Who is refusing Common Core tests for 3rd-8th graders?

[smitch425]

DD was supposed to do some testing today. I wonder if it happened. Lol

 

[Dawnlight]

One of the issues I have with the new tests is that it's all computer-based and those younger kids who have not learned keyboarding yet are put at a significant disadvantage. My girls, 4th graders in their first year of public school, have only just learned basic keyboarding skills in school. They had a few weeks of "instruction" during library/media time - once per week- and then 2 weeks of online lessons at home for about 20 minutes/night. They are no where near proficient enough to type answers in a timed test like PARCC. The only reason the school promoted the keyboarding at this point was to say that the kids were plenty ready for the tests.

Another concern of mine is that I've read, and I don't know how accurate it is or not, that private companies can later gain access to the test scores. There was even a loosening of privacy laws in advance of the nationwide promotion of these tests. I regard this as a severe breach of my children's privacy.

My kids have taken ERB tests while in private school and I did not have a problem with them as they were used to improve school curricula and gauge student progress. I'm not certain that that is the goal where the PARCC/Common Core testing is concerned.

 

[Tinijocaro]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/school-districts-report-problems-with-new-exams/2219678

Some school districts are reporting problems with the new Florida Standards Assessments, which made their debut Monday morning. Follow the breaking news here.

Miami-Dade school district spokeswoman Daisy Gonzalez-Diego said the new online platform was running so slowly that testing had been postponed in Miami-Dade County until Tuesday.

Hillsborough schools spokesman Steve Hegarty reported similar issues.

"It's slow," Hegarty said. "The volume seems to be affecting the online testing."

Hegarty said middle schools had been impacted in particular because they logged on later than other schools.

Hillsborough schools also have the option of delaying testing, he added.

The problems were not limited to Miami-Dade and Hillsborough. Students in Palm Beach County were having trouble, too, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Testing began Monday, with students in grades 4 through 10 sitting for the writing portion of the exam.

This isn't the first time Florida's online servers have caused testing problems. It happened in 2011, andagain in 2014. It's not as if superintendents didn't warn that this might happen.

 

[Tinijocaro]

https://crawlingoutoftheclassroom.w...-i-am-sorry-for-what-i-am-about-to-do-to-you/
An Open Letter to My Students: I Am Sorry For What I Am About To Do To You


10

To all of my precious students,

I am sorry for what I am about to do to you.

This week, I am going to have to give you a new test. It’s called PARCC. There will be five separate tests, on four separate days, and my guess is that most of you will hate them. My guess is that one or two of you will be brought to tears because they will make you feel like you are not smart enough. My guess is that several of you will give up part way through the test and just start clicking around on the screen. My guess is that some of you will look around at the students sitting next to you to try and figure out if they are also as confused as you are in the hopes of knowing that you are not the only way feeling this way. My guess is that more than a handful of you will, at some time during the test, ask me to come over and help you with something and I will not be able to. My guess is that almost all of you will wonder what these tests have to do with the learning and growing that we are doing every day in our classroom because you know that our learning has meaning and purpose in this world and you cannot figure out how these tests could possibly do that. My guess is that all of you will wonder why I am making you take these tests.

And the answer is simple. I have to. Our state and federal government say that I have to give these tests to you. That you must take them. And I need you to know how very sorry I am about that.

I have no control over this. I have no control over whether or not I give you this test. But, like I always tell you, I do have complete control over my own thoughts and my own words. So here is what I need to say to you.

I do not agree that these tests will tell me what I really need to know about you as a learner or as a human being. I do not agree that these tests will make me a better teacher. I do not agree that these tests will improve our schools. I do not agree that you need to sit in front of a computer for over five hours in order for the government to find out what you know and what you can do. I do not agree that you should not have a choice in how you are able to show all of the things that you are capable of doing. I do not agree that in order for the state to know that I am doing my job that you have to suffer through tests that could quite possibly ruin much of the hard work that we have done together in building your confidence this year and in helping you to see yourselves as readers and writers. I do not agree with these tests.

And even more than I want you to know all of that, I want you to know that these tests will never tell you who you are. They will never be able to show all of your various, beautiful and wondrous strengths. They will never be able to show all of the things that you have learned this year. They will never be able to show some of the most important things about who you all are. Because these tests will not show your humanity.

They will not show how you have learned to see this world through empathetic eyes. They will not show how you have learned to choose ways to present your knowledge so that you can use your individual strengths. They will not show how you have learned to collaborate with your classmates and with students around the world. They will not show how you have learned to listen first and then speak. They will not show how you have learned to do good things for this world. They will not show how you have grown as people. These tests will never be able to show those things and please believe me when I tell you that those are the things that truly matter in this world.

So if, and when, you struggle with these tests. If, and when, you start to think that these tests are telling you that you are not smart. If, and when, you start to believe that maybe you aren’t really good enough. If, and when, you start to feel like you want to cry because you just don’t know what these tests are really asking. Sit back. Take a deep breath. And then remember what you know. Remember what you know about what is really important in this world. Remember what you know about how brilliant you all are.

And if you can’t remember. If these tests are bad enough that they make you forget. Then you raise your hand. And I will come over. And I will take one look at your face. And I will see what is going on. And I will remind you. I will remind you that you are a reader and that you are a writer and that you are worthy just because you are exactly who you are. I will remind you of all the things that I have seen you do this year. I will remind you of all the meaningful work that you have added to our world this year. I will remind you of how far you have come. I will remind you of what you do for me, and for our classroom, and for this world. Every. Single. Day.

And then. Even though I am not supposed to. I will probably sneak you a piece of chocolate. And I will try to make you laugh. Because at the end of the day, these tests have no real meaning for you. And at the end of this week, we get to go back to the work that is really important. And at the end of the year, what you will look back on and remember will not be these tests, but all of the learning and growing that you have done this year.

So please forgive me. Please know that by giving you these tests I feel as if I am an accomplice in something that feels dirty and wrong. Please know that I value you more than this test. Please know that you are more than this test. And please know that as soon as this week is over, we will get back to our regularly scheduled learning.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lifshitz

 

[jodifla]

PARCC and Smarter Balanced aren't remotely like the standardized tests we took. I agree with the poster who said people really don't understand what is coming down the pike for their kids. In the states that have taken tests aligned to Common Core, 70 to 95 percent fail. In Kentucky, the numbers have gotten a bit better -- after 4 years in the curriculum. Even pro Common Core groups predict high school graduation rates are going to drop dramatically. And the GED passing rate has dropped 90 percent.

People say that opting out can't make a difference are wrong. Students are starting to organize and walk out on the tests. Now that they have social media, this will be easier to arrange than ever, and it can go national. If the boycott becomes large enough, it crushes the effects of the tests.





Hobbs Students Walk Out of Class to Peacefully Protest PARCC Testing
Posted: Mar 02, 2015 10:32 AM EST Updated: Mar 02, 2015 11:26 AM EST
Staff Report
NewsWest 9/Associated Press

HOBBS, N.M. - Students frustrated over a new standardized test are planning school walkouts in protest across New Mexico.

NewsWest 9's Alicia Neaves is at Hobbs High School and there were numerous students seen walking out.

The backlash comes as millions of U.S. students start taking new, more rigorous exams aligned with Common Core standards.

In New Mexico, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC tests, start Monday.

State Education Secretary Hanna Skandera defends the exams, telling the Santa Fe New Mexican in an interview that much of the concern about the tests is based on misinformation.

Retired educator Moises Venegas says the planned walkout remind him of the late 1960s when Albuquerque students protested the Vietnam War and school conditions.

NewsWest 9's Alicia Neaves will have more on the walkout tonight on NewsWest 9.

 

[mom2rtk]

https://crawlingoutoftheclassroom.w...-i-am-sorry-for-what-i-am-about-to-do-to-you/
An Open Letter to My Students: I Am Sorry For What I Am About To Do To You


10

To all of my precious students,

I am sorry for what I am about to do to you.

This week, I am going to have to give you a new test. It’s called PARCC. There will be five separate tests, on four separate days, and my guess is that most of you will hate them. My guess is that one or two of you will be brought to tears because they will make you feel like you are not smart enough. My guess is that several of you will give up part way through the test and just start clicking around on the screen. My guess is that some of you will look around at the students sitting next to you to try and figure out if they are also as confused as you are in the hopes of knowing that you are not the only way feeling this way. My guess is that more than a handful of you will, at some time during the test, ask me to come over and help you with something and I will not be able to. My guess is that almost all of you will wonder what these tests have to do with the learning and growing that we are doing every day in our classroom because you know that our learning has meaning and purpose in this world and you cannot figure out how these tests could possibly do that. My guess is that all of you will wonder why I am making you take these tests.

And the answer is simple. I have to. Our state and federal government say that I have to give these tests to you. That you must take them. And I need you to know how very sorry I am about that.

I have no control over this. I have no control over whether or not I give you this test. But, like I always tell you, I do have complete control over my own thoughts and my own words. So here is what I need to say to you.

I do not agree that these tests will tell me what I really need to know about you as a learner or as a human being. I do not agree that these tests will make me a better teacher. I do not agree that these tests will improve our schools. I do not agree that you need to sit in front of a computer for over five hours in order for the government to find out what you know and what you can do. I do not agree that you should not have a choice in how you are able to show all of the things that you are capable of doing. I do not agree that in order for the state to know that I am doing my job that you have to suffer through tests that could quite possibly ruin much of the hard work that we have done together in building your confidence this year and in helping you to see yourselves as readers and writers. I do not agree with these tests.

And even more than I want you to know all of that, I want you to know that these tests will never tell you who you are. They will never be able to show all of your various, beautiful and wondrous strengths. They will never be able to show all of the things that you have learned this year. They will never be able to show some of the most important things about who you all are. Because these tests will not show your humanity.

They will not show how you have learned to see this world through empathetic eyes. They will not show how you have learned to choose ways to present your knowledge so that you can use your individual strengths. They will not show how you have learned to collaborate with your classmates and with students around the world. They will not show how you have learned to listen first and then speak. They will not show how you have learned to do good things for this world. They will not show how you have grown as people. These tests will never be able to show those things and please believe me when I tell you that those are the things that truly matter in this world.

So if, and when, you struggle with these tests. If, and when, you start to think that these tests are telling you that you are not smart. If, and when, you start to believe that maybe you aren’t really good enough. If, and when, you start to feel like you want to cry because you just don’t know what these tests are really asking. Sit back. Take a deep breath. And then remember what you know. Remember what you know about what is really important in this world. Remember what you know about how brilliant you all are.

And if you can’t remember. If these tests are bad enough that they make you forget. Then you raise your hand. And I will come over. And I will take one look at your face. And I will see what is going on. And I will remind you. I will remind you that you are a reader and that you are a writer and that you are worthy just because you are exactly who you are. I will remind you of all the things that I have seen you do this year. I will remind you of all the meaningful work that you have added to our world this year. I will remind you of how far you have come. I will remind you of what you do for me, and for our classroom, and for this world. Every. Single. Day.

And then. Even though I am not supposed to. I will probably sneak you a piece of chocolate. And I will try to make you laugh. Because at the end of the day, these tests have no real meaning for you. And at the end of this week, we get to go back to the work that is really important. And at the end of the year, what you will look back on and remember will not be these tests, but all of the learning and growing that you have done this year.

So please forgive me. Please know that by giving you these tests I feel as if I am an accomplice in something that feels dirty and wrong. Please know that I value you more than this test. Please know that you are more than this test. And please know that as soon as this week is over, we will get back to our regularly scheduled learning.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Lifshitz

I bet Mrs. Lifshitz's mom opted her out of testing in school.

