Seattle Schools Community Forum

The Seattle Schools Assessment Steering Committee was assembled in spring of 2016 as part of the 2015-2018 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between Seattle Schools and the Seattle Education Association Certificated Non-Supervisory Employees. This is a Steering Committee composed entirely of District employees. Their meetings are not public. The committee delivered this recommendations report in June, 2016. Among the recommendations are For the District to give school a lot more support around the state proficiency tests To use the Smarter Balanced interim assessment this year and look for another interim assessment to use next year For the District to provide training on the use of interim assessments To replace the MAP as part of Advanced Learning eligibility and for primary students To purchase Pulse Learn K-2 as a formative assessment for K-2 students For the District to provide professional development with the new assessments For the District to provide guida...

Opt Out Bus Spring Tour   (Starting at Garfield HS,  Thursday March 31 st , 2:20 pm ) As the spring high-stakes ,  common core tests begin, the Opt Out B us will be touring Seattle schools to provide families with information on their rights to opt out of standardized testing.  

Here's a link to the district's Spring Bell Time Adjustment Volunteer List Survey.   Several schools have indicated that they have been having ongoing conversations about participating in a Spring Bell Time Adjustment Volunteer List, with some having already coalesced around a preference. Other schools have asked for additional support to make this decision including an online survey. This survey is available from January 6, 2016 to January 22, 2016 for parents and staff to provide feedback on whether there is a preference for an earlier tier, or to remain in the 3rd tier. If you are a 3rd Tier School (List the schools) Please take a few minutes to complete the following questions on your preference for your school start time.

A couple of items to consider. Update 2: SPS teacher (and parent and activist) Jesse Hagopian's essay on why he is opting his 1st grader out of MAP testing.

I have heard from parents that assessments have started for some elementary students.  But naturally, parents aren't being informed about this. Seattle Opt-Out. Here's a link to the K-8 assessments. Here's a link to the high school assessments. Some schools still use MAP (except in high school)and some will use Amplify.  One parent said she was told that Amplify was being used for "instructional differentiation."  From the Soup for Teachers page via Erin Kinsells Klones: MAP can potentially be administered three times a year: Sept. 21-Oct. 30, Jan 4-29 and May 9-June 10.  WaKIDS can also be administered, in buildings that have all-day state-funded K, Aug. 1-Oct. 29, Oct. 30-Feb. 14 and Feb. 15-July 31.  This information is available on the District website.  Now the tricky part, the part that concerns us greatly: parents may or may not be informed. Crazy, we know, but that is part of the work we're doing. School admin at your buildin...

It's before my time here in Seattle but during the lean years of Boeing, someone had put up a billboard that said, "Will the last person leaving Seattle -- turn off the lights?" I'm starting to feel that way about Seattle Schools but maybe with the question, "Will the person who understands what is going on in Seattle Schools -- please clue the rest of us in?"   Example one is this letter from Ballard High School (partial) to families with seniors:

It looks like the NWEA (the company that gives the MAP testing ) had a "denial of service" attack today.  This was at about 11 am and they sent a message out about the attack saying, "MAP is currently unavailable.  We apologize for the inconvenience."   Don't know any SPS schools were giving MAP today. I was doing some research on FERPA and found this clause: A school must inform eligible students of how it defines the terms "school official" and "legitimate educational interest" in its annual notification of FERPA rights.  Did anyone read their FERPA form carefully for this info?  Was it included? As to who on the Board might have requested the staff memo about charters schools , I got a little clarification but it's still a bit unclear.  Apparently someone senior thought the Board should know about the Oct 1 deadline for districts to file a Letter of Intent to become charter authorizers, told the Board and then Director McLar...

Tweet from the district about priorities for 2014-2015 : During a retreat today, the School Board picked its top governance priorities for the 2014-15 school year: bell times analysis, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), special education and stewardship of resources/internal controls. First, shouldn't these "priorities" have been set at the end of the school year (so that everyone comes to the first day of school with those in mind)? Second, someone would have to define the last priority, " stewardship of resources/internal controls."  If it means getting on the good foot for operations and watching over the dollars (like not spending them on pre-K junkets), great news.   In other news: On district-given assessments :

There is an Audit and Finance Committee meeting today at 4:30 p.m.  Wish I could attend but I have an event.  Here's the agenda which has some interesting items: - adoption of the 2014-2015 budget book .  This might be interesting since the pick of MIF for K-5 Math adoption.  Of course, until a contract is executed, no one truly knows how much MIF will cost the district.  They had, according to their presentation at the last Board meeting, been willing to spend about $3.6M on enVision.  MIF is more expensive but, as has been pointed out, many of the items that staff pointed to as costs can be mitigated one way or another. - a loan from the Capital Eligible Program (CEP) to pay for the renovations at TT Minor for the Seattle World School .  They don't give a figure for this loan.  - one of my perennial favors is on the agenda - JSCEE Bonds annual update .  It's amazing how that building is the gift that keeps on taking from this distri...

There was a reader comment about wanting to opt an APP student out of MAP testing but the parent seemed to think that the child would lose eligibility if he/she did not take the MAP.  Here's what I learned from speaking with Stephen Martin, head of the Advanced Learning department. The MAP is the gatekeeper to finding out if your child is eligible for AL testing. However, once you are enrolled, your child does not lose eligibility in AL programs if he/she does not take MAP.  What is a problem is maintaining your eligibility if you qualify but then do not access a program.  (Let me say that, on the surface, I think this policy is good because I used to hear many parents say they were just testing their children "to see how they do" with zero intention of enrolling them in an AL program.  That's just a waste of time and money for the district and it should not be happening.) BUT, the issue is does your child have access to an AL program even if he/she qualif...

One fascinating thing I learned at the Network for Public Education conference in Austin was that Washington State is one of the luckier states in terms of ed reform.  Being behind (or slow to go) the ed reform curve has many benefits. For example, did you know that there is large (and growing) opt-out of testing movement nationwide?  Indeed there is and I met many parents at the conference who said they were. I have said that when my sons were in school that if was not a year they were required to take the WASL, we opted them out.  They are both (nearly) college graduates.   Here's the Facebook page for I Refuse!, a national opt-out movement.   Here's the movement in NY state with their resources.  Here's a round-up of stories from Ed Week on the subject. From the New Yorker, a very good article on testing.  Last spring’s state tests were an entirely different experience, for children and for teachers. Teachers invigilating the e...

More opt-outs of testing, this time at a school in Chicago where 300 parents have opted their children out.  In an article from Catalyst Chicago , one superintendent sent a letter to parents telling them why they shouldn't opt their children out.  One interesting note - they use the MAP test for screening AL but they have a much lower threshold than SPS. The letter also for the first time makes clear that the NWEA/MAP will be used to determine who can sit for the selective enrollment test, but it sets the bar low. The current policy limits the selective test to those students who ranked in the 50th percentile or above on the nationally normed section of the ISAT. Now, according to the letter, students scoring above the 24 th percentile on the NWEA/MAP will be eligible to test for selective enrollment high schools. Sharkey said the new standard is low because district officials are concerned about a lot of students doing poorly. “These new Common Core assessmen...

Coming up on Thursday is the one-year anniversary of the MAP test boycott.    It's also the day that SEE (Social Equality Educators) are introducing their "Respect' slate of candidates to challenge the current SEA leadership.  They are having a forum on Thursday at Garfield Community Center.   Lead by Jesse Hagopian, a Garfield teacher who was named "Secondary School Teacher of the Year" by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences, the group has a mix of current SEA Board of director members and award-winning and/or veteran educators. The event starts at 4:30 pm and City Council member Kshama Sawant is scheduled to make an appearance. What's on your mind?

There have been a number of articles coming across my desk about opting out of standardized testing . One group, that I believe I have mentioned before, is United Opt Out .  Their mission statement: We opt out of high stakes testing and resist all market-based reforms seeking to privatize and destroy public education. They have some great stories and resources at their website.  The resources include: template letter to opt-out, talking points, a Get Tough guide for statements from school officials that you are likely to run into should you want to opt your child out of testing, a parent flyer and much more. The next story comes from NYC where students at the highly regarded Stuyvesant High School have boycotted tests to protest using them to evaluate their teachers.   From Gotham Schools: “ This movement is meant to support Stuyvesant teachers in opposing an unfair teacher evaluation system,” Senior David Cahn wrote on the  Facebook page  he created...

Garfield teacher and MAP boycott leader Jesse Hagopian was named the " Secondary School Teacher of the Year" last Saturday by the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences International in Washington, D.C.  His "Bammy" award was also joined by a "Grammys for Teachers", a special achievement award, for his work. The annual Bammy awards recognize educators from across the education field: teachers, principals, librarians, nurses, school-board members, superintendents, and others. The presenter told the audience this Bammy was for “a demonstration of courage” because, he said, courage is necessary “when doing what’s in the best interests of children…” He added that sometimes courage “means going against accepted policy, going against what is accepted convention.” “This is a victory for all of the students, parents and teachers at Garfield who refused to give the Michelle Rhee-endorsed MAP test, and who stood strong in the face of education-corrupting...

From KPLU : Taking stock of his first year at the helm of Seattle Public Schools, Banda told KPLU a divided board has a definite effect on how he does his job. “[That’s the] reason for my taking a very strong stand with the board to say that we need to be able to do that job unimpeded. They need to have trust in the leadership team, that what we’re doing is in the best interests of the district and our children, ultimately,” he said. Well, yes, but he's new, a lot of the leadership team is new and until everyone has shown some mettle, I'm on the side of Board oversight. Banda said the job review process took place over several weeks, and that he believes by the end he was able to win over the skeptics. “I believe that I have the full support of all seven members of the board,” Banda said. Any change of heart is not reflected in the report produced by the board, and no board member has said publicly that he or she has come around from doubting Banda’s lead...

Remember that thinking, after the mass killings at an elementary school earlier this year, that we should arm teachers and staff at our schools ?  Well, Kansas passed a law allowing teachers and others to be armed.  Guess what the problem is ? Via TPM: An insurance company based in Iowa has refused to renew coverage for Kansas schools that permit teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus, the Des Moines Register reported  on Sunday. EMC Insurance Cos. made the decision after Kansas enacted a new law to allow the concealed guns on campus. The company told the newspaper the decision was based on financial policy, not politics. The company reportedly covers 85 to 90 percent of Kansas school districts. "We’ve been writing school business for almost 40 years, and one of the underwriting guidelines we follow for schools is that any on-site armed security should be provided by uniformed, qualified law enforcement officers,” Mick Lovell, EMC’s vice ...

Tuesday, June 4th The Board will be evaluating the Superintendent in an Executive Session.  I would think that he would get a pretty favorable evaluation given that he has filled some key posts.  As well, at yesterday's Board retreat, various people were thanking others.  Director Carr said, about Banda's efforts on the Strategic Plan, that she appreciated his collaborative attitude as compared to the previous SP which she labeled "top-down." Wednesday, June 5th Board Meeting , starting at 4:15 pm.   Agenda . I regret to inform you that, once again, the school calendar for next year has been pulled off the agenda by the Superintendent.  I would assume this is about the teachers contract but this is now getting very late for next year's calendar.   Cleveland High School will name its library after a teacher who taught there for 25 years, Edward Landon, and was beloved by students. The district is getting a grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundat...

From Superintendent Banda via SPS Communications (red highlight mine): In February we formed a Task Force on Assessments and Measuring Progress to review our testing policies and explore concerns about the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment. This group, comprised of principal, teacher, student, family and community representatives, met eight times and developed a list of recommendations for the 2013-14 school year. I want to thank this group for their time and efforts. This proved to be an effective and productive opportunity to work together to develop constructive solutions that put students first while addressing the concerns raised by some of our staff. I look forward to ongoing discussions about the use of assessments to support teaching and learning in our district. Based on this Task Force’s feedback, I am making the following decisions regarding the MAP assessment for the 2013-14 school year: ·        ...

According to the Seattle Times , the Assessment Taskforce is recommending that MAP not be mandatory for high schools...next year.  But it will still be mandatory for K-8.  The Taskforce will deliver their report to the Superintendent on Monday and then have the full report available later in the week.  Here's what the Times says they said: Among them: The MAP test alone should not be used to determine whether a student can enter a certain program; assessment results should be more clearly communicated to families; and teachers should be better trained to administer and understand assessment.  What the group didn’t address is how each school will determine optional use of the test, leaving that decision to each school’s leadership.  I want to read their report but this is a little wishy-washy.  And, it puts the district in the great position of saying, "See the Taskforce said to continue to use it" and renewing the contract (which is now up). ...