Saturday, August 10, 2013

Newsday: drop in scores cd strengthen opt out movement

Imagine if they gave a test and nobody came. Grow the opt-out movement. Support the refuseniks. Join with Change the Stakes. Let's start organizing a parent boycott of the tests.

Leonie sent this Newsday piece.

Hofstra Prof: Parents backed into corner
LI Supe: new data useless

The dramatic drop in student scores on state English and math exams could strengthen the movement by parents to have their children opt out of taking the high-stakes tests.
Less than 1 percent of students statewide in grades 3 through 8 were counted as "not tested," the state Education Department said Thursday. Parents and education experts said they expect their movement to gain momentum after the scores plunged more than 40 percent on Long Island and statewide.
"Parents can see opting out as a legitimate option to use in our fight to take back control for our children," said Jeanette Deutermann, 40, a parent of two children in North Bellmore, whose Long Island Opt Out page on Facebook has nearly 9,000 members. "The test results help our cause by forcing districts to publicly acknowledge the flaws in the state's testing policy, instead of defending them."
English scores: Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8
Math scores: Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8
More than 1.3 million students statewide, including 210,000 on the Island, were slated to take the tests in April. An exact figure of those who did not take the tests was not available Thursday.
Education Department officials, in releasing the scores Wednesday, pointed to new, more rigorous exams overhauled to meet national academic standards as the cause of the low scores. They had predicted a significant drop.
"Three years ago the Board of Regents adopted more rigorous standards and committed to reflect those standards in the state's exams," department spokesman Dennis Tompkins said. "The goal is to make certain that all students are on track to succeed in college and meaningful careers when they graduate high school.
"Parents who keep their children from taking these tests are essentially saying, 'I don't want to know where my child stands, in objective terms, on the path to college and career readiness' -- and we think that that's doing them a real disservice."
But Debra Goodman, professor of teaching, literacy and leadership at Hofstra University's School of Education, said that opting out of the exams is one way that parents can protest. She also noted that a number of school boards and school administrators have been highly critical of the state assessments.
"I think that some of the parents -- the entire educational community, in fact -- has been backed into a corner where the only response that is available is for parents to opt out of testing," Goodman said. "Parents are starting to think, 'What benefit does this have for my child?' "
On the Island, 37.5 percent of students in grades 3 through 8 passed the new math test, compared with 75.4 percent last year. In English, the percent of students across those grades passing the latest tests was 39.6 percent, down from 67.2 percent in 2012.
More than 300 students in the Rockville Centre district opted out of testing. Superintendent William Johnson said Thursday that the test scores don't have much meaning for his district, calling them "uninterpretable data."
"I will not be able to use them to place kids into any programs," he said. "We are going to have to rely on other information . . . or data to do that."
He added, "I would certainly think that parents will have second thoughts about the results since we are not going to be able to use them effectively to do anything in the school district."
Amy Connor, 52, of Northport, said her three children, who attend school in the Northport-East Northport school district, opted out of taking the state tests. Because the test results are so new, she said she hasn't heard of other parents deciding to opt out, but she hopes it will strengthen the movement.
"I'm hoping parents will see what's going on and what's happening, and more parents will step in and refuse," she said.

And then this:

NY Superintendent of Voorheesville Central School District speaks out


I have rejected these missives [talking pts from SED] because they reek of the self-serving mentality the ‘powers that be’ have thrust upon our students and parents. Our community is sophisticated enough to recognize a canard when it experiences one.  These tests were intentionally designed to obtain precisely the outcomes that were rendered.  The rationale behind this is to demonstrate that our most successful students are not so much and our least successful students are dreadful. 

Commentary on Math & ELA Results
Dr. Teresa Thayer Snyder
Over the past several months school leaders have been receiving countless messages from the State Education Department preparing us for the dire outcomes associated with the most recent spate of State testing in grades 3-8 in Math and English Language Arts.  As the date for the releases of the test scores approached, we received many notices of “talking points” to inform our communities about the outcomes, with explanations of new baselines and how these tests do not reflect the efforts of students and teachers this year.  I have rejected these missives because they reek of the self-serving mentality the ‘powers that be’ have thrust upon our students and parents.
Our community is sophisticated enough to recognize a canard when it experiences one.  These tests were intentionally designed to obtain precisely the outcomes that were rendered.  The rationale behind this is to demonstrate that our most successful students are not so much and our least successful students are dreadful.  If you look at the distribution of scores, you see exactly the same distances as any other test.  The only difference is that the distribution has been manipulated to be 30 to 40 percent lower for everybody.  This serves an enormously powerful purpose.  If you establish a baseline this low, the subsequent growth over the next few years will indicate that your plans for elevating the outcomes were necessary.  However, it must be recognized that the test developers control the scaled scores—indeed they have developed a draconian statistical formula that is elaborate, if indecipherable, to determine scaled scores.  I would bet my house on the fact that over the next few years, scores will “improve”—not necessarily student learning, but scores.  They must, because the State accepted millions and millions of dollars to increase student scores and increase graduation rates.  If scores do not improve from this baseline, then those ‘powers that be’ will have a lot of explaining to do to justify having accepted those millions.
If you examine the distribution of the scores, the one thing that leaps off the page is the distance between children in high poverty and children in relative wealth.  While all have been relegated to a point 30 to 40 percent lower than previously, the exact curve is absolutely connected to socioeconomic status—which has been historically true in such testing for more than a century.
The tragic part of this story is the collateral damage—the little children who worked so hard this year, who endured so many distressing hours of testing, who failed to reach proficiency, all because of the manipulation of the scaling.  We will be talking with parents whose children scored level four last year, who now may have scored a level two.  It does not mean much; it only means they are the unwitting part of a massive scheme to prove how these “high standards” are improving outcomes over time.  It is time to pay attention to the man behind the curtain—he is no wizard, but he is wily! 
By the way, if you want to know what curriculum experiences are being promoted for even our youngest learners by the ‘powers that be’, check out curriculum modules on www.engageny.org .  How many of us truly believe that expecting first graders to understand and explain why Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization is reasonable?  How many of us truly even imagine that six year olds should be able to identify cuneiform and hieroglyphics or understand the importance of the code of Hammurabi?  Check it out—then I suggest you let your legislators, and the Department of Education know what matters to you.
As we digest the information and prepare for the upcoming year, please rest assured that Voorheesville remains committed to challenging and cherishing our students.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Ravitch: Shock Doctrine Using Tests Will Spur Opt-out Movement

We are already hearing calls for parents to hit the deformers where it will hurt. Teachers who help will be droned. But strategies for teachers to play a role will emerge. The uft wants the tests and opposes the opt-out movement for fear the NY Post will say they want to avoid accountability. I say screw them all. A union must do what is right. And it should join in full force. But the enablers and hand maidens of ed deform won't rock the new status quo.
I'm on a plane to chicago delayed by a maintenance issue (Jack is behaving so far) so can't pull up the link to Diane's blog but check out the full post. Here is a piece.

"The Shock Doctrine may be a boomerang that helps to bring down the madness of No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, Common Core, the Pearson empire, and every other part of the reformy enterprise.

New York may have inadvertently created by the most powerful recruiting tool for the Opt Out movement."

Cheers,
Norm Scott

Twitter: normscott1

Education Notes
ednotesonline.blogspot.com

Grassroots Education Movement
gemnyc.org

Education columnist, The Wave
www.rockawave.com

nycfirst robotics
normsrobotics.blogspot.com

Sent from my BlackBerry

The WAVE: Block Parties and Block Genealogy

Published in The WAVE, August 9, 2013

Block Parties and Block Genealogy
By Norm Scott

Sandy recovery efforts take a number of forms. There are still contractors on my block every day and a dumpster on the corner. But one of the clearest signs of recovery are the block parties that this year have a very special meaning. We had ours last Saturday.

Summer has always been a time for block parties in Belle Harbor and points east and west. You can find them by the extremely loud DJs, sometimes blasting away past midnight. Or cars parked on streets that are usually clear on weekends. Or the sounds of an enormous number of kids having the time of their lives - and exasperated adults trying to keep track of them.

The day after we moved in, August 1979 , there was a block party the next day. People on the block were very kind in greeting born and bred Brooklynites invading a block of multi-generation Rockaway natives. After thirty four years we are still the newbies on our end of the block with four of our nearest neighbors with more seniority. One of them was born in the house 86 years ago. As I see he and another 86 year old neighbor scamper around I take a deep breath of Rockaway air.

Our block hasn’t had many block parties since the 80s. Kids grew up. (I wonder what an adult only block party looks like). In the days and weeks after Sandy with everyone outside, people bonded. There was talk about how we will celebrate our recovery at the summer block party. That seemed so far away.

Organizing takes time and effort and us old folks are often not up to it. Newer families with kids are up to the job. Our block party began with a breakfast hosted by a couple, both police who been on the block for about 5 years, with such generosity of spirit and warmth. We got to talk to people we had barely had contact with, one who has been there for 30 years. I guess it takes a block party – or a massive hurricane – to bring people together.

The mood soon turned somber with the street renaming ceremony for Michael Glover, who spent his early years on the block where his mom had a house directly across the street from his
grandparents. I only remember Michael from his early years when he lived two houses away. There was a marine honor guard, traditional bagpipes, a fire engine and a big crowd moved by the speeches, one by a marine buddy who witnessed his death in Iraq in 2006 and was the first to reach him. Another by his mentor, a Ranger, who went back to the location of his death to honor him. It was raining throughout the ceremony and that seemed appropriate. The sign at the corner was unveiled to many sad cheers. We found out that Michael’s first cousin, who spoke at the ceremony, was buying the house next door to us, another wonderful facet of the rich history of our block.

The sun did shine in the afternoon as the party heated up and guests arrived. I was enjoying all the excitement but at times melancholia and nostalgia intruded as I thought about all the people who have lived on the block. Some moved. Others died. Just last week one of our former neighbors passed away. She was a Rockaway lion. I thought of my former next door neighbors who both died of cancer within a short time of each other over 20 years ago. Also Rockaway lions. We were thrilled to see their eldest daughter at the ceremony for Michael.

As the day went on and I ran into people those names kept coming up. A visiting former resident said, “Oh, you live in the Gerber house. We used to play on the lot before it was built.” That was over 50 years ago. It only becomes “your” house after you’re gone. If you hear it referred to as the “Scott” house check the obits.

As the party wound down late into the night, I sat on my porch thinking about the history of the block and all the stories surrounding it and what an interesting way to tell the history of a neighborhood. I realized I knew almost nothing about even nearby blocks and what a fascinating way for some historian to tell the story of Rockaway through block genealogy.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Former NY St Ed Comm David Milton Steiner Opines in NY Post as StudentsFirstNY Quotes Randi

I pledge allegiance to ed deform
After Cathie Black does Milton have any credibility left? This Milton is has less vision than the real one. What a NYSED Commish crew over last 18 years. From Dickie Boy Richard Mills through John King. These people are a joke.

Leonie posted this tidbit:
On disastrous scores StudentsFirstNY cites Randi in defense of the Common Core (!!)  & misquotes Diane in one of the silliest most incoherent pieces  I have EVER read.   http://shar.es/yCy96

And in the NYPost, David Milton Steiner (yes he is now using his middle name) says this is necessary pain (for whom?)  and writes:  http://shar.es/yCKlJ 
The new Common Core standards are even more demanding than the ones we contemplated, and could cause an even more precipitous drop in graduation….

Ideally, we would have more prep time, more Common Core-aligned materials available sooner, more professional support for teachers. But New York rightly makes the same decision that John Silber and his team made for Massachusetts: that only by moving the stake in the ground, right now can we ensure that we all get serious about reform.
John Silber was an intolerant anti-gay bigot.  Amazing that he would cite him as a hero.  I would put the stake elsewhere myself --

Leonie Haimson
Executive Director
Class Size Matters
 Oh, and let's celebrate Eva's great scores. We know how these stories usually end up.

Network for Public Education News, August 8, 2013


Volume 1, Issue: #19

August 8, 2013
Inside NPE News
Our New Endorsed Candidate, Ronda Scholting
NYC Test Scores Drop 30%
Sue Peters Goes On to General Election
ALEC Protest Takes Place in Chicago
Tell NPE Your Story
It's summer, the perfect time to reflect on your school year experiences. Send your story to us at networkforpubliceducation
@gmail.com and you could appear in our next newsletter!


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Greetings!
Welcome to the nineteenth edition of our newsletter. This week we bring you news from around the country, including Sue Peters' outstanding victory in Seattle and today's ALECexposed protest in Chicago. We're also excited to announce our newest endorsement, Ronda Scholting for the Douglas School Board! Read it all here!  And like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and JOIN US at our website.
Our New Endorsed Candidate, Ronda Scholting
Help Support Ronda Scholting for Douglas County School Board
This week we announced our strong endorsement of Ronda Scholting.
This week we announced on our website our endorsement of Ronda Scholting, a candidate in the race for Douglas County School Board. As a parent of two public school graduates, Ronda has always been committed to supporting public education and believes that "quality education is the base of a strong community." 

Ronda has a solid record of working to protect our children. In her capacity as an investigative journalist, Ronda brought to light a scandal regarding international adoption that instigated a U.S. Senate hearing on the matter. She also works with the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, an organization dedicated to helping children and their families afford the medical care they need. 

It is for these reasons and many others that we excitedly endorse Ronda Scholting for Douglas County School Board. We invite you to read more about our endorsement on our website. You can also help support Ronda by visiting her website and following her Twitter and Facebook page.
New York City's Test Scores Dropped 30% 
NYC test scores dropped 30% in 2012, other cities may follow
NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott says to parents of the low test scores: "it doesn't mean that your child is doing any worse; it just means your child is now being measured to a higher standard." (Picture from the NYC Department of Education). 
Earlier this week, the Department of Education in NYC announced that standardized test scores decreased by a whopping 30% in 2012. According to the data collected from the tests, only 26% of students in NYC are proficient in English, while 30% are proficient in math. These test scores are used to determine a number of things, including teachers' annual evaluations and whether students are held back. 

Many see this as a sign that Mayor Bloomberg has failed his goal to be the self-proclaimed "education mayor," and democratic mayoral candidates are seizing the opportunity to emphasize how their educational policies would differ from Bloomberg's. On the other hand, Mayor Bloomberg defended his work by claiming that there is good news in these numbers--namely, that the rest of New York State is doing even more poorly on standardized tests. 

There have been efforts to calm parents and students on the grounds that these scores do not necessarily reflect a huge change in students' abilities over the past year, but rather, reflect tougher standards. New York is one of few states that is beginning to implement testing influenced by the Common Core curriculum. Kentucky, the first state to tie its testing to the Common Core curriculum, experienced a similar 30% decrease in test scores. 

Other states that plan to adopt the Common Core and implement similar testing within the next few years have been warned that their scores may drop just as drastically. This leaves much room for anxiety, particularly for teachers whose job security may rely on their students' ability to pass tougher exams. 

To find out more on this news story, we invite you to read 'Shock Doctrine' by Class Size Matters and Diane's post on 'Punishing Kids for Adult Failures.'

Sue Peters Will Go On to General Election  
NPE-endorsed Sue Peters overcomes the odds, wins 41% of vote
Sue Peters shares NPE's vision for protecting and enriching public schools.
Last week, we announced our endorsement of Sue Peters for School Board in Seattle and asked that you help us support Sue and get out the word about her campaign. This week, we are pleased to announce that all of your help paid off! Despite being targeted by negative advertising and outspent 6-1 by her opponent Suzanne Dale Estey, Sue won 41% of the vote in the primary election, and therefore will continue on to the general election in November. 

In response to the primary results, Sue told NPE:

"[I] extend my deepest thanks to NPE for the timely and meaningful endorsement of my candidacy [...] I am confident that my positive and constructive message, and the value of my nearly decade of knowledge of the Seattle Public School District, will resonate with voters throughout the city as we go forth into the general election."

Sue is an outstanding candidate who shares NPE's commitment to protecting public education and providing schools with a rich, engaging curriculum that does not shortchange the arts, humanities, music or physical education. So, let's help her win the general election! Please continue to support Sue by visiting her on her website, Twitter, and Facebook page
ALEC Protest Taking Place in Chicago Today 
ALEC Exposed is a growing movement focused on uncovering the truth about corruption and corporate greed in ALEC.
Last week we published a piece about Expose ALEC, a growing movement of people who seek to uncover the truth about corporate corruption and mismanagement that is harming the lives of everyday people, as well as posing a threat to public education. Today, August 8th, is the long-awaited protest outside the ALEC Convention at the Palmer House in Chicago. 

Yesterday, The Nation published a piece on the protesting, 'ALEC Convention Met with Protests in Chicago.' This is just one more example of how everyone can help in the effort to publicly expose the dangers that corporations and corporately-backed reformers pose to our society. 

You can support Expose ALEC by visiting their website and continuing to tweet pictures and news from the protest with the tag #ALECexposed
Tell NPE 
Your Story
 

NPE wants to hear from you! We would like to publish real stories about the effects of misguided school reforms on our Friends & Allies. Please share this and send responses to networkforpubliceducation@gmail.com.
Please forward this newsletter far and wide! 
 
In solidarity,
 
NPE sq
The Network For Public Education

NYSED APPROVES TROJAN HORSE PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Struggling to fill seats, drum up false demand and justify hollow, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, charter schools have come up with an ingenious TROJAN HORSE strategy in which they will poach students from popular public schools -- and get paid to do it!" .... Lorna F, parent
 This story in the DN the other day inspired the comment above.

NYSED charter schools getting $4.5 million state grant to teach regular public schools - Daily News
Top city charter schools will teach regular public schools how to better educate students in a new initiative funded by a $4.5 million state grant, Education officials said. Eight high-performing charter schools in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan will share instructional techniques with traditional district schools starting in September.
Parent Lorna F is pointing out that State Ed is helping undermine a popular trusted school using the Trojan Horse charter.
The copy for this should've been:

"NYSED APPROVES TROJAN HORSE PROJECT FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Struggling to fill seats, drum up false demand and justify hollow, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, charter schools have come up with an ingenious TROJAN HORSE strategy in which they will poach students from popular public schools -- and get paid to do it!"

I say this because this passage in the DN article is most telling:

"But PS 85 is a popular neighborhood school with a community of devoted parents, and the charter school wants to build its own connection to local families. So PS 85 Principal Ted Huster will help the charter school develop programs to draw in parents, and the charter will help Huster bolster student literacy."

The New York Times fails the latest tests! - Daily Howler on NY Times coverage

Howler goes into some depth so I'm cross-posting. Link is here.


Posted: 08 Aug 2013 06:41 AM PDT
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013

Interlude—Death in life: Intellectual paralysis grips the heart of our nation’s upper-end “press corps.”

You might think of this state as “death-in-life.” The New York Times announces this paralytic condition with the headline which banners page A19 in today’s hard-copy Washington Edition:

“Scores on Math and English Tests Plummet After State Adopts New Standards”

The headline serves to create excitement, a condition typically sought by the dead-in-life. They obsess about sex to make dead blood flow. They seek the enervation of “scandal.”

Sadly, this news report appears at the top of page A1—the front page!—in this morning’s New York Edition. In that location, it is accompanied by a thrilling trio of headlines.

That headline creates excitement! It also creates tremendous confusion, a trademark of the modern Times. So does the excited start to the newspaper’s news report, which appears at the top of page 1 all over the state of New York.

Understanding Test Results as Shock Doctrine While UFT Spins a Different Tale

The new Common Core exams and test scores are politically motivated, and are based neither on reason or evidence.  They were pre-ordained to fit the ideological goals of Commissioner King and the other educrats who are intent on imposing damaging policies on our schools.... Leonie Haimson, NYCPSP blog , five reasons not to trust the new scores
That the head of the NYC teachers union should accept these tests, and the standards that provide their springboard, is so much worse than pathetic, since it shows their continuing complicity in this shameful process...  It's beyond the beyonds that Mulgrew would lament, not the vicious deception of this entire process, but the lie that "our children are far behind where they should be." Our children are far behind in many things - after all, we do have the highest child poverty rate in the developed world - and too many of them are behind academically, but these exams reflect none of that. 
...Michael Fiorillo, ICE-Mail
I can't express it any better than Fiorillo did. Further proof to me that the union is on the other side and functions as an agent to control the labor force. It is why the Chicago TU presents such a danger to the ruling class and to the traditional labor movement -- they refuse to play that role. (I and a dozen MOREs are heading to Chicago tomorrow to talk about all that with educators from around the nation-- more on that later).
How did John King know the results of the test before it was given? This was the set-up.... they designed the tests so hard that the public would react the way they wanted --- Carol Burris, NY State Principal of the Year [paraphrased].
And how do they want the press and public to react? Seeing schools as failures and in need of more deform, not a reversal in direction. Carol, whose Washington Post piece The Answer Sheet:
What big drop in new standardized test scores really means, is reverberating around the internet (Jeff Bezos can't wait to hit the delete button) in a comment on Arthur Goldstein's piece quotes King from an April 2013 pre-test interview at the Albany Union: "It's the fault of the adults that we have a system that leaves 65% of students who start 9th grade unprepared." Of course the adults don't include Bloomberg or Klein or Tisch or King himself. So what adults is he talking about? Guess?
The WSJ says it openly: “There may be some who would try to use today’s results to attack principals and teachers." -  
Janine Sopp, parent activist with CTS asks: who might "they" be?


While the UFT won't call a spade a spade, Leonie and Carol Burris, with an unparalleled reputation as an educator get it. It's all a scam. Some call on the UFT to wake up but I think they are completely awake and know what they are doing. With unions under attack, they are making sure the rulers will keep them around as managers of labor.

The most shameless response has come from the UFT leadership, handmaidens and enablers of deform. Instead of calling for a reversal of ed deform and pointing to common core as crap, the UFT is casting blame on the DOE for not providing the tools to shovel the crap around in a better way.

Mulgrew: Poor test results show Common Core curriculum was rushed 

------

Just a sliver of things to read:

That WSJ article had this statement:
Charter schools in the city generally serve more impoverished students than the overall city school district but fewer students who have learning disabilities or who are still learning English.
I wrote to the reporter that claiming charters serve a poorer population is totally wrong -- I would bet my pension that every single charter has parents with higher incomes that the surrounding schools. She agreed and is changing it.

Don't Worry About Your Test Scores by Peter DeWitt

Fred Smith (on right back with CTS sign) commented:

It makes so many good points about the mess we're in and the shameless "leaders" who got us there. 
I just saw an interview with chancellors Tisch and Walcott on Channel 5.  They gave out the current lines about raising standards, the pain involved in taking this bold step, their concern over the achievement gap, the 21st century, and late in one of her raps Tisch said that the way forward with the common core would require teacher preparation and "parent training."
The latter point about parent training jarred me. Her level of condescension is galling. To my ear it sounded like paper training--you know, housebreaking pets.
If anything, parents should be toilet training Tisch for pooping in the halls of education for 17 years and Walcott for fouling up our schools during his short tenure.  They are arrogant beyond words.
carolburris18 minutes ago
This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
NYC Educator:

Here in Bizarro World Massive Failure Is Good News

I just read at Diane Ravitch's blog that Mayor Bloomberg has joined fellow know-nothings Joel Klein and Arne Duncan in hailing the massive failure on Common Core exams as a good sign. I'm rarely at a loss for words, but I don't know precisely what to say to this.
Arthur Goldstein: I couldn’t and shouldn’t give a test that most of my students would fail. (Daily News)
This is exactly what the "set up" was. They designed tests so hard that folks like you would react just as you did. Read this
"It's the fault of all the adults that we have a system that leaves 65 percent of students who start ninth grade unprepared," King said. Albany Times Union in April before the tests.... So, how did he know the result, before he gave the test??
  • UFT chief Michael Mulgrew: The low scores show that teachers needed more support. (Daily News)
  • Parent leader Zakiyah Ansari: The scores show that schools need a new direction. (Daily News)
Leonie Haimson nails them:
Shock Doctrine: five reasons not to trust the results of the new state tests -

She suggest reading the following:

For an eloquent critique of the callous thinking at work, please also read Carol Burris, NYS principal of the year, in today’s Washington Post, and Diane Ravitch, on the political motives of the people who are setting these standards.

And from David Dobosz:
   One of the commenters to Diane Ravitch's fine article on punishing kids for adult supervisional failures makes reference to Clarence Page's 2011 excellent article on how the corporate world is trying to make failure look chic and the mother of success and innovation. 
   Of, course, the whole point is spinning a cover-up to justify and legitimate corporate greed, corruption and the accompanying financial disaster unethical behavior can produce.
    Below is the link. 


   It is time for folks to put Page's excellent analysis beside the outrageous spin around the low test scores. The state and local honchos are engaging in an incredibly abominable exercise of self-justification over their disaster at our children's expense. Instead they should be expressing regret and changing course. Sadly they are too scared and cowardly to do so. So they hide behind a tacky front of fake arrogance. Would you please distribute this widely?

Thanks,
David

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Joel Klein: The Good News in Lower Test Scores. HUH? Plus NY State Ed Cwies Bitter Tears

Shock doctrine at work. 26 percent of students in third through eighth grade passed the state exams in English, and 30 percent passed in math.  Only 5% of students in Rochester passed. Statewide, only 31 percent of students passed the exams in reading and math..... Leonie Haimson
Is this the same Joel Klein who ran our schools for 10 years and was constantly taking bows for increased test scores and winning the praise of the mayor? He must have little respect for the public's memory or critical thinking skills. ... Loretta Prisco
The irony is that Joel Klein used to say every year that the NAEPs were not reliable since they didn’t show the same improvement in scores that the state tests did for NYC – during the test score inflation era.  Now he is claiming in the NYP that the new scores are to be trusted b/c they match the NAEPs! ... Leonie H.
Joel Klein 
Click here: The good news in lower test scores - NYPOST.com
I would hate for people to think these ed deformers know not what they do. That they somehow goofed. Or that they allowed Bloomberg to be caught without clothes.

What they are doing is, after almost 15 years of ed deform failure starting in Chicago and here in NYC 11 years ago, is buying more time. They are not saying their deforms didn't work but that there were still too many obstacles -- mostly due to bad teachers and union obstructionism -- in the way. So now they are putting a system in place that will allow them to get rid of "bad" -- read, higher salaried -- teachers, close down more public schools and open up charters in their place. What will be their excuse in another decade if unions are gone? Which leads me to our pals at the local hangout at 52 Broadway, who I believe will never be gone, though with a reduced membership.

As the UFT withers away from the base, the  Unity people on top will maintain their little slice of power by offering themselves to the deformers as managers of the teachers to make sure things never get too far out of hand through militant action -- ie, controlling a group like MORE to constrain its growth for instance. Do they mind that tenured teachers get rooted out of the system? Not at all. The disappeared must be replaced by newbies at much lower salaries -- not only does the DOE get 2 for 1, so does the UFT -- 2 dues payers for one (think: collect $2000 a year in stead of $1000). A win-win for the deformers and the UFT.

More comments on the Change the Stakes listserve:
If I see the words "compete in a global economy" one more time I am going to throw up. Has anyone checked the global economy lately? Do they really want to be at the top of that heap? ... Ruth S.

Not to mention the student debt our college bound kindergarteners will be saddled with for life.....or is that the plan? .. Janine Sopp

These tests are not internationally benchmarked. And we do not know what the questions are.
The DOE's testing regime is akin to throwing darts blindfolded.

This idea comes up every year, but--perhaps we should challenge the mayoral candidates to ask to take the tests.... Edith B.


And NY State Ed issues some drivel. Here is Leonie's comment:
See especially talking points document , letter to parents, and press release w/ below quotes.  The PR battle begins. Interesting no supportive quote from Duncan or Walcott.  I don’t know about you, but I’m  really impressed by that quote from Kentucky!
Click below at your own risk of barfing.

Parents and Educators Reject Official Explanations for Dismal State Test Scores

Call for full transparency in state testing program and an end to the use of standardized tests for promotion, teacher evaluation and closing schools... Change the Stakes
Here is a follow-up to my earlier post:T-Day: For Deformers, Mission Accomplished. 

By now the scores have come out and they are a disaster. Some great comments floating out there but they will wait for another followup post later.

First the entire CTS press release this morning and then the
UFT front groups will never stray far from the mother ship by openly declaring against common core and calling for parents to boycott the tests as Change the Stakes does. Being on the CTS listserve I observed how this was developed by some teachers and parents working together and as a grassroots org the process was so democratic which leads to a depth and richness in the outcome.

Following that is the press release from NYGPS for their press conf this morning at Tweed which is getting some good press. CTS was there supporting and taking part -- I just saw David Dobosz holding up a CTS sign.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 
 Contact:   Jane Maisel  (917) 678-1913, Janine Sopp  (917) 541-6062   
August 7, 2013                                                                                     
Parents and Educators Reject Official Explanations for Dismal State Test Scores:
Call for full transparency in state testing program and an end to the use of standardized tests for promotion, teacher evaluation and closing schools
New York City   In anticipation of today’s public release of results from this year’s controversial math and reading exams, state and city education officials warn that scores will drop precipitously.  Attributing the lower scores to tougher standards, officials are under fire from parents and teachers who contend this year’s tests were horribly flawed.  After initially dismissing calls for the tests to be open to public scrutiny, education officials now say they plan to release selected questions. But this token gesture toward transparency is unlikely to allay concerns about the quality of this year’s tests. Nor will it quell the growing movement of parents and educators fighting to end the use of standardized tests for high-stakes purposes.
Teachers and students reported a variety of troubling problems with this year’s April exams. A 5th grade teacher from Brooklyn, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, remarked, “The directions I had to read aloud for the ELA [English Language Arts] exam were so confusing that even I had a hard time understanding them. Some of the multiple choice questions had more than one possible right answer. And some of my students were crying because they simply ran out of time.” Her concerns were echoed by many, many others.
According to Fred Smith, a nationally recognized testing expert who spent his career working for the city’s Department of Education (DOE), “The tests were too long to be completed in the allotted time. For the ELA, there was an overall decrease of 7% in time per item as compared with last year. For math, the average time allocation dropped by 13%, ranging up to a 26% decrease in grade 3.”  That kind of pressure on children should be cause for concern.
The flaws in this year’s state testing cycle extended beyond the exams themselves to how they were scored. Although teachers who scored the tests were forbidden to talk about the process, some felt compelled to speak out.  “Many of us scoring the tests were troubled by the questions and scoring rubrics,” said a third grade teacher from Brooklyn who requested anonymity. “A number of questions were so poorly worded that even though some students clearly understood the concepts, they were not always given full credit.” She added, “Scoring the extended responses broke my heart. Besides being confused by the wording, many students didn’t have enough time to finish.”
Despite widespread calls for full disclosure of the tests,  the State Education Department (SED) has refused to release them, citing the need to reuse questions in future years. Without being able to see the tests, and given the multitude of complaints about test quality, time allocation and scoring, parents and teachers alike reject the notion that dramatic declines in scores are a result of the new Common-Core-aligned exams being “harder.” With the complete lack of transparency regarding how the tests were scored and proficiency levels determined, an increasingly skeptical public is left to wonder whether test scores rise and fall year-to-year simply to suit the latest political agenda, as when Mayor Bloomberg, seeking a third term, exploited artificially inflated scores. 
Parents are fed up with the seemingly arbitrary ups and downs of scores that affect their children’s promotions to the next grade and admissions to middle- and high-school. Desiree Hardison, a Staten Island parent of a 5th grader, says, “My son has been an excellent student in the past. Now with testing and the Common Core, my son’s grades dramatically dropped. With so much riding on these scores, we deserve to see the tests and understand how they’re scored.”
Kelly Goff, parent of a 7th grader in Manhattan’s District 2, was outraged to learn that her daughter’s promotion to 8th grade was in jeopardy because of her score on the math test. My daughter is a strong math student. She did not fail her math class; she simply didn’t pass the state test. Math is her best subject. We plan to fight hard to stop test scores from being the determining factor for promotion.” New York City is the only locality in the state that uses test scores for this purpose.
For students with failing test  scores and those without scores, schools can prepare a portfolio of work to demonstrate a student is ready to move to the next grade. But instead of empowering the child’s teacher to make that assessment, the district superintendent makes the final decision.    Andrea Mata’s 4th grade son was performing at and above grade level all last year, but since she opted him out of the state tests, the school assembled a portfolio and the principal recommended promotion. “But his promotion is now at risk because of misguided policies that empower district administrators to have the final say about students they don't even know. Something is terribly wrong when recommendations from a child's teachers are routinely disregarded with no oversight and accountability,” said Mata, who is a member of Change the Stakes.
The parents and teachers of Change the Stakes call on SED and DOE to release the contents of the April 2013 math and reading tests and to provide full transparency about how student scores were determined. More importantly, however, we call on federal, state and local policymakers to end the use of standardized tests for making high-stakes decisions about students, teachers and schools.  As Dr. Isabel Nuñez, a policy professor at Concordia University, argues, “High-stakes tests may effectively measure a small set of knowledge and skills, but they do not measure higher-order thinking skills and a broad set of knowledge, and consequently, offer a very narrow picture of what students have learned and how well teachers have taught.”
###
Change the Stakes (changethestakes.org) is a group of parents and educators working to reduce the harm caused by high stakes-testing, which we believe must be replaced by valid forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.
 

ggg

Parents to Rally Against DoE Misuse of Tests as Scores Hit Rock Bottom
  
**TODAY, Wednesday, August 7, 10AM Outside of DoE HQ, 52 Chambers St. Downtown Manhattan**
WHO: City Council Education Committee Chair Robert Jackson; Parents; Advocates from New Yorkers for Great Public Schools.
WHAT: Following the botched roll out of new Common Core standards by the Dept. of Education (DOE) that failed to engage parents, equip students and prepare teachers, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools will demand that these tests are NOT used to influence any high-stakes policies or decisions, such as school grades, school closings, admissions decisions and student promotion. 
As the test scores, expected to nose-dive dramatically, are announced today, New Yorkers for Great Public Schools will also call on the next mayor to conduct a full audit and investigation into questionable claims of progress made under the Bloomberg administration.
WHEN: Wednesday, August 7 at 10AM
WHERE: Steps of the Dept. of Education, 52 Chambers St.