Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update :  another Denny parent let me know there was no separate Denny opt-out form.  What appears to have happened is that only students who took the SBAC  and completed a "Denny Way"form got to go the school carnival.  The form was given ONLY to students who took the SBAC. So for the students who didn't take the SBAC, they were "empowering" students by having them write "appeals" to go to the carnival.   I don't know how many students who opted out got to attend the carnival  based on appeal. end of update A Denny parent let me know that their opt-out info from Denny had a tiny notation at the bottom about if a student opts out of the SBAC, he/she might not get to do some activities. That apparently has now taken the form of the principal, Jeff Clark, not allowing students who opted-out to attend a school festival that was held last Friday. I'm thinking some people would find that punitive and unfair but that's just me. I...

State Superintendent Randy Dorn appears to be quite upset about the opting out of the SBAC in Seattle high schools.  So much so that the Times granted him an op-ed to write about SBAC where he says "few 11th graders are grappling with refusal to take the test..."   That would be almost a thousand juniors opting out of testing in the largest school district in the state.  That's not "a few" student "grappling" with anything. Then the Times has a new story updating how many more SPS juniors have opted out.

Update:  a third view from a NY parent: “ Whatever test, the results need to be teacher, student and parent friendly. They should impact instruction and be understandable for parents and students,” Salazar added. “It should be like a cholesterol test, most of us don’t know the science but we do understand the results.” end of update One view comes from two Long Island superintendents with Long Island being the epicenter of opt-outs in NY state.  It is thoughtful and cogent.  From the Suffolk Times Review : At first glance, the current, heated, conflict over state testing and the “opt-out” movement appears to be a dispute between those who believe in and those who dispute the value of state tests. But this conflict goes deeper. It is a conflict about what is good for children and adolescents, about how children learn and thrive, and about how to raise young people to enter into and contribute to their communities as mature members of a democratic socie...

From Chalkbeat New York :   U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Tuesday that the federal government is obligated to intervene if states fail to address the rising number of students who are boycotting mandated annual exams .   “We think most states will do that,” Duncan said during a discussion at the Education Writers Association conference in Chicago. “If states don’t do that, then we have an obligation to step in.” Federal law requires all students in grades three to eight to take annual tests, and officials have said districts could face sanctions if fewer than 95 percent of students participate.  And yet he also said this: Duncan also said that students in some states are tested too much, and acknowledged that the exams are challenging for many students. But he argued that annual standardized exams are essential for tracking student progress and monitoring the score gap between different student groups.  He seemed to also forget that for...

Considering it?  You can still opt your child out of part of the SBAC testing.  I honestly believe two things. One, the feds will not be able to come in and punish districts/schools for the decisions of parents.  In fact, I think that states might consider suing the feds over it and boy, would that make for an interesting Supreme Court case.  (To note, the Court has sided with parents on several of these types of cases.) Two, change on comes when people of good faith stand together.  There is no "done deal" to all of this.  Parents - and taxpayers - have the right to ask hard questions about the teaching and learning being done and how the dollars are being spent  in the name of accountability.  I'm not sure anyone can say this is the only/best way to that accountability. As of 4/20/15, in New York, 177,249 students have already been opted out of the Common Core test. Update: Want to hear more about opting out? Seattle Opt Out Grou...

Time magazine has this new article : Thousands of kids opt out of standardized Common Core tests across the U.S. This “opt-out” movement remains scattered but is growing fast in some parts of the country. Some superintendents in New York are reporting that 60 percent or even 70 percent of their students are refusing to sit for the exams. Some lawmakers, sensing a tipping point, are backing the parents and teachers who complain about standardized testing. Considerable resistance also has been reported in Maine, New Mexico, Oregon and Pennsylvania, and more is likely as many states administer the tests in public schools for the first time this spring. In California, home to the nation’s largest public school system and Democratic political leaders who strongly endorse Common Core standards, there have been no reports of widespread protests to the exams — perhaps because state officials have decided not to hold schools accountable for the first year’s results.  Downsid...

Seattle Schools has now finished just one part of the state testing cycle.  According to the schedule at OPSI, the 3rd grade reading is done.  That leaves plenty more to do before the June 15th cutoff date.  (I'm thinking the district will be done a lot sooner than that.) CPPS and the Equity in Education Coalition are having an "informative community conversation on the Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessments" on April 27th at the African American Museum.  It includes Eric Anderson, the head of assessment for SPS.  The panel also includes two people from OSPI, a teacher from Kent and someone from the Office of Education. But this appears to be by invitation only, sorry. The invitation ends by saying: We hope this will be an ongoing dialogue and the first of many community conversations on Common Core and the Smarter Balanced Assessments. It's great that CPPS and the Equity in Education Coalition are trying to create an o...

April 9, 2015 Garfield High School Seattle, WA WE THE STUDENTS OF GARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, are leading a movement in protest of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC.) Here are several reasons why we oppose the SBAC and its consequences.  The SBAC is unnecessary and not required for graduation if a student has passed the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE.) Data from initial SBAC testing indicate that only 30 to 35 percent of students are expected to pass. This is setting up 70 percent of our students for failure and will lead to increased student anxiety and a decrease in student morale. Students who choose not to opt-out of taking the SBAC will miss two full days of valuable class time to take the reading and math portions of the SBAC. This interferes with preparation for final exams and Advanced Placement exams.  All of our computers will be unavailable to students and teachers during the week of SBAC testing because the assessment is administered on compu...

I checked with SPS Communications - all SPS schools are giving the SBAC.   There ARE some schools - for different reasons - that are postponing/suspending the testing to some other point during the two-weeks. I was told a postponement could be, for example, for a high number of ill students in a single day or technical difficulties but it appears it means that there are a high number of opt-outs and they may be trying to contain that. They do report a high number of opt-outs in high schools especially for 11th graders.  I think this makes sense because high school kids are likely to have heard about opting out from multiple venues, and know how to get it done. I could not find any info at SBAC on postponements.  Update: KPLU is reporting at least 150 students are opting out of SBAC at Garfield.  Maybe we should have a contest for the school that has the most opt-outs.  (I'll front the ice cream or candy bars.)

By a vote of 48 to 1, Ingraham staff passed the following resolution: A RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL OF THE SMARTER BALANCED ASSESSMENT WHEREAS Ingraham High Schoo l strives to provide an excellent education to every student; WHEREAS the Smarter Balanced Assessment is not required for graduation; WHEREAS this computer-based assessment will take approximately eight hours for each 11th grader to complete and its confusing format is unlike anything students will experience outside the testing environment; WHEREAS there are not enough computers to test the students in a reasonable amount of time and it is unacceptable for computers to be unavailable to non-testing students for such a long period of time; WHEREAS the failure rate of the assessment is going to be extraordinarily high (possibly 60%) for the general population and even higher for students of color, ELL students, and students on individualized education plans; WHEREAS student performance on this test will in no w...

I asked the district: Is it true that opting out your kids can get them removed from the Spectrum/APP seats? The answer, via Advanced Learning, was a flat "no."   So if your teacher/principal is saying this, tell them you checked with the district.   If you continue to hear this, I would write to your region's Executive Director because it is wrong to give out misinformation about SBAC testing. Nationally, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, endorsing opting out (at least in her home state of New York).  Her statement yesterday via Twitter, We believe parents have right to opt-out & tchrs shld be able to advise parents how. We’ve said it repeatedly, are fighting for it in ESEA. @lacetothetop et al have asked what I’d do if I had kids in NYPS—based on what I’ve seen, if I had kids, I’d opt them out of the PEARSON (PAARC) tests this yr. I may have put this up before but I think it worthy of a repeat: it's the ...

I titled this thread "Early Warning" because I believe we are starting to see the signs of some major upheaval. First, I'd like to just take a pulse about opting out.   If you feel comfortable, could you comment if you are opting your child(ren) out of the SBAC and at what school (or, if not the school, the region - NE, NW, Central, WS, SW or SE)?  You don't have to give grade level, gender or names, of course.   As well, let us know if this is a source of open discussion or quiet discussion and if you are getting pushback from staff. Next, I believe the Charter Commission will be releasing a statement soon - probably in the next couple of days - that they will either be suspending First Place Scholars ' charter or closing it down entirely.  This will be sad but my impression is that the new Board/Director at First Place have not been able to meet the requirements set out by the Charter Commission when FP was placed on probation.  Lastly, below is ...

Opt-out information in Spanish (thanks to a Spanish-speaking parent).   Please share with others.

Join a discussion with southeast Seattle families and teachers Standardized Testing and “Opting Out”:  What are the impacts on our region’s diverse schools and students? Wednesday, March 25, 6:00-7:30 pm   Hillman City Collaboratory 5623 Rainier Avenue South Seattle, WA  Seattle 98118 Sponsored by parents from Dearborn Park, Hawthorne, Orca, Leschi, John Muir, Graham Hill, Concord and Beacon Hill Elementary Schools;  Families of Color Seattle ;  and  Seattle Opt Out Group

 Update: a student "oath" from Louisiana from last year's testing: End of update Update: Via news updates , this is what the student did: Apparently, the student had just commented on the question after taking the test, and deleted his tweet after being contacted by the district. So commenting on a test score via social media will get your child on Pearson's naughty list.  What a bunch of bullies.  (You should read the whole article but here's a bit of it.) In addition, Pearson/PARCC has access to if a student is using testing modifications, along with their names, unique identifier numbers, etc. Beyond sensitive student information, Pearson also collects everything a student types into the keyboard during the test including words or sentences that were typed and then deleted. Pearson knows whether or not the student views a test item, how long it takes him/her to answer a specific question, and it tracks the student's clicks as he/she na...

 From the Seattle Opt Out Group: Seattle Opt Out Group's next meeting, with two dynamic speakers, Jesse Hagopian and Fred Hamel. We will discuss high stakes testing, what is happening in Seattle, how to refuse the tests (and why), and much more. Everyone is welcome! March 12 (Thursday) Southwest Library 6pm-7:45pm event info (and more) our Facebook page

The district sent out this robocall today about SBAC assessments.  They pack a lot into a short bit. (Yes, they probably used the word "assessments" probably because "testing" has a bad ring to it.) They also say " the state requires assessments ..." when REALLY what they should say is that "the state requires the DISTRICT to give assessments"- not that all students have to take them.  But maybe that's more information than the district wants parents to know.

 Update:  I heard from one staff person who challenges some of the statements by Nyland: Nyland:  This year, the state is replacing the MSP/HSPE assessments with a new assessment called Smarter Balanced, which is aligned to our new College and Career Readiness Standards (Common Core). Staffer: The Smarter Balanced Assessments are NOT replacements for the MSP/HSPE. The HSPE was only required once in High School, at the 10th grade, and only in literacy. The Smarter Balanced Assessments are for more subjects and in more grades. The claim that the Smarter Balanced Assessments are a replacement is ill-informed at best and an intentional deception at worst.  Nyland: A s a tool for educators, Smarter Balanced Assessments are an improvement.  They are designed to better measure student growth from year to year.  They are adaptive to students' skill level and will adjust questions (easier/harder) based upon previous answers, an approach that...

Directors Patu and Peters are offering a motion tomorrow night at their Board meeting to suspend Smarter Balanced testing. I support this motion if only for discussion purposes. I absolutely concur that on a technical level, I do not believe most third-graders are ready for this kind of testing on a computer.  I think it has a degree of motor skill AND computer skills that many third-graders are unlikely to have.  And, if your household does not have a computer, even more so. It's tentative because they have to get four votes to support it going forward to committee and then coming back to the full Board for a vote. * PLEASE, write to the Board and ask that they vote for this motion if ONLY to have a real discussion.  Please put SBAC in your subject line.

The district has quite a bit of information for parents on the new Smarter Balanced testing on this page . It's great that the district has put up this information (I'm not sure how long it has been up - I saw this on Facebook via a reader).  But, there's a lot of ed lingo in there and I really wonder many parents will truly understand it all.   There is also a lot of language that is somewhat but not totally true. For example: