Seattle Schools Community Forum

I suspect that given the district has a media event to explain the interim plan for next year AND the SEA is having a "boycott the MAP" rally at 4 p.m . outside of JSCEE AND the large number of concerns over the interim plan, the Board meeting is probably going to be lively (to say the least).   What questions do you think I should ask at the media event? The speaker list reflects that most of the speakers are going to talk about the interim plan.  The speakers start at 5 p.m with the vote on the interim plan occurring roughly at 6:30 p.m.   Sadly, I think that the directors will all choose to give lengthy explanations of their votes.  I say sadly because sometimes I find it even harder to take a vote based on reasoning I hear given. 

  UPDATES:   The Superintendent's Special Education Advisory and Advocacy Committee has also released a statement (in the comments section) that they support the MAP boycott.  From their statement : Evidence of the lack of care and thought in MAP testing is that our children are REGULARLY denied their accommodations for the MAP. How does MAP testing somehow take precedence over the necessary accommodations on the IEP? In addition, the Superintendent will be holding a media briefing right before the School Board meeting on Wednesday about MAP testing.  Rally for teachers/parents/students against MAP tomorrow, Wednesday, the 23rd, at 4 pm (just before the School Board meeting).  It's billed as "Scrap the MAP; Students are not Test Scores." Also of note, there was another press conference yesterday at Garfield with some updates from teachers. - Noted national educators added their support; Diane Ravitch, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis,...

From the West Seattle Blog: Dear Superintendent Banda, The staff of Schmitz Park, by a unanimous vote, joins in its support of Garfield High and all other schools and individuals around the district that boycott the MAP test. We agree with Garfield’s position about the harmful, ineffective, and wasteful nature of the MAP test and its deleterious impact on instructional time and consequently student achievement. We join SEA in asking you to not discipline our colleagues for standing up and speaking the truth. We also agree with the Sanislo Elementary letter of support, which points out a deep concern around MAP. Apparently, district officials told Garfield staff the test was “not valid” because the margin of error can exceed the expected growth score. Given this information, it seems unthinkable that these scores would be used to determine the “effectiveness” of teachers. The teacher’s collective bargaining agreement allows the use of low scores to impact the pla...

...but they are not boycotting the MAP test.   Their letter to the Superintendent is both alloquent and heartfelt. From the West Seattle blog comes this report about a letter sent to Superintendent Banda from the teachers at Sanislo: We the staff at Sanislo Elementary, by a unanimous vote, write to express our support for Garfield High School’s decision to not administer the MAP test. We share many of their same concerns, including the impact on a struggling student’s esteem and the lack of usability of the results when given the current text adoptions. We similarly decry the loss of instructional time, the loss of computer lab access and the loss of instructional assistants who are used as test proctors, in addition to the financial costs of the subscription itself and the tech support for implementing it. Garfield and all high school teachers find themselves in a Kafkaesque situation in which their employment (including career ladder and terminati...

From Dexter Tang, President of the Seattle Schools Student Senate from their meeting at Ingraham High School: The Seattle Student Senate, the main student advocacy organization of Seattle Public Schools, supports the opposition to the MAP test.   The MAP test inefficiently uses district resources and consumes valuable instruction time.  We support alternative methods of student evaluation.  We encourage the district o explore alternative methods of assessing student academic achievement that are efficient and align with the classroom curriculum.  Furthermore, representatives of the Seattle Student Senate would like to participate in the selection process of a new alternative assessment.

Some pretty funny (and not surprising) public education items in the news. First up in the category of " well, that didn't take long ", the Washington Policy Center opines on Senator Ross Hunter's idea that the state should take over failing schools.  (This is a similar idea to what happens in many other states - the schools become "turnaround" schools.)  Lawmakers should remove the cap that limits the number of charter schools that can open to only eight a year, up to a total of 40. We don't even have ONE charter and they want the limit raised.  Unbelievable. They do use the thought that Charlie had: Removing the cap would benefit all children, because just the possibility of a parent takeover would motivate school officials to improve services for children before that option arises. That, in turn, would give parents the leverage they need to seek positive change in education. Imagine this message from parents, “Give our kids the educ...

Superintendent Banda has come out with the district's response to the Garfield teachers' ringing rejection of giving the MAP test.   Basically, it's "we're going to talk about issue this spring; you must continue giving the test now."  Before the issue was raised by our teachers at Garfield High School, the School Board had already asked for a thorough review of our how we assess student learning, including MAP testing.  During an annual report to the Board on Nov. 28, it was agreed that the District would review the effectiveness of MAP testing. We plan to report back to the Board this spring.  Starting in February, I will invite principals and teachers to be part of a formal process to review the MAP test and make recommendations for assessing student learning in Seattle Public Schools. This is the appropriate venue to share concerns and to have an in-depth discussion about the test. We will work together to find the best way to move ...

Just back from the well-attended press conference.  To note, educator Diane Ravitch has already blogged about this action and added her support. First up, the district response (partial):  Seattle Public Schools expects our teachers to administer all required tests, pursuant to our policies and procedures. Last fall, during an annual report to the Board on Nov. 28, it was agreed that the District would review the effectiveness of MAP testing. We look forward to hearing from our principals and teachers as part of that process. A report back to the Board is expected to be presented in the spring.   This response seems to indicate the district wants the teachers to continue giving the test BUT that MAP is going to be reviewed with a report to the Board by spring.  Good news.   We are now in the 5th year of MAP and it would seem a review would be in order. The press conference was held with at least 25 Garfield teachers and staff in atte...

In what is a major step, the teachers of Garfield High School will be holding a press conference today to announce they will not give the MAP test.  From the press release: The teachers contend that it wastes time, money, and precious school resources.              “Our teachers have come together and agree that the MAP test is not good for our students, nor is it an appropriate or useful tool in measuring progress,” says Kris McBride, who serves as Academic Dean and Testing Coordinator at Garfield.   “Additionally, students don’t take it seriously.   It produces specious results, and wreaks havoc on limited school resources during the weeks and weeks the test is administered.” Refusing to administer a district-mandated test is not a decision the school’s teachers made casually, or without serious internal discussion.             “Those of ...

From the Washington Post's The Answer Sheet, an article about D.C.'s county superintendent calling on President Obama and Secretary Duncan to call a moratorium on standardized testing. He also said it was wrong to evaluate teachers based on the scores their students get on standardized tests because the method that is is based on “bad science.” He noted that he had previously worked in the New York City Department of Education, the nation’s largest school system, where was director of school performance and accountability. It became clear, he said, that the formulas used to assess a teacher’s value with the use of test scores had huge margins of error, as much as 55 points. In fact, he said that a good way to create assessments for Common Core-aligned curriculum would be to crowd-source the development and let teachers design them rather than have corporations do it. He criticized policies that help make public education   “a private commodity.” An op-ed fr...

Well, look who's opting out of standardized tests ?  Parents in NYC.  It's detailed here from the NY Times. Ms. Chajet is one of a small but growing number of parent activists in New York City opposed to the system’s emphasis on high-stakes testing. Many of them took part in a boycott of the field tests in June, when parents at 47 public elementary and middle schools of the 1,029 tested had their children sit them out. In their eyes, it was a win-win situation: Children who skipped the field tests did not risk punitive action or potential harm to their school’s grade on the city’s progress reports, while their parents could make a statement against the tests.  Change the Stakes, which has members in northern Manhattan, said it mailed outreach packets last week to each New York City school being tested. In the packet are informational materials in English and Spanish, including a form that parents can sign and deliver to their principal indicating their intention to op...

If ever there was a reason to pull a stop on standardized testing mania, it's this story. The Hare and the Pineapple. Yes, apparently in NYC's 8th grade standardized test there was a reading section, based on a story by Daniel Pinkwater, the children's author, about a hare and a pineapple having a race, based on The Tortoise and the Hare.  (The story was altered from Mr. Pinkwater's original according to Mr. Pinkwater.) So the Pineapple challenges the Hare to a race and as all the other animals are standing around, the Crow says the Pineapple has something up his sleeve because the Pineapple can't move.  (It is also pointed out that pineapples don't have sleeves.) So when Hare arrives and takes off, they are confounded but then the Hare finishes the race and everyone cheers and eats the Pineapple.  The End. What? Naturally, if you are an 8th grader who can actually READ, you may have a problem figuring out the moral of the story. The Education Comm...

From SPS Communications: Families and parents will have a chance to talk with Seattle Public Schools staff on April 4 about the 2011 "re-norming" of their children's Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test – as well other questions related to MAP testing. The meeting will be held 5-6 p.m., in Room 2700 at the John Stanford Center. SPS staff, including Mark Teoh from Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (REA) and Bob Vaughan from Advanced Learning, will be joined by John Cronin from the Northwest Evaluation Association (the makers of the MAP assessment). The meeting will take place prior to the School Board meeting. For questions about this event, please contact the REA department at research@seattleschools.org . Family and Parent meeting on MAP testing Wednesday, April 4 from 5-6 p.m. Room 2700 John Stanford Center 2445 3rd Ave. S. Seattle, WA 98134

From AP via Seattle PI online: Former Atlanta schools Superintendent Beverly Hall knew about cheating allegations on standardized tests but either ignored them or tried to hide them, according to a state investigation. An 800-page report released Tuesday to The Associated Press by Gov. Nathan Deal 's office through an open records request shows several educators reported cheating in their schools. But the report says Hall, who won the national Superintendent of the Year award in 2009, and other administrators ignored those reports and sometimes retaliated against the whistleblowers. The yearlong investigation shows educators at nearly four dozen Atlanta elementary and middle schools cheated on standardized tests by helping students or changing the answers once exams were handed in. The investigators also found a " culture of fear, intimidation and retaliation " in the school district over the cheating allegations, which led to educators lying abou...

Only one Director community meeting this Saturday .  That would be with Betty Patu from 10am-noon at Tully's, 4400 Rainier Avenue South.

Following up on the reports of President Obama's remarks about standardized test comes an article in the NY Times about what some bloggers wrote and the White House reaction.

I attended the forum on standardized testing on Monday night at Thornton Creek Elementary.  There were about 40 people there including parents and teachers.  I sure wish more people had attended as it was a great discussion.  I wish someone from the district could have been there to see that this is how you have a public discussion.  Kudos and thanks to Chris Stewart for putting this on (and her speakers as well).

Monday Parent Perspectives on Standardized Testing forum , Thornton Creek Elementary from 6-8 p.m. McDonald meeting for families who don't want foreign language immersion from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln library.   (Note; this is not a district-wide meeting and is only about McDonald but it might be interesting to hear what is said.)     Wednesday Board Work Session on Capacity Management from 4:00-5:30 p.m. School Board meeting from 6-9 p.m.   Call first thing Monday morning if you want to speak (252-0040) or boardagenda@seattleschools.org.  (I note that President Sundquist did say at the last Board meeting that you should be speaking on the topic you signed up for your slot.  I always try to do so but then I include other items.  The speakers list has not been full lately so I don't see this as a major issue.)

Parent Chris Stewart has organized an evening for parents to discuss standardized testing.  With the changes in the state test and the newness of MAP testing, it is a good time to talk about the issues.   Issues to explain: parent education goals of testing benefits of testing costs of testing parental rights national perspective Issues for feedback: are these the best way to meet the district's academic goals? what you might like to see in SPS ideas on testing frequency for different age groups She will have different speakers on the issues speaking about 10 minutes each and then an hour for discussion with the entire group (no breakout groups).  (Note; there is not going to be discussion of testing for the Advanced Learning program.) The meeting is Monday, April 4th at Thornton Creek Elementary, from 6-8 p.m.  

This isn't really what Dick Lilly over at Crosscut said but it's what went thru my mind reading his recent article .  Here's his premise about "closing the achievement gap": Among the results of this frustratingly persistent problem is a vast, energetic industry of school reform, headlined in recent years by the involvement of powerful private foundations and the policy directives of the federal government: “No Child Left Behind” in the “Race to the Top.” Over the years, a variety of structural changes have been proposed and, to one degree or another, tried: small schools, mayoral governance, charter schools, (more) intensive professional development for teachers, (more) leadership training for principals. Testing and more testing, along with the loss of federal funds and wholesale staff changes when schools have failed to improve scores (many states dumbed down their tests to avoid the consequences). And lately, paying teachers based on student test r...