Please share this testing survey with 5th-6th grade parents/students Parents United for Responsible Education

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Please share this testing survey with 5th-6th grade parents/students

PLEASE SHARE THIS IMPORTANT SURVEY WITH CPS 5th and 6th grade PARENTS AND STUDENTS!

Deadline April 23.

Dear Parent or Guardian,

I am conducting a research study entitled “High-Stakes Testing: The Student Voice” with 5th and 6th grade student in the Chicago Area. We are interested in examining the student perspective of high-stakes standardized tests. Ultimately, my hope is to learn if students feel that high-stakes testing affects them emotionally or academically. We are requesting that you allow your child to participate.

Participants in the study will be asked to complete an online survey which consists of 45 questions. Afterwards, 10-25% of the students will be selected to participate in a one-on-one interview. The total time to participate in the study will be approximately two hours. Students who participate will complete the survey online.

There are no foreseeable risks to participating in the study.

Names will be used in filling out the study’s forms, but all responses will be anonymous. No one at the school will have access to any of the information collected. Surveys will be kept on Loyola University server and will be accessible only to the researchers.

Participation in the study is entirely voluntary and there will be no penalty for not participating. All students for whom we have parent consent will be asked if they wish to participate and only those who agree will complete the forms. Moreover, participants will be free to stop taking part in the study at any time.

Loyola University Chicago’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) has approved this study. Should you have any questions about the study please contact Dr. Noah Sobe at (312) 915-6954 or, if you have questions about your rights as a research participant, you can contact the Loyola University Office of Research Services at (773) 508-2689.

Confidentiality will be maintained to the degree permitted by the technology used. Your participation in this online survey involves risks similar to a person’s everyday use of the Internet.

Please print this letter for your records.

Sincerely,
Julianna Cechowski
Culture of Education and Policy Studies
Loyola University Chicago

- See more at: http://pureparents.org/?p=21218#sthash.uwpMr1M9.dpuf

 

Mark as junk?

OK. So, do I mark this as junk or spam? Paul warns us that under Bruce Rauner: 13,000 teachers will lose their jobs. Communities will be forced to decide between hiking their property taxes and closing their schools. We will have a weakened school system. And this is different from your slash-and-burn approach to school reform how??

9 by admin / 1h 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: My memo to Sheldon Adelson

Schooling in the Ownership Society: My memo to Sheldon Adelson:

My memo to Sheldon Adelson

The wing-nut billionaire is in the market for a few good Republican pols. I guess his stable is running low on horses. He's got a few old nags but no winners in his gold-plated paddock. So when they read his want ads, GOPers sprinted as fast as their hooves would carry them, out to Vegas to kiss Adelson's ass ring.

On the outside is Romney running neck and neck with Jeb Bush. Chris Christie is wheezing as he rounds the turn. Then there's Rand Paul and the guy from Wisconsin (whatshisname?) bringing up the rear.

And the winner is --- oops, there ain't no winner.

“I don’t want to spend millions on another loser,” said Adelson, who purchased both Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in 2012. The casino magnate was scathing in his assessment of the candidates he declined to buy, calling them “a third-rate grab bag of has-beens and dimwits.” -- Borowitz

Forbes reports that in the two days since he hosted the Republican Jewish Coalition’s meeting with all these losers and ne'er-do-wells, at his Venetian Resort and Hotel,  Adelson personally made $2.1 billion — 21 times the $100 million he reported giving away during the 2012 presidential election. So he can easily afford to buy a potential winner. So I decided to drop Adelson a line and offer some suggestions.

