The Seattle Education Association calls to suspend the SBAC
I’ve been asked where the Seattle teachers’ union, the Seattle Education Association (SEA), stands on issues that I write about.
Well, they took a stand on the SBAC.
This resolution was passed on March 9, 2015.
Whereas in order for a standardized test to give meaningful information, it must first be administered to a normed sample group and proven to have reliability and validity; and in 2014-2015 reliability and validity of scores for the Smart Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test have not yet been established; yet Washington is planning to use the results as a baseline in their state accountability systems; and,
Whereas a statement on the SBAC website in Olympia, WA in November 2014 indicates that the SBAC is designed so that almost 7 in 10 eighth graders, and 6 in 10 third graders, are expected to fail to reach the arbitrary “goal” set by the test-makers; and,
Whereas the 2014 WEA Representative Assembly and the NEA RA passed six action items relating to objections to the use of standardized testing; and,
Whereas Seattle’s Nathan Hale High School Senate, made up of faculty, parents, administration, and students, recently announced that they had decided not to administer the SBAC to their juniors this spring for reasons including: the test will not benefit the juniors, it is not valid assessment strategy, it will produce unreliable outcomes, and it is not required for graduation; and,
Whereas at the Oregon Education Association Representative Assembly (OEA-RA), members of the Oregon Education Association (OEA) passed a resolution in April 2014 calling for a moratorium on the SBAC; and,
Whereas the Portland Teachers Association representative assembly recently passed a resolution calling for their members to speak out about the excessive time they spend on testing and preparing for tests, and to become involved with parent groups to educate the public about opting out; and,
Whereas the Obama Administration awarded PARCC and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) a combined $360 million to develop the new standardized tests aligned to the CCSS instead of dedicating said funds to provide the The Seattle Education Association calls to suspend the SBAC | Seattle Education: