Testing refusal rates in your district

[undertheradar]

Something else wrong with these tests at least in NY. Product placement ads within the tests. IBM™, Lego®, FIFA® and Mindstorms™...are part of the readings in the tests- With trademark symbols and footnotesall their distracting the student. Why do they need to do this? Tell me this isn't all about financial gain.

Perhaps it is an attempt to use something the kids can relate to?

 

[Tinijocaro]

What are you basing the bolded on?

Well,it's distracting to me and I can imagine if I was taking "a very important test" , the trademarks and footnote annotations would be a distraction. But maybe that's just me. I'm not a third grader.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well,it's distracting to me and I can imagine if I was taking "a very important test" , the trademarks and footnote annotations would be a distraction. But maybe that's just me. I'm not a third grader.

I think kids are more resilient than many adults give them credit for.

I am curious... what exactly is distracting to you? The use of 'brand names', or the trademarks and footnote annotations. Personally, I don't find them distracting. I'm not a third grader though either.

 

[nugov2]

Well,it's distracting to me and I can imagine if I was taking "a very important test" , the trademarks and footnote annotations would be a distraction. But maybe that's just me. I'm not a third grader.

It is better than some of the ridiculous names they used on the past. I'd always tell my kids to replace the names the cannot read with another name because they would get hung up on the name.

They are using it to get money I'm sure but also because kids like reading about what they know. Testing companies being in it for the money is not a new concept.

I still am curious what test do you take? What is the name of it?

 

[Tinijocaro]

NY State Assessment. That's the name of it, made by none other than Pearson. Some of our schools are doing field testing for PARCC but PARCC is not being used officially at this point.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Something else wrong with these tests at least in NY. Product placement ads within the tests. IBM™, Lego®, FIFA® and Mindstorms™...are part of the readings in the tests- With trademark symbols and footnotesall their distracting the student. Why do they need to do this? Tell me this isn't all about financial gain.

I hear Hooters restaurant has bought a sponsorship for next year's test and they're going to score it on a 36 point scale.

 

[Tinijocaro]

I hear Hooters restaurant has bought a sponsorship for next year's test and they're going to score it on a 36 point scale.

lol! Instead of 1, 2, 3, or 4, they will get A, B, C, or D

 

[Disneychix]

My 2nd grade son with an IEP for Math (12 to 1 class) and Speech (30x1) and OT (30x2) has not had services all week due to the special ed teachers being used as proctors for the higher grades testing. I just found this out on Monday when he came home from school and told me his math teacher would not be there all week. He has not come home with any math homework thus far and his math homework from last weekend is still sitting in his homework folder.

 

[nugov2]

My 2nd grade son with an IEP for Math (12 to 1 class) and Speech (30x1) and OT (30x2) has not had services all week due to the special ed teachers being used as proctors for the higher grades testing. I just found this out on Monday when he came home from school and told me his math teacher would not be there all week. He has not come home with any math homework thus far and his math homework from last weekend is still sitting in his homework folder.

Are they violating his IEP? What are you doing about it if they are. Again where is the classroom teacher while there class is being tested? This whole thing makes no sense. When my dd in 4th grade is taking a test her teacher is the one who is the Proctor not the resource teacher. It makes no sense a resource would have to fill in as proctor. There are other ways to schedule the testing so that doesn't happen.

 

[Disneychix]

If a child with an IEP (or identified as having a need for a different form of test taking) is taking the test those students have to take the test elsewhere (for example having the test read to him, giving extra time for test taking) and the 'other' teachers are needed as proctors.

I assume they are violating his IEP (which ironically is only 3 weeks old) since he is not having a 12 to 1 math class but since I've just found out about this I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

What do they do when he goes on a field trip? Does that violate his IEP? Or am I giving permission to violate on those days?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Cannot_Wait_4Disney said: ↑
I hear Hooters restaurant has bought a sponsorship for next year's test and they're going to score it on a 36 point scale.

lol! Instead of 1, 2, 3, or 4, they will get A, B, C, or D

I can hear it now. Mommy!!! I got a DD on my Hooters test!!!!

 

[DopeyDame]

If a child with an IEP (or identified as having a need for a different form of test taking) is taking the test those students have to take the test elsewhere (for example having the test read to him, giving extra time for test taking) and the 'other' teachers are needed as proctors.

I assume they are violating his IEP (which ironically is only 3 weeks old) since he is not having a 12 to 1 math class but since I've just found out about this I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

What do they do when he goes on a field trip? Does that violate his IEP? Or am I giving permission to violate on those days?

I am certainly not an IEP expert, but I absolutely would be raising this concern to the school. At the very least, he should be having make up classes for the ones he missed. They can't just say "oh well, teacher was busy. So sad too bad." I can't speak to the math class, as my son's IEP isn't for classroom stuff. He gets ST, though. And his IEP says x sessions per month. And he gets those number of sessions regardless of what else is going on at school. When there are field trips, school activities, scheduled closings, etc., his schedule is altered that month to make sure he gets his sessions. He didn't get all his sessions in February, because of all the snow days. I know a friend who still insisted that the school giver her kid all his sessions despite all the crazy weather, but I wasn't going to go to the mat for that.

