CURMUDGUCATION: Test Scoring Monkeys

CURMUDGUCATION: Test Scoring Monkeys:

Test Scoring Monkeys

It's been less than a month since Motoko Rich traveled to San Antonio to hear a Pearson test scoring supervisor explain that scoring the tests is like making a Big Mac. Now Claudio Sanchez has made the same journey for NPR, and the results are no more flattering for Pearson than those from Rich's jaunt.


The center uses scorers from many walks of life, though a four-year degree is required. What is not required is any sort of opinion about the quality of the questions.  


David Connerty-Marin, a spokesman for PARCC, says it's not up to a scorer or Pearson or PARCC to say, "Gee, we think this is too hard for a fourth-grader."

What is or is not developmentally appropriate, he says, is not an issue because the states have already made that decision based on the Common Core Standards.

One of these rainy summer days, I'll spend some time running up and down the internet and see if I can find, somewhere in the great chain of standards and testing, the person who says, "Me, I'm the one. I'm the guy who decides that this test item is appropriate for an eight year old." But until the day comes, we're stuck with test manufacturers who say, "Well, we just follow what the state tells us" and states that say, "Well, we lean on the professionals to design these things" and a whole bunch of people who point and shrug and say, "Well, you know, the standards" as if the standards were dropped down from heaven on the back of a golden cloud that deposited them on top of a burning bush.

The article's description of the scoring process reveals for the gazillionth time that the constructed CURMUDGUCATION: Test Scoring Monkeys:

ICYMI: Top Eduposts of the Week (7/12)

Once again, here's some choice bits from around the edublogosphere that you should catch this week. I"m not perfect and this isn't every single thing you should read, but these are definitely pieces you should not miss.

Charter Schools Are Mired in Fraud and Failure

Paul Buchheit at Alternet takes a look at what's not to love about charter schools. This is a well-sourced compendium of many of the things we know are wrong. You might not find anything here you didn't already know, but it's a good source for finding it all in one place.

The Disturbing Forces Behind a School "Reform" Fight in Colorado


Jeff Bryant takes a closer look at the ongoing mess in Colorado, where Jefferson and Douglas County have both attracted the attention and money of reformsters from outside the area. This is the same fight featured in the film Education, Inc, and well worth studying up on. This is the blueprint for how outsiders take over a local district, and Bryant is, as always, thorough.

Testimony Regarding PARCC/MAS

Tracy Novick's testimony about choosing between the PARCC and Massachusetts' home-grown test (Novick picks None of the Above). A quick concise argument about what's wrong with the high stakes standardized testing regime.

False Sense of Security

This story leads off with the story of a student who found himself dealing with police twice-- just because he forgot his school id badge. A look at more effective approaches to school security.

Washington Post writes the most embarrassing, awful profile of Arne Duncan ever, completely misses the point 

Lyndsey Layton took some flak this week for her profile of Arne Duncan, but nobody laid down the flak more precisely and thoroughly than Jeff Bryant at Salon with this too-long-for-twitter title.


Kansas Is Becoming a Hard Place To Teach, So Teachers Are Crossing the State Line

A Wichita public radio station notices that Kansas's anti-public ed policies are starting to drive teachers away. Complete with pics of the recruiting billboards Missouri is putting up in Kansas to poach teachers. 

And finally, two pieces from Jersey Jazzman that you should not miss.

Chris Cerf's Victory Lap is a reminder that a 100% charter district is probably not the end game for privatizers. Firing Black, Experienced Teachers in Camden lays out once again, with data, how reformster programs often have a disproportionate effect on non-white teachers.