Schools with State Test Participation Rates below the Required 95%
On Tuesday, April 12, the OSPI sent Dr. Nyland an eMail reminding him of the requirement that districts and school achieve a participation
rate of 95 percent on the state proficiency assessments. The message included a table naming the 49 schools in our district that did not
meet the 95 percent participation rate on one or both tests.
Districts and schools that fall below the 95 percent assessment participation rate in one or more of the state-administered English language arts or Mathematics assessments are required to address the low participation rates as part of their District and/or School Improvement Plan. The plan must address the causes of the low participation rate and the actions the district and/or schools will take in response to the low participation rate. So look for that on your CSIPs.
The lowest participation rate was achieved by NOVA High School and The Center School where 0% of the students took the the ELA and the Math tests. Not one student at either of these schools took either of these tests. Not one. Nathan Hale's participation rates were only 0.75% - that's three students out of 400.
Other schools with participation rates under 10% were Garfield, Ballard, Roosevelt, Ingraham, and Private School Services.
All of the high schools are on the list. That includes Seattle World School, South Lake, Interagency, Cascade Parent Partnership Program, and Middle College. The high school with the highest participation rate was Rainier Beach with 89.52% participation on the ELA test and 86.67% participation on the Math test. Those numbers may sound high, but remember that the requirement is 95%.
Thornton Creek had the lowest participation rate for elementary schools, 34.52% for ELA and 24.87% for Math. Among neighborhood elementary schools, Sacajawea and Stevens had the lowest participation rates.
TOPS was lowest among K-8s with 71.34% and 70.96%. The lowest participation middle schools were Jane Addams with 89.08% and 83.24% and Hamilton with 85.79% and 87.06%. Six of the attendance area middle schools are on the list.
A lot of the option schools are on the list. In fact, I think they all are.
Of the 49 schools on the list, 21 of them did have participation rates of at least 90% on at least one of the tests.
The OSPI offers resources that can be shared with parents and community members on assessments and the importance of assessments here, under Assessments.
Districts and schools that fall below the 95 percent assessment participation rate in one or more of the state-administered English language arts or Mathematics assessments are required to address the low participation rates as part of their District and/or School Improvement Plan. The plan must address the causes of the low participation rate and the actions the district and/or schools will take in response to the low participation rate. So look for that on your CSIPs.
The lowest participation rate was achieved by NOVA High School and The Center School where 0% of the students took the the ELA and the Math tests. Not one student at either of these schools took either of these tests. Not one. Nathan Hale's participation rates were only 0.75% - that's three students out of 400.
Other schools with participation rates under 10% were Garfield, Ballard, Roosevelt, Ingraham, and Private School Services.
All of the high schools are on the list. That includes Seattle World School, South Lake, Interagency, Cascade Parent Partnership Program, and Middle College. The high school with the highest participation rate was Rainier Beach with 89.52% participation on the ELA test and 86.67% participation on the Math test. Those numbers may sound high, but remember that the requirement is 95%.
Thornton Creek had the lowest participation rate for elementary schools, 34.52% for ELA and 24.87% for Math. Among neighborhood elementary schools, Sacajawea and Stevens had the lowest participation rates.
TOPS was lowest among K-8s with 71.34% and 70.96%. The lowest participation middle schools were Jane Addams with 89.08% and 83.24% and Hamilton with 85.79% and 87.06%. Six of the attendance area middle schools are on the list.
A lot of the option schools are on the list. In fact, I think they all are.
Of the 49 schools on the list, 21 of them did have participation rates of at least 90% on at least one of the tests.
The OSPI offers resources that can be shared with parents and community members on assessments and the importance of assessments here, under Assessments.
Comments
Good to see students and parents saying no to these awful tests. Go Nova, Center and Hale.
Also interesting how many people chimed in on the budget thread (including myself) that we should switch to lower cost, pen and paper tests. I did a little research and found that the ITBS is aligned to common core and which strengthens the argument to switch to it.
I am also wondering what the participation rate is for the charter schools and if those families can opt out? I would think they need students to sit for SBAC tests to prove their success (or lack of success) against the public schools, making participation mandatory.
Can we please have an honest conversation about privilege and the effect within the opt-out movement?
--- aka
Last year, I opted my 11th grader out of SBAC. There was NO reason for my student to take the exam- none.
I resented that my child being used for a company that stands to profit from my child's data.
Clearly, OSPI will spend a lot of time and money chasing results.
Randy Dorn worked with the Gates Foundation, and Washington Charter Association to an end-run around our highest court's ruling. Who will hold Dorn responsible for his actions?
--- aka
I also noticed that and wondered what was the messaging to students from staff at RBHS last year?
I see that only 12% of the 11th graders passed the 2015 Math SBAC, whereas the year before as 10th graders 70% passed their EOCs. I wonder if the they taking these tests again this year or will we see a higher opt-out rate for 2016 at RBHS?
Would be great to hear from RBHS students to get their insights about the SBAC tests.
Also aka - can you provide any info on whether charter school students are being mandated to take these tests or do they also have the option to opt-out. I think that is an important element to the point you bring up.
Good point. We need to do more outreach on opting out at schools with high poverty levels. I wonder if Rita Green is working on that?
-North-end Mom
It's also deeply troubling that Randy Dorn is trying to intimidate local districts and parents like this. I would like to hear from each and every OSPI candidate whether they support opt outs, whether they want to listen to parents and fix what's wrong with testing - or whether they will continue to issue threats and demands.
Bingo.
Actually, for the very first time, I feel empowered as a parent.
My three opt-out forms had an impact.
This is happening across the nation.
We have their attention!
And to date, NO funding has been pulled. OPSI won't do it; the feds won't do it.
What if you all assumed these parents are in fact well-informed and STILL choose to have their children take the tests? What then? The fact is that survey after survey shows that African American and Latino/a parents as well as low-income parents value the state tests. They value the information these provide regarding their children and especially about their schools (as compared to schools in wealthier communities). Add to that the fact that the Opt Out Movement has some years under its belt and still has not made significant inroads into communities of color. It's still a predominantly white and middle-to-upper middle-class movement. Even NPE acknowledges this.
Finally, Robert, you can point to the Corporate Education Reformers Boogeyman all you like and blame them for the woes of public education. But that's not going to get you very far. People on the ground are working to improve the tests themselves. The HSPE and MSP were improvements on the WASL and the SBAC assessments are improvements upon those. The field is continuously working to improve the tests. But I don't suspect most of the objection is about the tests themselves but about the stakes/policies attached to them. But even here, conversations continue and there is a constant effort to get it right. You'd know that if you actually got engaged in education policy on the ground rather than through your political apparatus --- lobbing grenades at people who are working to make change.
--- aka
With that said couple of things:
Last year was the first year of SBAC testing in Seattle.
Ground zero for the opt-out movement in Seattle was Hale.
Other schools, but not all, followed suit. Look close at the list and you 90% participation at north end schools, Lauralhurst for example. So at this point there really isn't a clear pattern to opt-out as you assert.
"The fact is that survey after survey shows that African American and Latino/a parents as well as low-income parents value the state tests."
Can you point to one survey? (Gentle reminder you called Melissa out on this earlier in the week, so what's good for the goose...)
"GOOD FACTS" Takes me back to my original question about what was the messaging at RBHS. Please try to be more respectful.
Finally, you keep skirting my question about charter school participation. Since you are so involved I would assume you have this information and not answering my the question is odd to me.
My remarks were solely about the continuing refusal from corporate education hacks to take parent concerns seriously. "The field" is tweaking the tests, but as the recent PARCC meltdown in NJ showed, those tweaks aren't addressing the underlying problems. Same with the ongoing mess that is TN Ready, or the fact that NY teachers once again saw that their high stakes tests asked questions that were inappropriate for grade level.
Test defenders still refuse to take those concerns seriously, and as we see here from aka, still insist on attacking and trying to delegitimize concerns rather than approach them fairly and reasonably. As to the diversity of the opt out movement, trying to whitewash it and silence voices of color won't work, as Seattle's own opt out leaders have made extremely clear.
You think that it's ok just to "make change" for it's own sake - but give no regard to whether the changes are helping or hurting. Right now, high stakes testing is part of the status quo that many of us are trying to change for the better.
Here are some surveys:
http://www.baeo.org/?ns_ref=11&id=7335
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/standardized-testing/la-me-edu-support-for-standardized-testing-divided-by-race-pdk-gallup-poll-20150823-htmlstory.html
https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/17135314/PPP-Common-Core-Poll-Embargoed-August-2015.pdf
I'm truly having a hard time understanding what about my statements shows immaturity and disrespect.
Finally, I didnt' keep skirting your question --- which you asked only once. Charter public schools are required under state law to teach the state learning standards and administer the state assessments --- the same as all public schools. And like all public schools, charter public schools are required to administer the tests but students are required to take them.
--- aka
--- aka
I would not say it is "privilege" that creates opt-outs but awareness and I think that awareness will only grow. Awareness is different from being uninformed.
The Opt-Out movement is still in its infancy, please don't try to make it seem older than it is. Now the charter movement IS old and yet, where are all those innovations and results?
"..lobbing grenades at people who are working to make change." I think there is lobbing on both sides. Again, no one gets to take this "we took the higher ground stuff." And I'm sorry you think advocacy for another side is just "lobbing grenades." It certainly wasn't for me this week.
Po3, charter students technically have to take the test but the nether-world that they are currently existing in may preclude that. They are still "public schools" but since Summit went the homeschool route (even as the kids are at the school), they don't have to take the test. It will be interesting to see the numbers from the charter schools.
I will put up the passage of discussion from the Board meeting about this subject from Wednesday night. It was both somewhat comedic but very nuanced and illuminating. (And, with Director Pinkham slowly closing in on the Betty Patu method of blunt questioning.) I think it may add to this discussion.
--- aka
http://www.k12.wa.us/assessment/StateTesting/
Perhaps the first year of testing will be considered an anomaly in terms of high school opt-outs, as going forward students need to take the test to meet graduation requirements.
-HS parent
As for charter school innovations and results, let me point to the 2013 and 2015 CREDO charter school reports: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margaret-raymond/a-rebuttal-of-weingarten-_b_9701622.html.
--- aka
--- aka
YES! Better tests (i.e useful for parents and teachers), less time taking tests, less money spent on tests.
That is the reform I am advocating for and the only way I can do that is to opt out of the SBAC tests.
Does that make me an education reform obstructionist or an education reformer?
--- aka
I could leap to a lot of conclusions, but even if they were correct they would be baseless. The truth is that every day I see people making decisions I would never make. Sure, this includes small decisions about how to drive, what to wear, and what to eat, but it also includes bigger decisions that people make about how to vote, how to allocate their income, and how to raise their children. Sometimes it takes a while, but I have to keep bringing myself back to the belief that people are making those decisions based on better knowledge of their situation than I have, and a better understanding about what works for them than the one I have. I have to respect the choices that people make and their license and authority to make those decisions. I'm sure that my decisions appear mad to them.
So, for whatever reason, the opt out movement in Seattle is concentrated among the affluent, the educated, the White, and those who have a strong sense of political efficacy - all of which are correlated. That's pretty clear from this data, and thank you again aka for bringing attention to it.
Those decisions work for their family and their way of navigating the world. Other people make other decisions which work for their family and their way of navigating the world.
It could be that the opt-out movement isn't doing outreach to minority or low-income communities. It could be that opting out creates consequences for low-income communities that don't impact affluent ones. It could be that some people see value in the standardized test scores that other people don't see. It could be that some students needed to pass the tests to graduate while other students did not. It could be something I haven't imagined or it could be all or none of these things.
I think we need to be careful not to proclaim causes in the absence of attribution analysis.
One more thing. Years ago, when there was a lot of talk about racial tension at Madrona, White affluent families wanted less "drill and kill" and more recess, while the Black families in the school wanted less recess and more time for skill practice. There can be an offensive sort of neo-Liberal arrogance and privilege when rich, White people tell people of color that they should be doing what the White people are doing.
To your last "thing," I read this piece on Vox.com yesterday: http://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism. Both your point and this article resonated with me.
--- aka
The line between public school helping and hindering is fine and movable. Applies to all of us. But once name, face, history are cemented with a certain reputation in the world of Seattle schools there is no going back, apparently. Too bad in the current online world compassion and chance for growth or even a change of opinion is minimal.
Sideline watcher
I have known a few parents with a child who had mild to moderate learning disabilities who learned from standardized test results that their child was nowhere close to grade level despite all the As on the child's report card. Rather than being taught in a different way or at a slower pace, their child was not really being taught and was being graded on classroom citizenship or some other non-academic standard.
(All the instances I know of this happening, the child was an only child, so there was no home-based comparison that could be made to contrast with the school grades.)
LisaG
We all know there are paid commenters.
Please see these:
http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/04/06/black-leaders-not-down-with-opt-out-standardized-testing?cmpid=organic-share-twitter
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/opt-out-movement-aims-to-lure-more-african-american-latino-parents-221540
http://www.progressive.org/pss/how-can-more-testing-lead-more-school-equity-it-can%E2%80%99t
https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/standardized-tests-have-always-been-about-keeping-people-in-their-place/
Lastly, aka, you should check out the Seattle Opt Out fb page. Loaded with good stuff:
https://www.facebook.com/Seattle-Opt-Out-430265387124998/
AS
Our Choice
Thanks, AS, I'm well aware of the group and I read tons of stuff on both sides of the issue.
--- aka
And for the record, my student not only opted out but distributed opt out forms around her high school. It will be interesting now that the SBAC is no long a no-consequence opt out. It'll also be interesting to see if the test schedule is less ham-handed. Last year's was just stupid, losing all LA or SS (I forget which) classes for two weeks just before AP/IB exam season.
--- aka
I, too, sometimes don't like that people who read this blog go to meetings and know who I am in person and yet I don't know who they are. It's an uncomfortable feeling.
But maybe that's the point. Just like some people saying, "I know where you live."
Take look at their website :
http://seattlespecialeducationptsa.org/contact-us/
--Dor
--- aka"
Well AKA it's much more insidious than just that! Imagine having direct one on one access to the people who hold the purse strings or having one or two board directors on speed dial. Bombarding the legal dept with never ending Public Records Request (PRR).
One can only imagine what she is up to.
Sideline watcher
She's doing what it takes to get things changed for the betterment of those she sees fit.
--Dor
Speddie
Fair game
Why IS the SBA better than the ITBS, for example? As a parent, I don't get it. Why would we want our kids to miss so many instructional days?
Reader32
-Black balled?
That doesn't mean that school admins won't look askance at the opt-out thing, but that should only be "common knowledge" at that particular school. Heck, some schools might find it a positive (Hale, for instance, though you indicate you're looking at middle school). I suspect that hiring decisions, like any other decision, are driven by a multiplicity of factors, and those factors vary from school to school and person to person WITHIN schools. I've sat on hiring committees, and I've sat in front of them. There are no hard, fast, rules.
As for me, I see my job as parent to be paramount. If that costs me professionally, so be it. It's up to you. (And I did what you've done: subbed for a year, and then got hired on, though not at SPS.) For my part, I suspect ageism was involved in some of my interviews, but who can say?
Yay!
Race and The Testing Wars
Josh, unfortunately, financially, we are not at a place where we can afford to put my philosophical views about the SBAC before my employment prospects.
-Black-balled?
Speddie
I would add that affluent families might have more resources to handle the blow back from opting out. Testing is a for profit business. I've never known a business to sit by quietly while their money-makers (our kids) quit producing.
It may also be that lower income families trust the system more? Or have less time to be heavily involved and thereby understand how testing corruption works?
My issue isn't the amount of time or the format of the tests (although neither of these are great). It's the amount of money spent on them that clearly should be going elsewhere.
SW Mom
--- aka
But I tried to opt out my 5th grader and was basically bullied into her taking the SBAC. She is newly qualified to join HCC and I was told she might lose her qualification if she didn't take the test and they wouldn't know where to place her in math w/o these scores.
Is this right?
Mag mom
If math placement is an issue, call the middle school and ask them how kids coming from private school are placed. The same process would apply to your student without SBAC scores.
Non-profit status does not mean that there isn't an (unnecessary) product being sold to districts.
Research on the tests themselves reinforce this loop. Interesting how little research is being done on the opt out students and how well they are faring without standardized tests.
Many non-profits compete in the open market right alongside for-profit companies.
SW Mom
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