I DARE YOU TO TAKE A MANDATED READING TEST FOR A NINE YEAR-OLD. | Reclaim Reform

I DARE YOU TO TAKE A MANDATED READING TEST FOR A NINE YEAR-OLD. | Reclaim Reform:

I DARE YOU TO TAKE A MANDATED READING TEST FOR A NINE YEAR-OLD.

Posted on March 27, 2015by Ken Previti

“We took tests when we were kids, and…”
– commonly said by legislators and people who repeat TV talk show blather

STOP!!!

I DARE YOU TO TAKE A MANDATED READING TEST FOR A NINE YEAR-OLD.

Are you sick and tired of listening to this absurd comparison of tests from the past versus the reality of today’s high stakes tests? People the same age or older than the parents of tested school aged children never took the high stakes tests our children are being subjected to day after day.

Dare them to go to this Common Core SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) Practice Test site and answer the first seven questions of the 4th grade Common Core SBAC English Test. Tell them that they can go on to more questions or tests if they so desire.

TELL THEM: After answering seven questions, whether you are a young professional with advanced degrees or a senior who has earned your education in the school of hard knocks, please consider what you have learned about these lucrative for-profit tests. (You might even choose to answer the very short questionnaire at the bottom of this page.)

Directions: Please sign in and take at least the seven initial questions. This will be an eye opener for most people.

Here are the steps to access the 4th Grade Common Core SBAC English Language Arts Test

• Go to http://sbac.portal.airast.org/practice-test/
• Scroll Down and Click on Green Box – Students Interface Practice and Training Tests
• Click on Sign In
• Use Pull Down Menu to change to Grade 4, click Yes
• Go to Right Column, 2nd box down – 4th grade ELA (English Language Arts) – click
• Scroll Down and click on Select
• Scroll Down and click on Yes, Start My Test
• Click on Sound symbol – then Click Yes
• Scroll Down and Click on Begin Test Now
• Complete first seven (7) questions
• You can then stop and assess the test or move on

 
RECLAIM REFORM QUESTIONNAIRE:

What do you now realize about this test?

A) I am not a professional, but I DARE YOU TO TAKE A MANDATED READING TEST FOR A NINE YEAR-OLD. | Reclaim Reform:

This school paid teachers $125,000 a year — and test scores went up - Vox

This school paid teachers $125,000 a year — and test scores went up - Vox:

This school paid teachers $125,000 a year — and test scores went up

It's common to hear that teachers should be paid better — more like doctors and lawyers. In 2009, the Equity Project, a charter school in New York decided to try it: they would pay all their teachers $125,000 per year with the possibility of an additional bonus.

The typical teacher in New York with five years' experience makes between $64,000 and $76,000. The charter school, known as TEP, would pay much more. But in exchange, teachers, who are not unionized, would accept additional responsibilities, and the school would keep a close eye on their work.

Four years later, students at TEP score better on state tests than similar students elsewhere. The differences were particularly pronounced in math, according to a study from Mathematica Policy Research released in October. (The study was funded by the Gates Foundation.) After four years at the school, students had learned as much math as they would have in 5.6 years elsewhere:

(Mathematica Policy Research)

The gains erased 78 percent of the achievement gap between Hispanic students and whites in the eighth grade.

The results are important in part because TEP also appears to have sidestepped some common concerns about charter schools. They didn't expel or suspend students out of school in the first four years. There is no evidence that the school encouraged problem students to leave or transfer on their own. And the students who attended were roughly as likely to be low-income, and to have had similar levels of academic achievement before they arrived. They could still differ in other ways — they could have more involved parents, who get them into the charter school lottery, for example — but TEP doesn't present some of the obvious factors that help explain other charter schools' success.

How TEP hired and trained teachers

The $125,000 number was eye-catching, but it was just the start of the school's approach to teaching. Teachers were also eligible for a bonus of between 7 to 12 percent of their salary. The teachers, who are not unionized, went through a rigorous selection process that included a daylong "audition" based on their teaching skills. The typical teacher already had six years of classroom experience before they were hired.

Teachers at TEP also get more time to collaborate and played a bigger role in school decision-making than teachers in other jobs. Teachers were paired up to observe each others' lessons and provide feedback, collaboration that experts agree is important but happens too infrequently. During a six-week summer training, teachers also helped set school policy.

The workload at TEP, where teachers also take on administrative duties and had an average of 31 students per class, is fairly heavy even with the extra pay. But the school also had more teacher turnover than usual. Nearly half of first-year teachers didn't return for their second year, either because they resigned or because they were not rehired. Teacher turnover has been found to have a slight effect on student achievement.

Overall, though, the results are promising. The researchers caution that this is just one study of a small school. It's not meant to prove that TEP's methods can work in every school nationally. But it appears to suggest that, at least, the approach worked at one school.This school paid teachers $125,000 a year — and test scores went up - Vox:

Pearson Priority 1 Alert: American teenagers are tweeting the questions from nationwide standardized tests - Quartz

American teenagers are tweeting the questions from nationwide standardized tests - Quartz:

American teenagers are tweeting the questions from nationwide standardized tests

Revelations this week that American high school students were caught tweeting about questions on nationwide standardized tests have fueled fundamental concerns about the latest approach to measuring student achievement nationwide.

In Maryland, two 10th grade students tweeted essay questions that they had encountered on their Common Core standardized tests this month. Another student in New Jersey tweeted about a test question. And there were three instances of students sharing test questions in Ohio.

Since February, there have been at least 76 discoveries of students sharing test information on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, says Jesse Comart, a spokesman for Pearson, the testing company. It’s done in public forums, so students may not perceive it as cheating, he said, but it is: “It’s the equivalent of you standing on a street corner in New York and waving a test booklet around.”

This is a predicament that’s perhaps to be expected: Teenagers are used to sharing almost every experience on social media. But under the Common Core, a new system of curriculum and testing for US public schools that has been adopted in 46 states since 2010, there’s a greatly increased potential for social cheating to spread: As curriculum and testing are standardized nationwide, a leaked question or answer can also be shared nationwide.

Previously, tests were different in every state. But under Common Core, large groups of states have begun taking the same annual test for the first time this year. And since Common Core testing is mostly on computers, the testing period has to be spread out, because schools don’t have enough computers to offer all the tests at the same time.

For now, testing companies are playing a game of whack-a-mole with test information leaked on social media, monitoring as best they can with a test security company. Pearson reports incidents to the states and schools, who are responsible for taking disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, there are privacy concerns among parents and administrators about test companies monitoring student activity on social media. Caveon, the test security firm that Pearson uses, only looks at public pages and uses keyword searches, and does not follow individuals, says Steve Addicott, the company’s vice-president.

It remains to be seen whether such social cheating has had a major effect nationwide, said Derek Briggs, the chair of research and American teenagers are tweeting the questions from nationwide standardized tests - Quartz:

Former U.S. Education official backs test refusals - Press-Republican

Former U.S. Education official backs test refusals - Press-Republican: Local News:

Former U.S. Education official backs test refusals

PLATTSBURGH — When Diane Ravitch was a child, her teacher could determine her reading level by administering a 45-minute assessment. 

"Sometimes, she didn't even need a test because she saw my written work," the former U.S. assistant secretary of education told the audience gathered at SUNY Plattsburgh for a recent public forum to discuss education reform. 

The event, at which Ravitch appeared via Skype, was hosted by the North Country Alliance for Public Education and attended by numerous local parents, educators and community members. 

There, the education historian, policy analyst and author called on attendees to defend their schools and children by opting them out of the state's third-through-eighth-grade exams.

Based on the Common Core Curriculum, the tests cover English-language arts and math, as well as science, beginning in fourth grade.

The results are used to determine the effectiveness of both teachers and schools.

 'CURRICULUM NARROWED' 

“Children are spending anywhere from eight to 11 hours (taking tests) and even more hours on test prep," she said. 

And educators are now teaching to the tests, Ravitch noted, "which used to be considered unprofessional but is now considered routine and necessary."

That devotion to standardized exams, she continued, has resulted in a narrowing of curriculum in schools with less time for the arts, recess and physical education. 

"Tests do not close the achievement gap," Ravitch said. "If you have a high fever and you take your temperature every 10 minutes, it will not lower your temperature; if you want to gain weight or lose weight, it will not help if you weigh yourself more frequently.”

Testing has a place in education, she noted, "but it should be solely to diagnose children’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can get additional help if they need it."

'NO VALUE AT ALL'

The state's exams, however, are given in the spring, and results are made available in August, after the school year ends.

Teachers are unable to determine where students had difficulty, Ravitch said, as they are not permitted to see their answers. 

“They have no diagnostic value, which means they have no value at all," she said. 

And there's a good reason testing companies don't want people to see the exams even after they're completed, added Ravitch, who served on the Governing Board of the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

 "I saw test questions that had two right answers," she said. "I saw test questions that had no right answer; I saw test questions that were ambiguously worded."

While the multiple-choice portions of the exams are scored by computer, according to Ravitch, the testing companies "are hiring anyone with a bachelor’s degree" to score answers to the constructed-response questions.

“These are tests for determining the future of the child and his teacher and they (the scorers) can have no educational experience,” she said. 

'CAN'T PUNISH EVERYBODY'

The best way for parents to express opposition to the exams, Ravitch continued, is to opt their children out. 

"Refuse the test," she said, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd. 

While there is concern that the state may label or withhold aid from schools that don't test 95 percent of test-age students, Ravitch noted, the more people who refuse the exams, the fewer the consequences will be. 

"In fact, the more people who opt out, the more certain it is that there will be no consequences at all," she said. 

If just 10 percent of a school's student body refrains from taking the assessments, she added, the school's results become invalid.  Former U.S. Education official backs test refusals - Press-Republican: Local News:

Parents Can Opt Out - United Opt Out National

Click Here to go to United Opt Out National: 

Click Here to go to the Website- United Opt Out Team

Click Here to go to the Website FairTest

#optout needs school leaders not politicians. | BustED Pencils

#optout needs school leaders not politicians. | BustED Pencils:

#optout needs school leaders not politicians.

When I first got involved in the opt out movement I regularly tried to engage  school leaders (principals, superintendents, assessment coordinators) in a positive discussion about the opt out motive.  Things didn’t always go very positively.  Check out an older post that seems incredibly relevant today.

---

“If you oppose state testing, please contact your Senator and Representative… they can change, what we cannot.” Superintendent.

Since our district’s superintendent has decided to actively fight the opt-out movement I have tried to engage him by sending him articles that document the folly of high stakes testing and writing letter’s explaining the opt out motives. I thought that we might enter into a civil discussion concerning government mandated public school reform as defined by the corporate elite.

I came across a Marion Brady article posted by Valerie Strauss. The Brady article hit some excellent points so I decided to forward it to the administrators of our district — superintendent included. I received a response rather quickly to the Brady article from our superintendent.

The superintendent said that he agreed that research does not support high stakes testing and even mentioned listening to a Yong Zhao speech. However, according to our superintendent, the problem was our politicians. In fact he said, “The politicians are deaf to hearing about research.”

This is a super observation because it is absolutely true. At this point in time, I also have no faith that our politicians have any intentions of “listening” to research challenging the failing school narrative and halting the high stakes testing regime. Therefore I sent our superintendent the response below.

Dear Superintendent,

You are absolutely right. However, the bigger problem is that politicians are not going to start listening to research anytime soon. You’ve met with them. I’ve met with them. They’re not going to budge unless something forces them to budge. Take a look at their campaign contributors. All the major testing companies are funneling millions of dollars to the politicians. Research doesn’t stand a chance against a system that is designed to ignore research.

That is why I want you to understand that the parents that opt out are not doing it because they want to hurt you, the teachers, or the school. They’re doing it because politicians have taken you and the teachers out of the equation. You’re not allowed to

#optout needs school leaders not politicians. | BustED Pencils:

My Next Book Project: The Psychology of Fixing the Economy through Better Public Policy | the becoming radical

My Next Book Project: The Psychology of Fixing the Economy through Better Public Policy | the becoming radical:

MY NEXT BOOK PROJECT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FIXING THE ECONOMY THROUGH BETTER PUBLIC POLICY

As many have highlighted, the media turns to almost anyone except educators when dealing with education topics such as evaluating and paying teachers (ask an economist), teaching reading (ask a psychologist), expanding charter schools (ask a political scientist), or creating national standards (which apparently requires a degree in philosophy).

Therefore based on my experiences as a student (nobody asks a student about anything), as a public school classroom teacher (nobody asks a teacher anything), and as an “ivory tower” academic (really? ask a professor?) who graduated from state schools with an undergraduate and two graduate degrees in education, I have now begun work on my next book:

I am eager to speak with publishers, and any media outlet interested in a guest Op-Ed or an interview! My Next Book Project: The Psychology of Fixing the Economy through Better Public Policy | the becoming radical:

No Walk in the PARCC...Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

No Walk in the PARCC......

By:  Toney Jackson

Here is the video of the poem  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEgg3A2NPhU

Here is a link to Toney's website   http://www.toneyjackson.com/#!No-Walk-In-The-PARCC/c1yf2/550b798f0cf292acc4c4a998

It's no mystery

You can learn more on a park bench or a bench press

Than you can doing test prep for the PARCC test

Seriously…

You can go outside and watch leaves changing and falling,

And learn about seasons, the reasons they change,

And why being the same isn’t something to shoot for

And why planting your feet in the ground to soak up experience is something to root for

And why pumping blood through repetitive motion with the right level of resistance

Will do more to build you up, than consecutive doses of what someone you don’t know supposes

That you ought to know, but that probably won’t make a difference

'Cause you will able to make a decision to make a commitment to college, a job,

Or the place that you're livin'

And none of it's thanks to the way you were tested in school,

But the way you were taught

And the way you were able to say that it isn’t... about testing

And it isn’t about doubting the worth of assessing

It's about seeing that tests designed with dollar signs in mind, are detrimental

And that tests designed with those in mind WITH dollar signs, are evidence to the fact

That fair is a relative term,

And that slanted scores in schools where economics are lopsided are not coincidental

And we saw better days before we ever raised the idea of educational monopoliesBadass Teachers Association:

Garcia to Emanuel in Chicago debate: 'You are not the king' ‪#‎Chuy2015‬ ‪#‎imwithchuy‬

Garcia to Emanuel in Chicago debate: 'You are not the king' - Houston Chronicle:

Garcia to Emanuel in Chicago debate: 'You are not the king'

 CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's challenger blasted the former White House chief of staff Thursday, accusing him of neglecting the city's neighborhoods and saying he's facing an unprecedented runoff election because voters are hungry for a leader who listens to them before making decisions.

Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia pulled few punches in the second of three televised debates prior to the April 7 runoff, telling the mayor at one point: "You are not the king of this city."

Emanuel pushed back, touting his achievements in office, including expanding full-day kindergarten to all students and bringing new companies and jobs to the nation's third-largest city. He also criticized Garcia for not proposing a concrete plan for dealing with the city's serious financial problems and for saying that if elected he'll appoint a commission to advise him on the budget.

"It's unaccountable," Emanuel said in a post-debate session with reporters. "Leadership requires being concise, consistent and steady."

Garcia, a former Illinois state senator, finished second to Emanuel in the five-candidate first-round election last month. But Emanuel failed to win a majority of the vote, forcing Chicago's first mayoral runoff.

Emanuel has acknowledged his hard-charging style has been a factor in the race. He released an ad in which he says he admits he can rub people the wrong way, but says no one will fight harder for Chicago.

On Thursday, he said he's also been tough enough to stand up to his friends when he needs to — including passing a $13 minimum wage that will take effect in the city in 2019, despite opposition from his supporters in the business community. He questioned whether Garcia, whose campaign funding and operational support has come largely from the Chicago Teachers Union and other unions, would be able to tell them 'no' during tough budget and contract negotiations.

"If you can't have the gumption to say 'no' then you're not going to be able to make the tough calls of being mayor," he said.

Garcia said the unions will be more likely to work with him to make difficult decisions because they don't have the same "animosity" they do with Emanuel, who was mayor when Chicago teachers went on strike in 2012.

Garcia also touted his connections to people in Chicago neighborhoods, and criticized Emanuel for governing by press release.

"He's not rooted in the day-to-day life of Chicago communities," Garcia said. "That's all that I know."

He told reporters after the debate that he was more aggressive than he's been in their previous meetings in Garcia to Emanuel in Chicago debate: 'You are not the king' - Houston Chronicle:

Toward Fiscal Sustainability: A New Approach in Prudent Fiscal Management of Chicago

Click here to go to Jesus "Chuy" Garcia for Mayor of Chicago Website

‪#‎Chuy2015‬ ‪#‎imwithchuy‬