Here's my memo to Sheldon: 

Mr. Adelson (or may I call you Sheldon?),

I sympathize with you in your effort to purchase a potential 2016 GOP winner among this gaggle of cretins and boneheads. Here's my advice to you. Believe me Sheldon, I may be 

Schooling in the Ownership Society: My memo to Sheldon Adelson:

Superintendent Search Survey - Sacramento City Unified School District

Superintendent Search Survey - Sacramento City Unified School District:

Superintendent Search Survey

The Sacramento City Unified School District Governing Board has contracted with Leadership Associates to assist in the recruitment and selection of the District’s next superintendent. This survey will be used to collect input from all stakeholders about the desired characteristics to be used in the selection process.

English Survey

• Click here for online survey
• Download survey

Spanish Survey

• Click here for online survey
• Download survey

Chinese Survey

• Download survey

Hmong Survey

• Download survey

Russian Survey

• Download survey

Vietnamese Survey

• Download survey

Please return hardcopy surveys to Susan Pointer in the Board Office. 

CLIENTS & REFERENCES

---

"Providing the highest quality candidates to meet the needs of your district"

References: Searches Completed or in Progress as of April 2011

Districts with an asterisk have used Leadership Associates more than once due to their satisfaction with our services.

DISTRICT	COUNTY	ADA
Los Angeles County Office of Education	Los Angeles
Sacramento County Office of Education	Sacramento
Santa Clara County Office of Education	Santa Clara
*Elk Grove Unified	Sacramento	53,831
Sacramento City	Sacramento	52,757
Capistrano Unified	Orange	50,000
Corona-Norco Unified	Riverside	50,000
*Clovis Unified	Fresno	38,004
Moreno Valley Unified	Riverside	38,000
Grossmont Union High	San Diego	36,400
*Saddleback Valley Unified	Orange	32,387
Mt. Diablo Unified	Contra Costa	34,316
Modesto City Schools	Stanislaus	34,000
Poway Unified	San Diego	32,433
San Jose Unified	Santa Clara	32,423
*Glendale Unified	Los Angeles	29,992
Bakersfield City Elementary	Kern	27,469
*Irvine Unified	Orange	26,822
Lodi Unified	San Joaquin	26,395
San Ramon Valley Unified	Contra Costa	26,000
*Torrance Unified	Los Angeles	24,912
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	Orange	24,700
Fairfield-Suisun Unified	Solano	24,000
Hayward Unified	Alameda	23,500
Conejo Valley Unified	Ventura	22,400
Downey Unified	Los Angeles	22,000
Oceanside Unified	San Diego	21,075
Pasadena Unified	Los Angeles	21,000
Anaheim City	Orange	19,958
Alhambra City	Los Angeles	19,800
Pajaro Valley	Santa Cruz	19,000
*Hemet Unified	Riverside	18,723
*Escondido Union	San Diego	18,700
Folsom Cordova Unified	Sacramento	18,500
Rowland Unified	Los Angeles	18,000
Chula Vista Elementary	San Diego	17,000
*Burbank Unified	Los Angeles	16,733
Napa Valley Unified	Napa	16,208
*Huntington Beach Joint Union High	Orange	16,162
Panama Buena Vista	Kern	15,792
Murrieta Valley Unified	Riverside	15,303
*Walnut Valley Unified	Los Angeles	15,222
Santa Clara Unified	Santa Clara	14,939
Covina Valley Unified	Los Angeles	14,480
Pleasanton Unified	Alameda	14,106
Fullerton	Orange	13,980
Tracy Joint Unified	San Joaquin	13,529
Upland Unified	San Bernardino	12,775
*San Dieguito Union High	San Diego	12,375
Las Virgenes Unified	Los Angeles	12,000
*Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	Los Angeles	11,723
San Lorenzo Unified	Alameda	11,638
*Merced City Elementary	Merced	11,489
Gilroy Unified	Santa Clara	11,116
Lompoc Unified	Santa Barbara	11,000
Lucia Mar Unified	San Luis Obispo	10,866
Monterey Peninsula Unified	Monterey	10,800
Alameda Unified	Alameda	10,700
San Mateo-Foster City	San Mateo	10,614
West Covina Unified	Los Angeles	10,570
Oak Grove	Santa Clara	10,413
Carlsbad Unified	San Diego	10,000
Palo Alto Unified	Santa Clara	10,000
Franklin-McKinley Elementary	Santa Clara	9,900
Milpitas Unified	Santa Clara	9,802
*South Bay Union Elementary	San Diego	9,755
*Berkeley Unified	Alameda	9,700
South San Francisco Unified	San Mateo	9,321
Ceres Unified	Stanislaus	9,200
San Leandro Unified	Alameda	8,700
San Mateo Union High	San Mateo	8,626
*Los Banos Unified	Merced	8,500
San Mateo Union High	San Mateo	8,478
*Davis Joint Unified	Yolo	8,224
*San Luis Coastal Unified	San Luis Obispo	7,954
Novato Unified	Marin	7,900
*Glendora Unified	Los Angeles	7,876
Brentwood	Contra Costa	7,800
Santa Maria Joint Union High	Santa Barbara	7,746
Campbell Union Elementary	Santa Clara	7,670
Roseville Joint Union High	Placer	7,669
Santa Maria Joint Union High	Santa Barbara	7,608
Sylvan Union Elementary	Stanislaus	7,595
Campbell Union	Santa Clara	7,528
Alta Loma Elementary	San Bernardino	7,500
Lennox	Los Angeles	7,367
Newark Unified	Alameda	7,127
*Claremont Unified	Los Angeles	7,113
Santa Cruz City	Santa Cruz	7,000
Charter Oak Unified	Los Angeles	7,000
Huntington Beach City Elementary	Orange	6,981
El Dorado Union High	El Dorado	6,796
Whittier City	Los Angeles	6,750
Jefferson	San Mateo	6,636
Davis Unified	Yolo	6,500
Roseville Joint Union High	Placer	6,400
*Santee	San Diego	6,273
Buena Park Elementary	Orange	6,169
National	San Diego	6,153
Brea-Olinda Unified	Orange	6,085
Sunnyvale Elementary	Santa Clara	5,806
*Dinuba Unified	Tulare	5,804
Selma Unified	Fresno	5,765
Acalanes Union High	Contra Costa	5,734
*Encinitas Union Elementary	San Diego	5,600
Temple City Unified	Los Angeles	5,588
Los Banos Unified	Merced	5,520
Selma Unified	Fresno	5,500
Benicia	Solano	5,400
Culver City Unified	Los Angeles	5,300
*Beverly Hills Unified	Los Angeles	5,186
Orcutt Union Elementary	Santa Barbara	5,001
City Heights	San Diego	5,000
Sonoma Valley Unified	Sonoma	5,000
Mission Valley ROP	San Diego	5,000
Duarte Unified	Los Angeles	4,708
Placer Union High	Placer	4,700
Eureka City Schools	Humboldt	4,562
Buckeye Union Elementary	El Dorado	4,500
Valley Center-Pauma Unified	San Diego	4,464
Mountain View-Whisman Elementary	Santa Clara	4,409
Coalinga-Huron Joint Unified	Fresno	4,316
Los Altos Elementary	Santa Clara	4,293
Cypress Elementary	Orange	4,200
South Pasadena Unified	Los Angeles	4,200
*Moreland Elementary	Santa Clara	4,135
Santa Paula Elementary	Ventura	3,900
Tamalpais Union High	Marin	3,850
*Goleta Union Elementary	Santa Barbara	3,800
*Ojai Unified	Ventura	3,783
Oak Park Unified	Ventura	3,760
Lowell-Joint Elementary	Los Angeles	3,600
Del Mar Union	San Diego	3,324
San Marino Unified	Los Angeles	3,300
Corcoran-Joint Unified	Kings	3,300
*Cambrian Elementary	Santa Clara	3,085
El Segundo Unified	Los Angeles	3,041
Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High	Santa Clara	3,000
*Los Gatos Union	Santa Clara	2,930
Standard	Kern	2,899
Mountain View-Los Altos Union High	Santa Clara	2,893
Coronado Unified	San Diego	2,861
Rincon Valley-Union Elementary	Sonoma	2,771
Laguna Beach Unified	Orange	2,700
Solana Beach	San Diego	2,700
San Carlos	San Mateo	2,680
Scotts Valley	Santa Cruz	2,566
Menlo Park City	San Mateo	2,532
Orinda Union Elementary	Contra Costa	2,414
Tri Cities ROP	Los Angeles	2,360
Galt Joint Union High	Sacramento	2,292
Mill Valley Elementary	Marin	2,200
Santa Cruz City	Santa Cruz	2,193
Millbrae	San Mateo	2,176
La Puente Valley ROP	Los Angeles	1,980
Golden Valley Unified	Madera	1,928
Chowchilla	Madera	1,900
Ross Valley Elementary	Marin	1,818
Sonora Union High	Tuolumne	1,780
Winters	Yolo	1,739
Lammersville	San Joaquin	1,570
Byron Elementary	Contra Costa	1,475
Edison	Kern	1,139
Santa Ynez Valley Union High	Santa Barbara	1,127
Mammoth Unified	Mono	1,126
Reed Union Elementary	Marin	1,089
Hermosa Beach City Elementary	Los Angeles	1,020
Kentfield	Marin	1,000
Emery Unified	Alameda	975
*Calistoga Unified	Napa	826
Dehesa	San Diego	800
Coast Union	San Luis Obispo	799
Lynwood Unified	Los Angeles	744
Montecito Union Elementary	Santa Barbara	392
Ross Elementary	Marin	383
Burrel Elementary	Fresno	102

Why the Education Reformers Worry about Special Education | Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Why the Education Reformers Worry about Special Education | Nancy Bailey's Education Website:

Why the Education Reformers Worry about Special Education

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Nancy Bailey

Posted on November 12, 2013 with updated changes by Nancy Bailey

I heard someone, a parent or teacher, blurt out at an informal education meeting that education reformers are afraid of special education. I think that person is right. Many of those currently in charge of condemning public schools don’t understand anything about students with disabilities and how they learn.

They must know they are infuriating a lot of parents who have atypical students at both ends of the continuum. In the context of calculating costs and emphasizing student success on test scores, students with disabilities, and gifted and talented students, are a thorn in the reformers side as they try to sell off America’s public schools.

For years special ed. programs were not funded as fully as they should have been especially in poor schools. Teachers struggled to address the needs of students in self-contained classrooms without much support. I remember being told that because I had a master’s degree in special education I would be allotted fewer resources. I received $30.00 fo

NYC Public School Parents: Liz Phillips, Brooklyn principal: I have never seen a worse ELA exam. Other principals agree.

NYC Public School Parents: Liz Phillips, Brooklyn principal: I have never seen a worse ELA exam. Other principals agree.:

Liz Phillips, Brooklyn principal: I have never seen a worse ELA exam. Other principals agree.

See below comment from Liz Phillips, principal of PS 321 in Brooklyn, who was scathing about the 2012 exam as well, last year's exam but says this one was as bad or worse.  One would think with all the controversy and parents opting out,  NYSED & Pearson would be more careful to construct a better set of exams.  But perhaps they are simply incapable of doing so.

PS 321 PARENTS--Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th  graders have just completed three days  of the New York State English  Language Arts Exam.   Your  children were wonderful and worked incredibly hard.  On the whole, we think that we were able to protect them from the worst stresses of the test,  and most seemed fine during most of the exam.   However, the teachers and administration are truly devastated by what a terrible test it was and how little it will tell us about our students.   

Because we are bound by test security, we cannot reveal details but we can tell you that we have never seen an ELA exam that does a worse job of testing reading comprehension.   There was inappropriate content, many highly ambiguous questions, and a focus on structure rather than meaning of passages.   Our teachers and administrators feel that this test is an insult to the profession of teaching and that students’ scores on it will not correlate with their reading ability.  

 Because of this, the staff has decided to hold a protest outside of school TOMORROW, FRIDAY, APRIL 4, FROM 8:15-8:35 to express their extreme dissatisfaction with the ELA exam.  Parents are invited to join the staff before going into classrooms for Family Friday.  

____

Liz Phillips is not alone.  Here is another principal, commenting on the Testing Talk website: 

Day 3 of the Common Core NYS ELA is absurd. The third grade test includes an excerpt from a book that, according to Scholastic, is written at a Grade Level Equivalent of 5.2. Its Lexile Measure is 650L, and it’s categorized as a Level X Guided Reading selection. Yet, it appears on a test that has been written for third grade students.

Day 3 of the Common Core NYS ELA is incongruous with Common Core Learning Standards. The same third grade test asks students to identify how specific paragraphs support the organizational structure of a selected piece of literature. The Reading Standards for Literature in Grade 3, with respect to Craft and Structure,  NYC Public School Parents: Liz Phillips, Brooklyn principal: I have never seen a worse ELA exam. Other principals agree.:

Lois Weiner at Denver Opt Out conference - Substance News

Lois Weiner at Denver Opt Out conference - Substance News:

Lois Weiner keynotes United Opt Out in Denver with historical perspective on corporate attack on public schools... 'Merrill Lynch, April 2009, described schools as retail outlets with the school board being the customer service department...'

Kati Gilson - April 03, 2014

Lois Weiner, Professor of New Jersey City University and author of The Future of Our Schools: Teachers Unions and Social Justice, spoke on day one of the National Opt Out Conference in Denver. She opened her speech by telling the crowd “You are not alone in this fight”. She wrote the book for parents and teachers to understand what is happening in education. “What I’ve learned since Future of Our Schools was published is what I’m here to talk about today.”

Historian Lois Weiner addressing the United Opt Out convention in Denver on March 30, 2014. Substance photo by Kati Gilson.Weiner talked about transforming unions with parents and students and how “we must face the history that brought us to the present”. She talked about the rhetoric of making schools more equal. “To push back we must be honest that no golden age in public education ever existed. Teachers and unions did not create the issues but allowed it to happen”. This kind of talk often makes white people uncomfortable.

In 2005, Weiner met with a small group of International researchers. The World Report, hidden in a lengthy World Report document, talked about teachers and unions being the problem. The 2002 World Development Report talked about making schools for poor people. NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was a reiteration of this project. Merrill Lynch, April 2009, described schools as retail outlets with the school board being the customer service department. Net Flex began talking about charter schools. This came out of the political assumption that the free market requires workers in every country to compete for jobs.

Most new jobs today are in the service sector. These are low wage jobs that only require an 8th grade education. Workers need to be educated about the need for a college education. Therefore, the money used to educate workers was beyond the  Lois Weiner at Denver Opt Out conference - Substance News:

NYC Educator: For Most Improved Union Leader--Richard Iannuzzi

NYC Educator: For Most Improved Union Leader--Richard Iannuzzi:

For Most Improved Union Leader--Richard Iannuzzi

I've been reading and hearing a lot about the "Iannuzzi APPR." To me, that's remarkable. Here in NYC, Michael Mulgrew couldn't wait to claim it. It was the best thing since sliced bread, said UFT leadership. I didn't believe it at all. Diane Ravitch has consistently said VAM is junk science, and to me, the optimal measure of junk science in my evaluation ought to be zero.

Though both Iannuzzi and Mulgrew said this was a great thing because there was so much to be negotiated, I wondered about that. After all, having watched years pass without a contract, not to mention the one in 2005 that crippled seniority rights, I had a lot of reason for skepticism. For the last few weeks I've been traveling all over the state, and I've met union leaders who've managed to negotiate decent deals under this law.

There are exceptions, of course, and we're likely the largest.

Our leadership, for reasons that elude me utterly, thought John King, the reformiest man in the state, was a suitable arbiter between us and the fanatical ideologues that inhabited Michael Bloomberg's Department of Education. That's precisely the sort of judgment that keeps me from signing a loyalty oath to UFT-Unity. In other large cities, terrible deals went through as well, resulting in large numbers of bad ratings.

At some point, Iannuzzi angered the powers that be at the AFT. I have it on very good authority this is all about the endorsement of Andrew Cuomo at the AFL-CIO. While NYSUT's neutrality last time was not a problem, a NO vote from NYSUT would cost Cuomo the AFL-CIO 

4-3-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

Five Ways the USDOE Is Full of Baloney

The US Dept of Education blog, Homeroom, recently published a piece by Sara Gast (Director of Strategic Communications at USDOE) entitled "Five Ways Race to the Top Supports Teachers and Students." I keep checking posts like this to see how the administration's level of connection to Planet Earth is doing these days. Let's just see.Ms. Gast is pretty excited. In the four years since RttT

by Peter Greene / 3min 

Keeping up Appearances

The one thing we Americans like better than solving problems is to look like we're solving problems.Take, for example, our desire for air traffic safety. After 9/11, we had a national rational urge to beef up security, to do something so that we would never experience such a terrible assault on our nation again. But because every national security issue is also a political issue, we had to conside

by Peter Greene / 22min 

4-2-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: Bubble Answers for an Essay WorldI have had the same conversation multiple times in the last week. I have had it with elementary teachers, secondary teachers, someone who works with young teachers, someone who works with college students. The crux of the conversation is something like this:I do not know what to do with these [persons]. They do not want to understand. They do not wa

by mike simpson / 43min

UPDATE: Don’t drive the barge, steer your sailboat! | Connected Principals

Don’t drive the barge, steer your sailboat! | Connected Principals:

7 Tips For Dealing With Challenging Students

A few years ago, I was talking to a teacher about a student she had volunteered to mentor. The young lady had had a difficult past, and the teacher had confided in me that some of their meetings had been challenging. While I was encouraging her to keep up the good work, at the same time, I wanted to prepare her for the reality of mentoring. “Don’t be surprised,” I said, “when you are disappointed

by William Parker / 11min 

Don’t drive the barge, steer your sailboat!

by Amber Teamann • April 3, 2014 • 0 Comments

The large barge of the educational system is viewed as flawed by many. There are theoretical discussions that take place lamenting grades, schedules, and pedagogy. Terminology, vocabulary, & semantic sludge, left and right. These conversations take place in the halls, in the lounge, and on the interwebs. You can’t help but be aware of the growing dissension amongst the masses.

There has to shift amongst the silo’s in education. While yes, many of these facets are true, and may indeed be long overdue for a vast overhaul…conversations that leave educators frustrated, overwhelmed, or confused, help no one.

Giving students number grades each grading cycle is bad? Ok. My district requires grades, what do I do?

School start times need to be later in the day? We have 57,000 students, multiply that by families, and tell me how to make that happen?

Parents need to be more involved? I agree…but I can’t FORCE them…and I kinda feel like I’m making an effort already!

No more whole group, lecture driven, lessons? But what if that’s all a teacher is comfortable doing? It’s not like all of our teachers are in classrooms trying to be below average.

How can I, as an administrator, solve systemic educational reform?

The answer is that I can’t. I can’t make global decisions. I can’t turn the barge of the educational ship around.

But you know what I can do? I can turn my own boat. My sailboat of a world is much easier to steer and navigate. Make the changes/shifts where you can. Have conversations within your building, within your team, or with yourself about what YOU can do to make a difference.

I may not be able to make school start later, but I can implement a brief “meeting time” across the campus that allows  Don’t drive the barge, steer your sailboat! | Connected Principals: