Sunday, April 28, 2013
response to legal advice to state and districts regarding parental rights
Eric L. Mihelbergel posted this on Facebook. It is interesting. Thanks for sharing, Eric. All information is good information.
Re: Testing’s Response to the “How to handle test opt-out requests”
Subject: Alert to the NYSSBA By the New York State Association of School Attorneys
Recently, the NYS Association of School Attorneys sent a legal alert to many NYS Board
of Education Members.These are confusing times and much information and
misinformation is being disseminated. While the memo repeats portions of what NYSED
regulations assert and what the state has already said, it also ignores other portions of
NYSED regulations and makes assertions that are open to interpretation.
NYSED, teachers and parents are finding themselves in a new situation and there are many
unknowns. Therefore we have made every attempt to ensure that we are able to attribute
information that we put out to credible sources. To that end, we will provide you with
links to the actual NYSED sources so that you may read them and draw your own
conclusions.
In reference to the NYS 95% testing mandate, the memo states:
If a district does not reach this level of participation, it will not make “Adequate Yearly Progress”
(AYP), and a district’s Title I funding will be affected. In addition, there may be intervention
consequences for districts that fail to meet AYP.
As per a May 2012 memo to school district superintendents from NYSED’s Ira Schwartz,
Assistant Commissioner Office of Accountability, “If a school is not identified as a
Priority School in June 2012, it will not be so identified during the 2012-13, 2013-14, or
2014-2015 school years. Similarly, if a district is not identified as a Focus District in
June 2012, it will not so be identified during the waiver period.”
The only schools that may have their funding impacted are schools that are ALREADY identified as schools in need of improvement and who also receive Title 1 funding.
You can read the memo here.
Furthermore, the memo does not include the information that if a school is designated as
a “focus” or “priority school,” Title 1 money is not lost. Rather, 15-20% is put into a "set
side" for special improvement projects. What these projects are remains vague.
You can find that information here.
The memo also ignores recent comments made by Commissioner John King in an email to
teachers:
No new districts will be identified as Focus Districts and no new schools will
be identified as Priority Schools based on 2012-13 assessment results.(NYSED News and Notes, March 2013, “Message from Commissioner King” )
Regarding teacher evaluations, the memo states:
However, it is unknown whether student refusals to take any state assessments will be
considered in this calculation under APPR. Without SED guidance on these open issues,
districts face the unknown should a significant number of students refuse to participate in
state assessments.
We have been careful to be clear about what some of the unknowns are, this being one of
them. Many of the members of this organization are teachers themselves, so we are very
concerned about how any actions might impact a teacher's evaluation. What we do know is
that if a significant number of students do not take the tests, the teacher will not be
evaluated using NYS test scores. The teacher will have to develop 2 additional SLOs
based on local measures. This is as per the NYSED APPR Guidance document.
You can find that information here:
(Paragraph D51 and D52)
The memo also states:
For example, a district’s procedures for promotion to the next grade may be based on a student’s level of achievement on a state assessment. In addition, districts may make determinations for enrollment into honors courses/programs or gifted and talented programs based on students’ performances on state assessments.
In New York State (With the exception of NYC) standardized testing does not count
towards promotion until high school. The test scores do not have any effect on your any effect on your child’s grades or progress. In fact, grade retention in grades K though 8 is uncommon and
only happens in certain circumstances with parent permission.
Read about this here.
Further, as per NYSED, state test scores are not the only determinant for a student to
receive academic intervention services. These services are determined, through a
“district-developed or district-adopted procedure uniformly applied, to students at risk of not
achieving State standards in English language arts, mathematics, social studies and/or
science.” Access to accelerated programs is also determined through a district adopted
procedure and is specific to your particular district. Most districts rely on multiple
measures.
You can read about that here. (P-12 › Part 100 Regulations)
The memo also states:
In addition, districts may want to consider what, if any, consequences to implement if a student has an unexcused absence on a state assessment day. For instance, districts could prohibit students with such unexcused absences from participating in extracurricular clubs, athletics, or other school sponsored functions (i.e., school dances, activity nights).
In other words, The New York State Association of School Attorneys is advising school
boards to develop punitive measures to punish children whose parents or guardians choose
to invoke their parental rights and refuse to have their children participate in high
stakes testing. This is perhaps the most alarming and disturbing aspect of this memo.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
The Reform We Need
The difficulty of the tests and the students having to take them
There is nothing wrong with high expectations, depth, and rigor. What has been happening, though, is a shift away from logically scaffolding experiences in public school to take advantage of normal childhood social development. Already, kids get less live, active play with others, moving instead to more isolating hand-held and computer games. School play is being diminished to push more academics down from above.
Students are less comfortable with recess, group-work, speaking to other students and adults...There are more and more students in primary grades and elementary school who haven't come prepared for friendships or ready to navigate the social settings, situations and relationships that exist in school. Academic "depth and rigor" ignores the social curriculum needed, and the most vocal reformers either don't get this because they enjoyed privilege and security their whole lives, or they deny this need and how it impacts learners because it's one of those inconvenient truths.
The "shock and awe" of "sharing the sacrifice" and "staying the course" to "hope and change" to make sure that there's "no child left behind" and that all students leave schools "college and career ready"..."NO EXCUSES!"
I'm sorry, but after a while the stuff politicians and policy-makers say starts to sound like one long Charlie Brown style drone...
The economy has been gamed by those who already enjoy a disproportionate benefit and the protections that their wealth can buy. The most recent attack on schools has been accompanied by all the tidy little catch phrases that come with such campaigns to win over public opinion. Schools it seems, and teachers-especially public schools and unionized teachers are to blame for everything. The economy's precarious situation, the government's unwillingness to meet its obligation to public servants that give up pay to pension and retirement systems, the failure of investors to invest and job creators to create...It's because teachers (again, it's public school unionized teachers) aren't teaching hard enough and can't be fired easily enough. Remember how, on the heels of the financial crisis, we kept hearing about "shared sacrifice" when it came to extending retirement age, concessions for public worker wages and benefits, employee bargaining rights...pretty much a middle to below class give was what was being called for and the popular news stories had to do with how much money was being stolen by greedy public workers.
Yet banks were bailed out. Bonuses continued to roll. Raises in corporate and finance wages and compensations continued to far outpace anything in the "real world". Corporate profits continue to break records. How has the sacrifice been shared?
Why is this happening?
There is a distinct difference between heart, soul, mind, and wallet. Unfortunately, wallet wins up front, as it is winning now. Money is making decisions that make other people more money than they are worth. But the tide is beginning to turn. Keep thinking, keep talking, keep writing, and keep voting. We need reform, for sure, but it is on the policy end first, and THEN in schools. It needs to look different than the top down press. It needs to be lifted from within, by the students, communities and teachers that know what they are doing.The recent Steve Perry post reminded me...
- Earlier in the month I made a comment in response to an inane and arrogant (in other words, completely in character) tweet from Steve Perry (not the guy from Journey), and a shout out of support who clearly is a drinker of the kool aid. I then got caught up in one of those exchanges, where you know that the other person knows truly what's right from wrong, then you start to only think that they do...then your not even really sure. What IS absolutely true is that there is reluctance to examine the respect/pay/even fame of those who operate under different rules. Should selective-enrollment school leaders benefit from recognition and fame for apples to oranges results and obnoxious clown behavior? Should short lived and decidedly damaging impact on classrooms and schools, a dark cloud of secret backers and dishonesty, and WORSE (mouth taping/bee eating/public firing...) be rewarded with money and status?
Anyways, it's clear that training has occurred here.
Why am I still doing panels w ppl who are convinced that poverty is an impenetrable? How's that adding to my life to 'argue' w nonbelievers?@DrStevePerry because the world is worse when they go unchallenged. They make audiences dumber every time they speak unchecked.
@citizenstewart @DrStevePerry Man, you R not kidding. If only there were schools we could put the easy kids in to make some public $ from.
That prompted a response from Mr. Stewart:
@DMaxMJ @DrStevePerry What is an "easy kid"? And, in fact, you ARE making money off our kids, right? Isn't that what you're defending?
Interesting..."our" kids, in the collective. I am not real familiar with everything Perry says, I tend to tune out charlatans and salespeople, and especially combinations of the two...but the "our kids" I thought included MY kids...and my students. But this Perry-bot was drawing a line of some sort.
Dan McConnell@citizenstewart
We agree on inequity.steve prep school perry shouldn't criticize teachers of
inequities victims@DMaxMJ @DrStevePerry You're trading in stereotypes and creating a good kids vs. bad kids meme. I see how it serves you; still disgusting.
@citizenstewart @DrStevePerry Not trading-noticing..I actually work in a no tuition school serving any local student that comes through door
@DMaxMJ @DrStevePerry Nonsense. You defend paychecks. Attacking non-unionized schools is a predictable response to competition, & to losing
In here is where the Tubman thing happens. I am having tech difficulty pasting into here, and expanding all the little conversations, but I hinted that that comparison might have been a little over the top.
Chris Stewart @citizenstewart
7 Apr@DMaxMJ So you define for us what a hero should be and what conditions our community should educate ourselves? And a hero looks like you? @citizenstewart An opportunistic over-hyped prep school braggart vs me...I don't come close to Harriet Tubman-but closer than him? Dunno@citizenstewart I will teach ANYONE who steps into my room. No uniform, contract, conditions required. No PR team or TV spots either.@DMaxMJ Good for you, but your system isn't for us, by us, or designed with us in mind. What if we prefer a path to self-determination?@citizenstewart That's justifiable.Leaders of schools/teachers that can select students criticizing results of those that can't is not..
There's more...I may try to dig it up. But the bottom line is clear: avoid the issue of the indefensible attack and inflate the results. Don't get me wrong, I wish Perry and Stewart success. But the most recognition seems to come in response to the attacks, not the results.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
I'm taking a fun break.
Tomorrow I have to go in and test some more. I am taking a fun break for a moment.
Here is the race I want to be involving children in-not to the top trampling others on the way up.
The child used in this photo is my own. Judges review showed she won.
And here they all are. There is not one in this picture that can be quantified by a VAM formula, a standardized test or the presumptuous Common Core. These are public school kids, a public school teacher, and their mom. Reformers beware!
Here is the race I want to be involving children in-not to the top trampling others on the way up.
The child used in this photo is my own. Judges review showed she won.
An example of administrator honesty shared with me
Dear Parents,
On behalf of the teachers and staff of the Wantagh Elementary School,
I would like to welcome you back to school. I anticipate that the
2012-13 academic year will prove to be an exciting year.
We are all enthusiastic about the arrival of our new superintendent,
Mr. D’Angelo, and the promise of a fresh vision for the academic
well-being of our school district. Also, Mrs. Chowske will be joining
our WES staff, functioning as our school’s Elementary Supervisor [aka,
Assistant Principal]. The future is bright as we move forward with the
implementation of our Writers' Workshop program expanding into our
fourth grade and kindergarten. This year we will also initiate a new
K-5 math program called enVisionMATH. This program not only meets the
national Common Core standards for Math but does so with enhanced
technological experiences for our children.
One significant issue as we move into this new school year is that we
will, at times, find it difficult if not impossible to teach authentic
application of concepts and skills with an eye towards relevancy. What
we will be teaching students is to be effective test takers; a skill
that does not necessarily translate into critical thinking – a skill
set that is necessary at the college level and beyond. This will
inevitably conflict with authentic educational practice – true
teaching.
Unfortunately, if educators want to survive in the new, Albany-created
bureaucratic mess that is standardized assessments to measure teacher
performance, paramount to anything else, we must focus on getting kids
ready for the state assessments. This is what happens when
non-educators like our governor and state legislators, textbook
publishing companies (who create the assessments for our state and
reap millions of our tax dollars by doing so), our NYS Board of
Regents, and a state teachers' union president get involved in
creating what they perceive as desirable educational outcomes and
decide how to achieve and measure them. Where were the opinions of
teachers, principals, and superintendents? None were asked to
participate in the establishment of our new state assessment
parameters. Today, statisticians are making educational decisions in
New York State that will impact your children for years to come.
Standardized assessment has grown exponentially. For example, last
year New York State fourth graders, who are nine or ten years old,
were subjected to roughly 675 minutes (over 11 hours) of state
assessments which does not include state field testing. This year
there will be a state mandated pre-test in September and a second
mandated pre-test in January for all kindergarten through fifth grade
students in school. In April, kindergarten through fifth grade
students will take the last test [assessment] for the year.
Excessive testing is unhealthy. When I went to school I was never
over-tested and subsequently labeled with an insidious number that
ranked or placed me at a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 as we do
today. Do you want your child to know their assigned ‘Level’? What
would the impact be on their self-esteem and self-worth at such a
young age?
Of additional concern to me is the relationship between children and
their teacher as we move into an era where teacher job status is based
upon student assessment scores. Guess what, some children will become
more desirable than others to have in class! And, conversely, others
will be less desirable. There, I wrote it! That concept is blasphemy
in our school where teachers live to prepare children to be productive
learners and members of society. Teachers state-wide are worried that
their relationship with students might change when they are evaluated
based upon their students’ test scores. Teachers want to educate
students, not test prep them for job security.
Additionally, what should be shocking to you as a parent is that state
and national databases are being created in order to analyze and store
students’ test scores – your child’s assessment results and your
child’s school attendance! Do you realize that the state has mandated
that classroom teachers must take attendance during every math, ELA,
social studies and science lesson – everyone, every day for the entire
school year! Those records are sent to the state and become
statistically part of the teacher evaluation process. It will no
longer be enough that your child ‘was in school.’ Rather, if he or she
was at a band lesson or out of the room for extra help in reading and
a math lesson was taking place in class, he or she will be noted as
absent from that instruction. That will be factored into the teacher
evaluation. Thinking of taking your child to Disney World for a week
during the school year or leaving a day or two early for a long
weekend skiing? Think again! Those absences will be recorded as
illegal, missed seat time and sent to the state – as mandated by the
state.
This is all part of the massive, multi-million tax-payer dollar
teacher evaluation processes started by our Commissioner of Education,
our governor, and our state legislators and fully supported by
statisticians employed by the state and assessment-making companies.
No one in Albany is selecting to see the end of the journey; that 98
percent of the students graduating from Wantagh Schools go on to two-
and four-year colleges. Their myopic view is focused on the ‘parts’,
not the whole. Who will eventually suffer? Your children!
The balance must now be struck between maintaining the special nature
of an elementary school setting and the cold and calculating final
analysis rendered by statistics. The use of assessment data to drive
instruction is a tenet of good educational practices. The use of
assessment data to render a yearly prognostication of teacher
competency is ridiculous.
You have the greatest impact on your child’s school performance. Each
teacher only has your children for 180 days per year and for less than
six hours per day [minus lunch and recess times, art, music, and
physical education classes]. It is our expectation that as partners in
your child’s education, you will be doing your part as well. As part
of any evaluation of student performance, Albany must simultaneously
be asking parents the following questions:
Does your child read at home each day for at least twenty minutes?
Do you read to your child every day?
Are math facts gone over daily until they are known automatically?
Is there a quiet location in the house for homework time and do you
check your child’s homework each night?
Is your child sent to school ready for the day with a good breakfast
following at least eight hours of sleep?
Are after school activities monitored so that your child is not
‘overbooked’ and their stamina compromised?
Is your child in school daily [except when they are sick] and not
taken out of school for any reason other than illness?
We will continue to have field trips, assemblies, and special school
events but some events will be curtailed or rescheduled with an eye
toward prudent times during the school year to maximize student seat
time. However, it is unmistakable that we have entered into a new era
of educational practice with higher stakes than ever before.
I look forward to working with you and your child as we start our new
school year because….together we make a difference.
Thank you.
Don Sternberg, Ed.D.
Principal
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