Your school is very intentionally and be design failing to meet his IEP. I would sure as heck be asking questions as to when he will have makeup sessions to ensure he receives all of his services this month (or week, depending on how the IEP is worded)

 

[erin1715]

NY State Assessment. That's the name of it, made by none other than Pearson. Some of our schools are doing field testing for PARCC but PARCC is not being used officially at this point.

I appreciate your clarifying that NYS does not use the PARCC because I had NO idea what the other poster who kept referring to this test was talking about. I think unless you're in NYS, you can't really speak to what is going on here in education. It seems that even though CC is supposed to be common, it's anything but that right now. But I'm not in the classroom and am not familiar enough with CC to say whether the same curriculum is adopted by all states. It makes me envious for Texas as a non-CC state. People love Texas - sometimes I wish my entire family could uproot from NYS, but family alone is what keeps us here.

 

[erin1715]

I just came across this interesting article written by a woman who was hired to be a scorer with Pearson without so much as speaking with the company.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...position-as-a-professional-scorer-by-pearson/

 

[kamik86]

I am certainly not an IEP expert, but I absolutely would be raising this concern to the school. At the very least, he should be having make up classes for the ones he missed. They can't just say "oh well, teacher was busy. So sad too bad." I can't speak to the math class, as my son's IEP isn't for classroom stuff. He gets ST, though. And his IEP says x sessions per month. And he gets those number of sessions regardless of what else is going on at school. When there are field trips, school activities, scheduled closings, etc., his schedule is altered that month to make sure he gets his sessions. He didn't get all his sessions in February, because of all the snow days. I know a friend who still insisted that the school giver her kid all his sessions despite all the crazy weather, but I wasn't going to go to the mat for that.

Your school is very intentionally and be design failing to meet his IEP. I would sure as heck be asking questions as to when he will have makeup sessions to ensure he receives all of his services this month (or week, depending on how the IEP is worded)

I'm curious if a student has a IEP that says that will have 2 sessions per week. Then the student is sick on Wed-Friday and is out three days. What happens then? Or does the school get a by then because the sessions were scheduled and the student didn't attend? I realize snow days are a bit different because the school decided there was no school vs you deciding not to send your child due to an illness but was just curious how that worked.

 

[Kbee]

Just read in my local paper that a NYSED spokesperson said the state will still go ahead with its planned use of the data. My district had the highest opt-out percentage in the county. With them still planning on using the data, did the opt-out end up screwing teachers even more?

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

They are in violation of their teacher contract if they are having you refuse services. That is against the law. You can strike then in that district all across the boad. It isn't going to be hard to find violations in every district based on all of the horror stories of what teachers are being forced to do....unless they are exaggerating the situation.



In Illinois you can send a written letter opting your child out. They do not have to sit in front of the class and refuse themselves. That is false.

Sorry, but you are incorrect on that one. This is copied straight from the ISBE website (Illinois State Board of Education):
Schools and districts must administer these assessments. Students may not opt out of the PARCC assessment. Federal law -- specifically, the Elementary Education and Secondary Education Act (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) -- requires states (including Illinois) receiving Title I funds to provide for the participation in the state’s academic assessment of all designated students. See Section 1111(b)(3)(c)(ix)(I) of that law. A district that allows students to opt out of the state’s required test would directly violate both federal and state law.

 

[msjprincess]

Sorry, but you are incorrect on that one. This is copied straight from the ISBE website (Illinois State Board of Education):
Schools and districts must administer these assessments. Students may not opt out of the PARCC assessment. Federal law -- specifically, the Elementary Education and Secondary Education Act (also known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) -- requires states (including Illinois) receiving Title I funds to provide for the participation in the state’s academic assessment of all designated students. See Section 1111(b)(3)(c)(ix)(I) of that law. A district that allows students to opt out of the state’s required test would directly violate both federal and state law.

Technically there is no "opt out" option. But a child can still refuse

http://www.isbe.net/sis/pdf/not_testing.pdf

15 - Refusal but Present to Test -Student was presented a test booklet but refused to engage with the test.

 

[pryncess527]

Technically there is no "opt out" option. But a child can still refuse

http://www.isbe.net/sis/pdf/not_testing.pdf

15 - Refusal but Present to Test -Student was presented a test booklet but refused to engage with the test.

Yes, but the poster you quoted was disputing a claim made by another poster who specfically said

In Illinois you can send a written letter opting your child out. They do not have to sit in front of the class and refuse themselves. That is false.

Which, as you note, is not true. For a child to opt out in Illinois, the child has to be present and refuse to participate.

 

[msjprincess]

Yes, but the poster you quoted was disputing a claim made by another poster who specfically said



Which, as you note, is not true. For a child to opt out in Illinois, the child has to be present and refuse to participate.

Sorry I confused her with someone else. I thought she had said they weren't allowed to refuse at all.