Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell.
The role of public schools today. Behavioral observation and tracking.
Anne previously wrote about permission requested from parents for their children to be subjects of a Pearson Research Project for Behavior Assessments. Read about it here: Is Pearson Using Your Child For Research?
This letter came home to a parent in Saline County this week. It seeks parental permission to have their children be the subjects of a Pearson research project for their Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC). The letter says that this survey is looking at “student behavior,” that teachers will be using the “Teacher Rating Scale” survey to observe the child, and the big win for the school is that they will have the “opportunity” to earn iPads for “some” classrooms.
Let’s break this down.
1. Teachers and students are being asked to be free labor for an international for profit company. Sure they say they will give the school “some” iPads, but as far as the parents know that could be 1 or 2 that will not necessarily benefit their child directly. In fact, from the Pearson letter to parents, the only educational benefit to their child is that the school can get mentioned in the manual for this for profit product and that the school as a whole could get included in the “national norms.” Hardly a measurable benefit for a child’s education. The teacher’s time is purely gratis.
And what is this product for which your school’s name could be in the manual? The BASC is, according to one website, “a useful tool that teachers or parents may choose to implement to monitor the progress and behavior patterns of young minds.”
2. Ok, but what are those behavior patterns they are looking for? They include your child’s focus, intellectual and interest levels, how your child relates to others in a social setting. Teachers are looking for emotional triggers such as anxiety, anger and hyper-Pearson’s Behavioral Assessments for Students. Welcome to School Hell. | Missouri Education Watchdog: