaching, parents are reprising protests

One of the beauties of working with the groups I've been involved in has been watching as each groups shows the flexibility to spin off other groups that manage to find their own niche. Thus ICE spun off GEM which became a separate group that evolved into something quite different from what was intended --- a focus on the defense of public education and to battle charter schools, very different from the ICE focus on the UFT. Then GEM spun off a committee called Change the Stakes to focus on high stakes testing (which ironically, was one of the original goals of GEM but got lost in the shuffle somewhat).

What a pleasure to see the CTS group evolve from teacher dominated to parent and teachers working in concert as it attracted many amazing parents, some active for the first time, who were objecting to their kids being subjected to high stakes tests.

I've followed the evolution of this press release for the past 10 days and the work put in has been remarkable. Painful at times, but remarkable. And I think a remarkable outcome. I mostly stayed out of it ---- there were so many quality points made and the democratic debate taking place, so far away from anything going on in the UFT, makes me kvell.

I'm a little late in getting this up so I just copied and pasted from Leonie's blog. More on this coming tomorrow based on the wonderful work being done by our testing expert, Fred Smith. And more coming from two other groups, Parent Voices NY and Time Out From Testing. All of this is an opening salvo in what promises to be a major movement in this city and nationally to fight back against high stakes testing, which will hopefully include a new film by GEM/Real Reform Studios on HST. And yes, expect the UFT, while making an occasional squeak about the evils of the tests, to remain on the sideline.

Elementary and middle schools in NYC will be administering field tests in June.

Do you know which grades in your school will be tested?

Read our press release

Click on your school’s borough to find out which grade and subject will be tested in your school.

Take a stand against high stakes testing!

MANHATTAN SCHOOLS

BRONX SCHOOLS

BROOKLYN SCHOOLS

QUEENS SCHOOLS

STATEN ISLAND SCHOOLS

CITYWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOLS

COMPLETE CITYWIDE LIST of SCHOOLS

--------------

Change the Stakes demands full disclosure of testing program, including field tests in June

Unbeknownst to most parents, the state is imposing yet another round of standardized testing in June. You can check to see what grade your child's elementary or middle school is field testing here.  High schools are also field testing the Regents; more more information here and here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                     Contact: changethestakes@gmail.com                                                               

May 21, 2012                                                                         

                                                

CTS Demands Full Disclosure of School Testing Program

Calls Pearson’s June Field Tests a Waste of Time and Money

 New York City – Change the Stakes, a coalition of parents and educators in New York City, announces its opposition to the latest round of standardized testing, the stand-alone field tests that are scheduled to be given in June.  Over a thousand (1,029) public elementary and middle schools in the city are scheduled to participate in this additional statewide testing.  Last week, science field testing took place in 116 other New York City schools.

The price tag for this extra developmental testing is conservatively estimated to be $3 million. It comes on top of the six days (540 minutes) of regularly scheduled English Language Arts (ELA) and math exams administered just last month, when the items being field tested were embedded within the state-mandated tests.  This doubled the amount of time needed to complete the exams. 

The New York State Education Department (SED) and test publisher, NCS Pearson, Inc., have not provided advance notice to the public about the June field tests nor sufficiently explained why they are necessary. Moreover, testing experts regard stand-alone testing as a dubious practice at best, and virtually useless when conducted so very late in the school year.

“June is a terrible time of year to test children—be it operational or field testing,” asserts Fred Smith, a test specialist formerly with the city Department of Education (DOE). “The expectation that children will be motivated to perform at their best near the end of the year doesn’t even rise to the level of wishful thinking,” stated Mr. Smith.  He also points out that stand-alone field testing by SED was discredited for yielding misleading data on which to develop new tests. “In 2009, SED’s test advisers acknowledged this approach was problematic because students who took the exams knew they were experimental.”

SED’s elementary and intermediate school field tests will be administered between June 5th and 15th.  Most schools will test only one grade between 3rd through 8th; however, 259 (23%) of the schools are being asked to give the experimental exams on two grade levels.  (Change the Stakes is providing user-friendly information about all field test school and grade assignments broken down by borough at changethestakes.org. Parents can visit the website to find out what tests are due to be given this June in their children’s schools.)

The primary purpose of the June stand-alone testing period is to allow Pearson, the State’s education testing contractor, to perform research for operational exams it will then sell to the SED.  The State is on record as stating participation in field testing is “not mandatory,” yet schools and parents in New York City have been kept in the dark and not advised that they have a choice about whether or not their children should participate.

“Our kids are being used as guinea pigs for the financial benefit of Pearson, to the detriment of their own educational experience,” said Deyanira Ruiz, who has a daughter in a grade that has been selected for field testing.  “They’ve already lost untold hours to test prep and the April math and literacy exams, reducing the amount of time devoted to art, physical education, social studies, and languages,” she added. 

Some teachers are questioning the use of valuable class time for field testing. Lauren Cohen, a teacher in Manhattan, is fed up. “Far too many of us teach in schools that already face enormous pressure to dedicate an excessive amount of classroom time to test preparation between September and April.  My school received a notice, on Pearson letterhead, informing us that we must also give an ELA field test to 3rd graders in June,” she said.  “Field tests supply no useful information to teachers or educational benefits to children. My students are burnt out on testing, and this meaningless drudgery will take away valuable learning time,” stated Ms. Cohen. 

Fueling a rebellion among parents against the upcoming field tests is the disclosure to date of roughly 30 errors, along with some questionable content, on the tests administered in April. The state forbids the disclosure of test items, further undermining parent confidence in the exams themselves. Diana Zavala, parent of a 3rd grader in Manhattan, contends, “Transparency and accountability should also apply to the corporations making the tests. If we are to believe these tests are worthwhile and that the company is making ‘better tests,’ we should be able to examine them.” She added, “but what we really want is more teaching, less testing, and assessment that is more connected to the actual learning that takes place in the classroom.”

Change the Stakes is Calling for the Following Regarding June Field Testing:

        

1. The DOE should immediately disclose specific information about the stand-alone field tests, explaining their nature and purpose and notifying parents of children in the 1,029 field test schools about the dates the tests are scheduled to be given.
2. Pearson and the SED should address the claim by independent testing experts that the timing and format of these tests make it unlikely they will generate reliable data needed to develop valid operational exams.

3. SED and DOE should allow parents and entire schools to opt out of participating and only administer field tests to students in schools/grades for whom explicit parental consent has been granted.  The need to obtain authorization to test their children from parents or guardians should extend to all testing when the main objective is to support research and development for commercial testing products.
4. Non-participating students in schools and grades undergoing testing should have a meaningful educational alternative activity during the testing period.

To schedule interviews with parents or teachers, please contact Andrea Mata @ changethestakes@gmail.com. Testing expert Fred Smith can be reached at fjstats@aol.com

###

Change the Stakes, a committee of the Grassroots Education Movement, was formed to expose the damaging effects of high-stakes standardized tests. We are a group of parents and teachers working to build and unite opposition to high stakes testing in New York City. Our membership includes a group of parents who refused to have their children tested during the regular State exam period in April 2012.  We believe high-stakes testing must be replaced by more educationally-sound and balanced forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.  

See our online petition demanding that New York State develop a non-punitive process by which parents concerned about the impacts of high-stakes testing on student learning can opt their children out of standardized tests.

Change the Stakes collaborates with other groups working to challenge high-stakes testing in New York, including Parent Voices NY and Time Out From Testing.