 

[PrncessA]

I am not refusing tests for my kids, but I don't put a lot of stock in them either. Neither of my kids have any test anxiety, but I think too much weight is put on the test scores. My daughter scores very high on standardized test, but does average in class and her grades do not reflect the high standardized test marks. My son has ADHD and depending on the time the tests are taken, what is going on around him, and what happened before he started taking the test, his scores are all over the place, but his school grades are always consistent.

My kids' school also do a computerized standard test three times a year to track reading and math, which my kids really enjoy since they get to see how much their scores grow. As long as they aren't worrying about them, I won't!

 

[jodifla]

ELYRIA — Stacie Starr says mandated state testing is pushing her away from teaching.

The veteran Elyria Schools educator said Monday she plans to resign at the end of the school year.

Gasps of disbelief followed the announcement made during an education forum aimed at unraveling for parents the intricacies of the standardized testing system. Starr was at the podium, delivering a talk on how special education students are suffering under the new system based on Common Core standards and more rigorous assessments. She said as a veteran intervention specialist at Elyria High School, she could no longer watch silently from within the confines of a structured school day.


Starr garnered a reputation of being a rock star teacher long before “Live with Kelly and Michael” picked her as the winner of the 2014 Top Teacher Search. She has mentored middle school boys, putting books in the hands of at-risk youth and ties on their necks to foster a sense of pride. Handing out high school diplomas to those same students was a highlight of her career, a testament that getting a child to graduation sometimes requires more than just lesson plans and homework.

She has coached football, taken students on field trips to meet authors and adopted a “failure is not an option” approach to some of the hardest-to-reach students. Yet with a stellar 16-year career under her belt, Starr said the new testing culture is killing education.

“I can’t do it anymore, not in this ‘drill ‘em and kill ‘em’ atmosphere,” she said. “I don’t think anyone understands that in this environment if your child cannot quickly grasp material, study like a robot and pass all of these tests, they will not survive.”


The tests are developmentally inappropriate for typical students and torture for those with special needs, she said. And, even an individual education plan is not enough to shield students from the rigors of state expectations.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/02/10/onslaught-tests-burn-elyria-high-starr/

 

[sam_gordon]

In Kentucky, the numbers have gotten a bit better -- after 4 years in the curriculum.

There's only been 3 years of testing. They'll have the fourth set this spring with results released the end of September (IIRC).

Oh, wait, that's right. Tests should be easy enough that everyone passes. I'm sorry, I forgot.

 

[jodifla]

As Common Core Testing Is Ushered In, Parents and Students Opt Out

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/02/n...red-in-parents-and-students-opt-out.html?_r=0

A new wave of standardized exams, designed to assess whether students are learning in step with the Common Core standards, is sweeping the country, arriving this week in classrooms in several states and entering the cross hairs of various political movements. In New Jersey and elsewhere, the arrival has been marked with well-organized opposition, a spate of television attack ads and a cascade of parental anxiety.

Almost every state has an “opt out” movement. Its true size is hard to gauge, but the protests on Facebook, at school board meetings and in more creative venues — including screenings of anti-testing documentaries — have caught the attention of education officials.
..

In New York last year, the state’s second year of Common Core-aligned testing, 49,000 students did not take the English test, according to the State Department of Education, while 67,000 skipped the math portion — numbers that include not only refusals, but also any student who did not take the tests for a “known valid reason.” Statewide, 1.1 million students took the assessments.

 

[jodifla]

There's only been 3 years of testing. They'll have the fourth set this spring with results released the end of September (IIRC).

Oh, wait, that's right. Tests should be easy enough that everyone passes. I'm sorry, I forgot.

4 years being taught the curriculum.

And tests should be developmentally appropriate enough that most kids pass -- yes. Otherwise, it is flawed.

 

[sam_gordon]

4 years being taught the curriculum.

Yes. But the test improvements happened after the third year, which for some reason you didn't include.

And tests should be developmentally appropriate enough that most kids pass -- yes. Otherwise, it is flawed.

I disagree. You don't write the test so "most kids pass". You write the test to see if kids have learned the material. Yes, the long term goal is having most kids pass. But you don't have to "dumb down" the test to ensure that. You can step up the teaching. Creating a test so the majority pass is no different (to me) than the "everyone gets a trophy" movement.

 

[jodifla]

It's not "everybody gets a trophy" -- it's everybody gets an education that is useful and leads to higher education or a job. If the tests become a barrier to that they are worthless. There's a reason MORE THAN HALF of the PARCC states have dropped out, and many more states are considering designing their own tests.

 

[jodifla]

OK, let's talk about Kentucky in 2014, 4 years of Common Core instruction, and 3 rounds of tests:

http://restoregedfairness.org/lates...ing-and-passing-the-2014-pearson-vue-ged-test

Note that in high school only 55% of all of their students could pass the CCSS reading test and fewer than 40% could pass the CCSS math test. Among their minority, ESL and low income students only about 40% could pass their CCSS reading test and 27% could pass their math test! And the results in Kentucky are not unlike the results found in New York, the other state that has CCSS test results of two or more years available. Analyze New York's results here. Kentucky here.

 

[undertheradar]

ELYRIA — Stacie Starr says mandated state testing is pushing her away from teaching.

The veteran Elyria Schools educator said Monday she plans to resign at the end of the school year.

Gasps of disbelief followed the announcement made during an education forum aimed at unraveling for parents the intricacies of the standardized testing system. Starr was at the podium, delivering a talk on how special education students are suffering under the new system based on Common Core standards and more rigorous assessments. She said as a veteran intervention specialist at Elyria High School, she could no longer watch silently from within the confines of a structured school day.


Starr garnered a reputation of being a rock star teacher long before “Live with Kelly and Michael” picked her as the winner of the 2014 Top Teacher Search. She has mentored middle school boys, putting books in the hands of at-risk youth and ties on their necks to foster a sense of pride. Handing out high school diplomas to those same students was a highlight of her career, a testament that getting a child to graduation sometimes requires more than just lesson plans and homework.

She has coached football, taken students on field trips to meet authors and adopted a “failure is not an option” approach to some of the hardest-to-reach students. Yet with a stellar 16-year career under her belt, Starr said the new testing culture is killing education.

“I can’t do it anymore, not in this ‘drill ‘em and kill ‘em’ atmosphere,” she said. “I don’t think anyone understands that in this environment if your child cannot quickly grasp material, study like a robot and pass all of these tests, they will not survive.”


The tests are developmentally inappropriate for typical students and torture for those with special needs, she said. And, even an individual education plan is not enough to shield students from the rigors of state expectations.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/02/10/onslaught-tests-burn-elyria-high-starr/

This is 1 teacher out of how many nationwide?

 

[nugov2]

This is 1 teacher out of how many nationwide?

Exactly. I don't think this is quite the Chicken Little scenario people are making it out to be in many areas of the country or we'd see more than 2,000 people signing a petition in a state will millions of students. We'd be seeing whole school walk outs everywhere. This test is going to have issues and will need to be tweaked or replaced no doubt about that, but it isn't going to go away. It is the way it is. If everyone fails they'll rewrite it. Our students did well with the CC aligned testing last year...was it as high, nope but still scoring high. Like I said they aren't going to hold whole districts of students back from graduating. If schools would just do what is best for their students instead of trying so hard to teach to the test, they'd be much better off.

 

[Happy Snowman]

It truly amazes me that you know what every parent is thinking that objects to the test. Thanks for the laugh!!

Sure thing, anytime....keep reading....

 

[nugov2]

ELYRIA — Stacie Starr says mandated state testing is pushing her away from teaching.

The veteran Elyria Schools educator said Monday she plans to resign at the end of the school year.

Gasps of disbelief followed the announcement made during an education forum aimed at unraveling for parents the intricacies of the standardized testing system. Starr was at the podium, delivering a talk on how special education students are suffering under the new system based on Common Core standards and more rigorous assessments. She said as a veteran intervention specialist at Elyria High School, she could no longer watch silently from within the confines of a structured school day.


Starr garnered a reputation of being a rock star teacher long before “Live with Kelly and Michael” picked her as the winner of the 2014 Top Teacher Search. She has mentored middle school boys, putting books in the hands of at-risk youth and ties on their necks to foster a sense of pride. Handing out high school diplomas to those same students was a highlight of her career, a testament that getting a child to graduation sometimes requires more than just lesson plans and homework.

She has coached football, taken students on field trips to meet authors and adopted a “failure is not an option” approach to some of the hardest-to-reach students. Yet with a stellar 16-year career under her belt, Starr said the new testing culture is killing education.

“I can’t do it anymore, not in this ‘drill ‘em and kill ‘em’ atmosphere,” she said. “I don’t think anyone understands that in this environment if your child cannot quickly grasp material, study like a robot and pass all of these tests, they will not survive.”


The tests are developmentally inappropriate for typical students and torture for those with special needs, she said. And, even an individual education plan is not enough to shield students from the rigors of state expectations.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2015/02/10/onslaught-tests-burn-elyria-high-starr/

Just to give you another perspective here is a teacher's from Boston feelings on the testing from a NY times article:

"A colleague of mine likens the roll-out of these new PARCC tests to healthcare.gov: an important and new innovation but with very poor initial implementation.

The fact is that we need these new PARCC tests. The new Common Core standards which they test are more rigorous and better aligned (than previous state standards) to the skills our nation's students actually need for success in college and beyond. The PARCC tests, while probably a bit longer than they need to be, are overall smartly designed and will play a pivotal role in letting parents and educators know if students are actually growing and on track for post-secondary success.

That said, the PARCC roll-out has been painfully inept over the past year. Educators have been essentially teaching with a blindfold because the release of sample tests--an important guide for teachers in how to prepare students--has consistently been delayed. Math teachers at my school only found out a couple weeks ago what the math performance-based tests in mid-March will look like.

As committed ELA teachers in a high-poverty urban school, my colleagues and I know that our students will greatly benefit from these tests. But will PARCC survive the enemies it is making due to its messy roll-out?"



Do I think teachers are rallying to support PARCC, nope...I just also think the vast majority feel the same as in testing of the past. I'd say that if 10% of students/teachers are opting out or are against this testing it would be a stretch. It is just like the measles epidemic that has now passed us by and the Ebola crisis that also passed us by, sensationalism sells in the media and outrage against parcc vs indifference about parcc testing is much more exciting. I guess we will see how this "movement" develops over the next few weeks of testing, but most of the early numbers of students opting out fall between 1-5% of students.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

I find it amazing that our education system did just fine producing a work force that could lead the world in innovation from the 1700's-1970's, until the gov't stepped in. Now, we have been told we are not as smart as we once we compared(unfairly) to some other nations. I truly feel sorry for educators, most of the public has no idea what they have to teach, what they have to teach to, and the struggles that each kid brings with him/her.

Standardized testing is pointless, they should get rid of it all and let the states keep the millions of dollars they give to these companies to produce and administer the tests. Our paper ran a story not too long ago. Our middle school children spent an average of 40 school days taking some form of standardized test last year.

 

[mnrose]

Minnesota is not part of Common Core...I think because our state's standards already exceeded those of Common Core. So, it's not like Common Core sets impossibly high standards or anything. Might seem high to those states who were already behind, but it's pretty much "status quo" here in Minnesota. All this discussion got me wondering whether there was some new testing this year, and there is not for us. Same old same old.