Seattle Schools Community Forum

From Reuters: Just months after the College Board unveiled the new SAT this March, a person with access to material for upcoming versions of the redesigned exam provided Reuters with hundreds of confidential test items. The questions and answers include 21 reading passages – each with about a dozen questions – and about 160 math problems. 

Update: read this blog thread below from Wait What and then appreciate that the Seattle School Board recently passed a resolution, 5-1 (with Director Blanford voting no and Director Geary not at the meeting), to ask the state to allow districts to be able to select/create an alternative summative assessment framework to show academic mastery.  (Their discussion is in Part Two of the video of the board meeting. Here's the cue-up from the Seattle Education blog .) end of update From the Wait What? blog by Connecticut writer, Jonanthan Pelto with Wendy Lecker, news that PARCC is not as advertised.   (bold his) In the most significant academic study to date, the answer appears to be that the PARCC version the massive and expensive test is that it is an utter failure. William Mathis, Managing Director of the National Education Policy Center and member of the Vermont State Board of Education, has just published an astonishing piece in the Washington Post. ( Alice in PA...

1)  Ask the School Board to write a letter like this one from the Palm Beach County School Board and tell them to send it to Governor Inslee and State Superintendent Dorn.  Write to them at : schoolboard@seattleschools.org. Partial (full letter in link):

It's a thing of beauty.   Truly.  (Please note - some crude language used.) In 18 minutes, he covers a lot of ground. Dopey testing songs? Check. Nathan Hale High School opt-out (complete with map)?  Check. What to do if students vomit on test booklet?  Check. Obama, when he was running for president the first time, saying there is too much standardized testing?  Check (and then, AFTER he's president saying we need accountability).  Hilarious joke about the Common Core logo?  Check. Sad video of an crying AP student who may not get to stay in AP courses because of a low state test score?  Check. Taking on Pearson?  Double check.  (Plus the added fun of the infamous "Pineapple" question which one student astutely labels "stupid and absurd.") Test scorers being told they need to up the number of lower scores?  Check.  Imaginary sneering response of a chain-smoking French student to the U.S.' PISA scores? ...

At her blog, Diane Ravitch brings together three stories about the recent convictions and sentencing of 11 Atlanta educators who cheated to raise their students' test scores.  The eleven people were lead away in shackles, some to sentences up to 20 years.  Let's just all agree that what they did was wrong.  But they were tried and convicted under the RICO Act.  You remember that one - it's the one the Feds like to use for racketeering.  So let's compare and contrast. One was by Richard Rothstein . In this brilliant article, Rothstein argued that the 11 convicted educators were “taking the fall” for a thoroughly corrupt testing regime that set impossible goals and punished those who can’t meet them: Rothstein writes: Eleven Atlanta educators, convicted and imprisoned, have taken the fall for systematic cheating on standardized tests in American education. Such cheating is widespread, as is similar corruption in any institution—whether health care...

Too long AND very hard?  Tell your kid that the "average" kid won't be able to understand the test and do the whole thing in the time allotted?  (This is from the PARCC test but I wonder how different the SBAC is/) How does that really help a student and how do you think your child would feel?  I know my sons liked a challenge but I also know that they both would have rushed to finish, maybe even guessing answers because they would not have wanted to be thought of as "average." 

From reader Lynn: The Washington Educational Research Association has published a White Paper on Parent/Student refusal to participate and a handy test refusal form . Smarter Balanced website (the test that Washington State students will be taking). FAQs page. I note that on their support for students page ( those with visual, auditory, linguistic, or physical needs), they say this (partial): A set of universal accessibility tools—such as a digital notepad and scratch paper—will be available to all students. Designated supports—like a translated pop-up glossary—will be made available to students for whom a need has been identified by school personnel familiar with each student’s needs and testing resources. Accommodations will be available to students with a documented need noted in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan. These tools include Braille and closed captioning, among others. A digital notepad is going to be available for all students?  ...

So what did you think happened?  He failed math and got in D in reading.  From The Answer Sheet : “It might be argued that I’ve been out of school too long, that if I’d actually been in the 10th grade prior to taking the test, the material would have been fresh. But doesn’t that miss the point? A test that can determine a student’s future life chances should surely relate in some practical way to the requirements of life. I can’t see how that could possibly be true of the test I took.” Here’s the clincher in what he wrote: “If I’d been required to take those two tests when I was a 10th grader, my life would almost certainly have been very different. I’d have been told I wasn’t ‘college material,’ would probably have believed it, and looked for work appropriate for the level of ability that the test said I had. 

From Town Hall : Seattle’s recently-passed universal pre-k measure included a stipulation of standardized testing, but according to NPR’s Anya Kamenetz ( Generation Debt ), today’s schools are sacrificing learning by enacting such regulations. The Test: Why Our Schools are Obsessed with Standardized Testing–But You Don’t Have to Be is her insightful look at the world of standardized testing in the era of No Child Left Behind, increased college expectations, and overachievers. She’ll outline the pressures these tests place on students, their families, and school districts, ultimately offering a wake up call for educators–and parents–to move beyond numbers, and refocus on the child. Kamenetz is the author of several books and NPR’s lead digital education reporter. 7:30PM, Tuesday, January 20, 2015 , Downstairs at Town Hall , 1119 Eighth Avenue, $5

Secretary Arne Duncan issued a statement today as schools start up around the country.  Rather than saying how poorly our schools are doing, Duncan said this: First, the thanks. America’s students have posted some unprecedented achievements in the last year – the highest high school graduation rate in the nation’s history, and sharp cuts in dropout rates and increases in college enrollment, especially for groups that in the past have lagged significantly. For these achievements, we should celebrate America’s teachers, principals, and students and their families. These achievements are also indications of deeper, more successful relationships with our students. All of us who’ve worked with young people know how much they yearn for adults to care about them and know them as individuals. He even thanks teachers: I have heard from many teachers that they have not received all the support they’d want during this transition. Yet America’s teachers are making this cha...

Poll results on public education including Common Core from two sources.

The blowback from the comedian Louis C.K. and his tweets about Common Core are useful in pointing out some fundamental issues with Common Core. These are issues that ALL public school parents have a right to weigh in on both as taxpayers AND as parents investing their children into public education.  And that, to me, means parents have more rights to talk about Common Core than say, Bill Gates.  Beware of anyone who says that parents cannot and shouldn't air concerns about what is happening at their children's schools.  I don't care if it's Arne Duncan or anyone else; don't let anyone challenge your right to ask questions.  Backstory: Louis C.K. is a divorced NYC parent of two daughters.  He is very involved with their lives including school.  They attend public schools in NYC.  On April 28th, he tweeted this and thus begin a national discussion (note: misspelling are his): My kids used to love math. Now it makes them cry. Thanks standardi...

From Diane Ravitch's blog via the group, FairTest : Today’s technical problems, which disrupted computerized testing in many Florida districts, are far from unusual. Many other states have experienced similar failures, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), which monitors standardized exams across the country. Earlier this month, the statewide testing systems in Kansas and Oklahoma both crashed. Last year, technical problems disrupted computerized exams in Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio and Oklahoma. In the recent past, new, automated testing programs collapsed in Oregon and Wyoming, requiring administration of replacement, pencil-and-paper versions. After root cause investigations, both Wyoming and Oklahoma levied multi-million dollar fines against Pearson, the same testing vendor Florida uses. Wyoming labeled the company in “complete default of the contract” and replaced it. Oklahoma let its contract with Pearson ...

There's a petition going to direct the Department of Education and Congress to remove annual standardized testing mandates of NCLB and RttT.  It needs 97,350 signatures and needs to get to 100,000 to get attention from the White House.  (Update: I had this backwards previously.) Meanwhile the Today show on NBC has a Facebook poll going on about testing: Do you think standardized tests are the best way for kids to learn? Tell us why or why not in the comments below. We’ll tackle the debate on air tomorrow! It's running about 4,000K+no to 32 yes.

I asked SPS for a comment on what the policies are for parents who want to opt their students out of standardized testing.  (Although MAP is not mentioned, these answers probably apply.)  Here is the reply (and I'm happy to see this district not being punitive): Currently for the MSP, we do not have “opt out” but rather parent or student refusal. (The language from the Washington State Assessment Coordinators Manual is at the bottom of this email.) For parents who refuse to have their child tested – they may choose to keep them home in the morning of the test dates or if they come to school, they will be supervised but not have individualized instruction. Supervision could be helping in the library or assistance in K-2 since they do not test MSP. The parent refusal must be initiated by the parent and not a teacher suggestion. We do not have the “sit and stare” policy. Because it is parent initiated, they know their child will not be testing. They will not go to the o...

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...

From Seattle Education blog, news of a Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, September 17th at 7:30 pm about standardized testing.  It's called To Test or Not to Test ?  It will be a panel discussion with: The panelists will include our very own Wayne Au, PhD who is an Associate Professor at UW Bothell. Dr. Au’s research focuses on educational equity, high-stakes testing, curriculum theory, educational policy studies and social studies education. The panel will also include Jason Mendenhall, of the Northwest Evaluation Association. The NWEA produced and sells the MAP test that will be a part of this discussion. And, "a surprise panelist." Per the event description posted on the Town Hall website, this super special guest will be “a representative from a local nonprofit whose mission is to improve public schools”. Hmmm. Who might that be? Someone from the alphabet soup of Gates backed and or created organizations such as SFC, Stand for Children, LEV, the League ...

A couple of interesting contributors to Stephan Blanford' s campaign - former Board member Nancy Waldman (ousted from office in the wake of the Olechefske financial scandal) and former Board member (and Seattle mover and shaker) Don Nielsen.    One oddity, though, is a contribution out of Indianapolis from the Eli Lilly company.  Why Eli Lilly is interested in a Seattle School Board campaign is a mystery. Interesting in keeping up with national education trends ?  Here's a link t o the top ed Twitter feeds.  Who's at the top?  Why it's a tie between Arne Duncan and Diane Ravitch. Americorps gets into the school turnaround action and I think I trust them far more than I would any business. Officials announced in July that $15 million would go to 13 organizations nationwide during the next three years to put more than 650 AmeriCorps members in schools. One of the funded projects that will help rural schools exclusively was Berea College...

There has been many, many news stories out this last month that all lead me to believe that ed reform is starting to collapse.  Is it anywhere near full-collapse?  Nope and that's because there is a lot of money to be made so it will not go without a fight.  But the signs are all there.  Let's start with assessments and the posterchild that is Atlanta .  (But close on its heels is Rhee's D.C., Texas and Florida.)  What is this all about?  It's about a superintendent who wanted to make money for herself and for the administrators and teachers in her district, make a "name" for herself and the kids be damned. Today the first suspects in the Atlanta cheating scandal turned themselves in.  There are 35 educators who were indicted in a 65-count indictment last week including former superintendent Beverly Hall.  The indictments claim there was a pattern among the educators to cheat or conceal cheating or retaliate against any whistleblowers i...

Is this homework a kindergartener should be able to do?  I heard that at one Seattle elementary (it slips my mind which one but I think it is Roxhill) that they have ended homework and require only reading every night.    Should kindergartners have homework ? An upcoming event that may be of interest to you and your student - the unveiling of Mirror, a permanent art installation at SAM.   From their website : MIRROR is an urban earthwork that changes in real time in response to the movements and life around it. At the unveiling, guests will experience an unprecedented performance with synchronized choreography of MIRROR in relation to compositions by minimalist composers Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Mr. Riley will be in Seattle for the performance of his monumental work In C, featuring musicians from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. The event is free as are SAM galleries that day but you have to print out tickets for the Mirror event as well as pick up ti...