Standardized testing is set to commence in schools and districts across the state of Louisiana.
What does this mean regarding the now-common misuse of scores for grading teachers and schools and for student placement decisions?
Some answers can be found in two pieces of legislation passed in the Louisiana legislature’s 2020 Special Extraordinary Session (September 28, 2020 to October 23, 2020): Act 53 and Act 47. However, some of those “some answers” are better defined than others.
Below is the heart of Act 53:
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the2020-2021 school year, the board (Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE) shall examine the results from student assessments and school-level test data but shall not use such assessments and data for purposes of evaluating teacher performance or making placement decisions for fourth and eighth grade students.
And lest anyone should miss the “shall not use assessments and data for purposes of evaluating teacher performance,” language is included specific to VAM (so-called “value-added” modeling) (and subsequently repeated in the section pertaining to charter school employees):
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the 2020-2021 school year, value-added data shall not be used to evaluate teacher performance or effectiveness.
As for the grading of schools and districts using test scores from 2020-21, the CONTINUE READING: Louisiana Standardized Testing 2020-21: Maybe We Grade Your School, Maybe Not. | deutsch29: Mercedes Schneider's Blog
