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

[jodifla]

And, if they're doing that with other kids who already took the test, then that's not cheating. Putting test question information on social media risks the integrity of the test. Do people really not understand this?

We don't know what was put out there -- but we do know that the Superintendent thought Pearson was out of line. She also thought her state's push for punishment was out of line -- and it doesn't take much to infer that Pearson is pushing for discipline, since it says on both their UK and International site that that's what they will do. You can read her exact email here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...a-for-security-breaches-during-parcc-testing/

 

[jodifla]

Honestly, this is why I think Common standards are important. All schools and areas are doing things at a different time. My point is for some kids these tests are not difficult, doesn't mean that they are perfect and don't need tweaking, but also not inappropriate for all. I don't think they are lowering the bar as much as it is just making sure the bar is starting at the same place. I'm not trying to be mean but it is possible that some states their standards(and not saying yours specifically) that their top was another states average and that is the reason for the standards. For some top performing districts the standards are just the beginning and not the ceiling and that is really what should continue to happen for districts who have been performing well, but it also means low performing districts have a goal for the minimum standard those children should be leaving a grade with.

As far as the kids not understanding how to take the test, it says that your school hasn't integrated technology enough into your district and the students don't have a solid enough foundation to properly take the online version and that your district probably should have done the paper test. Obviously a teachers mistake about grouping the kids together isn't the fault of the test. The tools needed to successfully complete the test are not difficult to use if the children have been given a chance to get familiar with them and have a solid background with using technology. It really isn't accurate to say these tests are appropriate nor inappropriate and like I said each parent should evaluate what their child is capable off. Hopefully this test will be tweaked and schools that lack the resources will be given other options until they student are capable of completing the test online. Hopefully they will also remove the advancement/retention policy as well as the 50% teacher evaluation tie in with the tests. It just causes more problems.

You say everything is easy for your district -- but you don't have the results yet, so that's really counting your chickens before they hatch.

 

[jodifla]

The article here is informative, and there are two important comments from teachers here about students with special needs and the grave injustice being done to them:

http://teachersletterstobillgates.c...-level-high-stakes-standardized-tests-anyway/
Students in Special Ed who cannot write a sentence – forced to sit for 3 hour state exams: This is child abuse. →
Who thought of forcing children on IEPs to take grade-level high stakes standardized tests anyway?




"I agree with this post. I am a teacher, but have seen firsthand special ed students who cannot even write a sentence be forced to sit and comply with a three-hour state exam. This is child abuse. They end up crying with their heads down on the desk. The problem is that the school is limited to opting out 1% of the population but the special ed students make up much more than 1% of the population."

And


"I as a teacher of Special Needs students have asked repeatedly over the years why my students have to take these tests. Always the same answer-it is the law and we can only have a certain amount not take them, take the alternate assessment, the modified standardized form, all other must take the regular form. I am forced to decide which ones that will be. At the conference I may recommend one form, and then later be forced to reconvene to change it-all because of numbers. Most of my students are 3-4 grade levels below their peers and others much further below. They are hard working wonderful children who stress out every time they have to take these tests. They can’t read it, comprehend it, calculate the answers, write enough to make sense, spell well enough to be understood, or follow the directions to complete an essay correctly. I spend far too much time teaching these type of skills at levels too far above them. These students need skills taught to them that they WILL use in the real world. Now my evaluation will be tied to their results on these tests, and the rest of the school-who I never teach. But that is the least of my concerns. My BIGGEST concern is the effect I have watched on these students. Yes, it is abusive. The anger, depression, and low self esteem increase every year during these testing periods. Is there someone out there who truly believes that a child with cognitive disabilities can pass these tests at grade level? Yes, there are some who do-and I am thrilled when they do. I am quite good at knowing which of my students could do this. As a teacher, we have very little voice in changing this. We are told what we must do. We are threatened when we speak up. And, when we have spoken up, then are words fall on deaf ears and hearts."

 

[nugov2]

You say everything is easy for your district -- but you don't have the results yet, so that's really counting your chickens before they hatch.

1. I don't care how the kids score, only that the tests don't stress the kids out, that they are not being taught to the test or being pressured to perform. All things that are not happening and why I am fine with the test.

2. I'm not counting any chickens. I have no idea how they'll do only that my dd felt it was easy, feeling something is easy and doing well aren't always the same. They took the pilot test and a new aligned CC test last year and did well, but I think it is possible the scores will drop. In our district the scores also will have very little impact. Nobody is held back, it isn't 50% of teacher evaluation, it doesn't determine placement of students the following year and we don't get title 1 funding. In that aspect we are lucky.

You confuse with my statements about how this test isn't much different for our area then the tests of the past and the fact that it hasn't change instruction time or the teacher's behavior with the kids to being a fan of the test. My view is just it is the same 'ol same 'ol. I don't think it is causing damage to our students or inappropriate. I also think if high number of students scores are low they will rewrite it or scrap it all together. I don't think we are going to see districts holding back 80% of their students in states where that is a factor. I just don't see or hear anyone who thinks the test is abusive, or anyone with a child who has been crying in our area. I've even asked my dd how the kids are, if anyone is upset and she said no. So that is what is important to me. All of the complaints mostly go back to districts and teachers who are making mistakes by teaching to a test hour after hour or telling kids if they don't do well they will be fired or putting other stress on the kids, or states that have made the test too high stakes. That isn't the test that is people doing that. It also was going on before parcc and will continue to go on after if the problems in that state are not changed. It has nothing to do with what test is administered, but the policies in place in that state. That is what people should be fighting and not what the name of the test is and who makes it.

 

[nugov2]

Just thought I'd share. A friend who teaches about an hour from our district posted this on Facebook:

PARCC day 1 went great and kids gave positive feedback. Bring on the rest of the week!

Two people posted positive comments below her post. I'd screen shot it if I knew how to black out information.

Not that excuses the issues other places, but it isn't doom and gloom everywhere and our areas experience isn't isolated. I think it really is more of a state to state issue.

 

[leebee]

Because of the technology limitations in our school, it's going to take 6 weeks for our kids to take the Smarter Balance tests. It's crazy. We can do three classes a day for 90 minutes each, and we have 18 classes that each take 9 tests (some of these are in-class assessments, but every class is signed up for 7 sessions in the computer lab). Testing starts next Monday for our school, but the testing window for our state opened today.

The teacher's union just sent email saying that they have been notified that teachers have been receiving a multi-page document that includes 4 pages of security directions, a student privacy document, and a "test security agreement" from Smarter Balanced Assessments. It includes a document that the individual teachers and test administrators must sign agreeing to follow the rules and regulations of test administration, and one consequence of failure to follow protocol is investigation by the Department of Education for possible certification action. Our union has stated that anything that cites employment consequences is subject to collective bargaining and we will not give up just cause protection by signing it. They go on to say there is ample due process procedure to follow and that they will provide free legal defense for anyone who is subject to investigation and threatened with such sanctions.

All this, just for teachers to give a test? Craziness!!!

 

[ilovefh]

The teacher's union just sent email saying that they have been notified that teachers have been receiving a multi-page document that includes 4 pages of security directions, a student privacy document, and a "test security agreement" from Smarter Balanced Assessments. It includes a document that the individual teachers and test administrators must sign agreeing to follow the rules and regulations of test administration, and one consequence of failure to follow protocol is investigation by the Department of Education for possible certification action. Our union has stated that anything that cites employment consequences is subject to collective bargaining and we will not give up just cause protection by signing it. They go on to say there is ample due process procedure to follow and that they will provide free legal defense for anyone who is subject to investigation and threatened with such sanctions.

All this, just for teachers to give a test? Craziness!!!

The second part of your post is not new in FL. Each year before FCAT, and now probably before the FSA teachers have to sign a security agreement and write down our certification number. If we break the "rules" we can lose our certification.

 

[nugov2]

Because of the technology limitations in our school, it's going to take 6 weeks for our kids to take the Smarter Balance tests. It's crazy. We can do three classes a day for 90 minutes each, and we have 18 classes that each take 9 tests (some of these are in-class assessments, but every class is signed up for 7 sessions in the computer lab). Testing starts next Monday for our school, but the testing window for our state opened today.

The teacher's union just sent email saying that they have been notified that teachers have been receiving a multi-page document that includes 4 pages of security directions, a student privacy document, and a "test security agreement" from Smarter Balanced Assessments. It includes a document that the individual teachers and test administrators must sign agreeing to follow the rules and regulations of test administration, and one consequence of failure to follow protocol is investigation by the Department of Education for possible certification action. Our union has stated that anything that cites employment consequences is subject to collective bargaining and we will not give up just cause protection by signing it. They go on to say there is ample due process procedure to follow and that they will provide free legal defense for anyone who is subject to investigation and threatened with such sanctions.

All this, just for teachers to give a test? Craziness!!!

I think this is another example of blowing something out of proportion. I don't know what test you took before PARCC, but here that has always been the protocol with standardized testing. It is just a one page little blurb you sign, but I'm not sure why it would violate your contract. The contract states that failure to abide by the contract(not copy questions, reveal content etc.) may result in an investigation that leads to sanctions including employment and licensure consequences according to your state policy. You don't need the union to intervene as they are stating you follow your already in place state guidelines on cheating. The other pages I'd imagine are guidelines on how to administer the test appropriately and not 4 pages on security directions. That testing manual comes with all standardized testing with a page to sign at the end.

ETA that if you are in Florida you signed a similar agreement for the previous test FCAT. Only you weren't signing you'd lose your job, but that you could spend no more than 90 days in jail and up to $1,000 fine. I'd assume that would mean you'd also lose your job, though it doesn't come out and say it.

 

[ilovefh]

I think this is another example of blowing something out of proportion. I don't know what test you took before PARCC, but here that has always been the protocol with standardized testing. It is just a one page little blurb you sign, but I'm not sure why it would violate your contract. The contract states that failure to abide by the contract(not copy questions, reveal content etc.) may result in an investigation that leads to sanctions including employment and licensure consequences according to your state policy. You don't need the union to intervene as they are stating you follow your already in place state guidelines on cheating. The other pages I'd imagine are guidelines on how to administer the test appropriately and not 4 pages on security directions. That testing manual comes with all standardized testing with a page to sign at the end.

ETA that if you are in Florida you signed a similar agreement for the previous test FCAT. Only you weren't signing you'd lose your job, but that you could spend no more than 90 days in jail and up to $1,000 fine. I'd assume that would mean you'd also lose your job, though it doesn't come out and say it.

That security agreement is from FCAT the first version. The agreement for FCAT 2.0 was different. You can google it because I don't know if I can post it. Basically it says any suspected improprieties will result in an investigation, possible loss of teacher certification (which means loss of job) and possible involvement of law enforcement.

 

[nugov2]

That security agreement is from FCAT the first version. The agreement for FCAT 2.0 was different. You can google it because I don't know if I can post it. Basically it says any suspected improprieties will result in an investigation, possible loss of teacher certification (which means loss of job) and possible involvement of law enforcement.

Thanks I just googled FCAT security agreement so the original must have come up. I know we signed them for our standardized testing when I taught too.

 

[jodifla]

Pretty draconian stuff for a stupid test. Talk about taking away all the power from the students, teachers and parents.

Why are we doing this again? Why do we tolerate it?

 

[Ceila]

Thanks I just googled FCAT security agreement so the original must have come up. I know we signed them for our standardized testing when I taught too.

The second part of your post is not new in FL. Each year before FCAT, and now probably before the FSA teachers have to sign a security agreement and write down our certification number. If we break the "rules" we can lose our certification.

We had the same type of thing in NJ in past years with NJASK. You're absolutely right - this kind of thing is nothing new at all. Now, though, with all of the heightened awareness surrounding testing, people are pulling anything and everything out to use as ammunition. As I said to Jodi above, antics like that just water down the legitimate concerns. She and people like her are bellowing so loudly about non-issues that the real problems are getting buried.

And Jodi, on that note, I just can't respond to you anymore. You take articles, news, etc. out of context, don't read the facts, and it's just a waste of time to try to reason with you. The sad thing is that I'm also against PARCC and this type of testing, too, but it seems like you just refuse to see beyond your own pre-conceived notions.

 

[jodifla]

We had the same type of thing in NJ in past years with NJASK. You're absolutely right - this kind of thing is nothing new at all. Now, though, with all of the heightened awareness surrounding testing, people are pulling anything and everything out to use as ammunition. As I said to Jodi above, antics like that just water down the legitimate concerns. She and people like her are bellowing so loudly about non-issues that the real problems are getting buried.

And Jodi, on that note, I just can't respond to you anymore. You take articles, news, etc. out of context, don't read the facts, and it's just a waste of time to try to reason with you. The sad thing is that I'm also against PARCC and this type of testing, too, but it seems like you just refuse to see beyond your own pre-conceived notions.

Fair enough. The stakes are extremely high and damaging for families like mine, and that's why I take it so personally.

 

[jodifla]

http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled...tandardized_tests.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_fb_top

More testing garbage for our kids:

Welcome to Kindergarten. Take This Test. And This One.
One of the first times New Orleans kindergarten teacher Molly Mansel gave her class a computer-based standardized test last fall, the 30 5-year-olds didn’t know how to take it. The children, raised in the era of the mighty touchscreen, were instructed to use a computer mouse to take the test. Instead, they kept trying to swipe the laptop screens like they were iPhones.

Recent research out of the University of Virginia shows that contemporary kindergarten teachers spend much more time teaching academic skills—skills that are often tested—than they did 15 years ago. And they spend significantly less time on dramatic play and art. A look inside Mansel’s classroom at Sylvanie Williams Elementary School offers a view of what these changes actually look like on the ground.

Mansel’s students started taking tests just three weeks into the 2014–15 school year. They began with a state-required early childhood exam in August, which covered everything from basic math to letter identification. Mansel estimates that it took between four and five weeks for the teachers to test all 58 kindergarten students—and that was with the help of the prekindergarten team. The test requires an adult to sit individually with each student, reading questions and asking them to perform various tasks. The test is 11 pages long and “it’s very time-consuming,” according to Mansel, who is 24 and in her third year of teaching (her first in kindergarten).

 

[jodifla]

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/...lain-disturbing-monitoring-of-student-tweets/

State Officials, Testing Firm Asked to Explain ‘Disturbing’ Monitoring of Tweets
John Mooney | March 17, 2015
Assembly education committee chairman looks askance at surveillance of Twitter accounts for possible PARRC security breaches

State Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr. (D-Middlesex)
Calling the practice “disturbing,” the chairman of the state Assembly’s education committee has asked representatives of Pearson and the state Department of Education to explain their monitoring of student social media account.

The testing company state officials have said that Twitter posts had been checked for potential security breaches related to the state’s PARCC testing.

Related Links
NJ DOE Statement on Twitter Monitoring

Assembly Bill 4165

PARCC Checks of Twitter Feeds Shed Light on Test Security

State Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said yesterday that he has heard conflicting accounts about the monitoring, which led the state to warn at least two districts of possible test-security issues. He asked Pearson and the Christie administration to send representatives to the committee’s meeting on Thursday to further explain the process.

 

[Happy Snowman]

Because of the technology limitations in our school, it's going to take 6 weeks for our kids to take the Smarter Balance tests. It's crazy. We can do three classes a day for 90 minutes each, and we have 18 classes that each take 9 tests (some of these are in-class assessments, but every class is signed up for 7 sessions in the computer lab). Testing starts next Monday for our school, but the testing window for our state opened today.

The teacher's union just sent email saying that they have been notified that teachers have been receiving a multi-page document that includes 4 pages of security directions, a student privacy document, and a "test security agreement" from Smarter Balanced Assessments. It includes a document that the individual teachers and test administrators must sign agreeing to follow the rules and regulations of test administration, and one consequence of failure to follow protocol is investigation by the Department of Education for possible certification action. Our union has stated that anything that cites employment consequences is subject to collective bargaining and we will not give up just cause protection by signing it. They go on to say there is ample due process procedure to follow and that they will provide free legal defense for anyone who is subject to investigation and threatened with such sanctions.

All this, just for teachers to give a test? Craziness!!!

I guess your school needs to address the technology issues. Computers have been around in schools for a very long time and they are not going away. Perhaps someone in your school needs to start writing grants to get more computers, etc.

As for test regulations, that is not new.


WHY IS CHANGE SO HARD FOR PEOPLE????? It's just a different test people. Schools have been administering standardized tests for decades and decades. It is NOT NEW...it's just a different test!!!

 

[Kayabee]

I guess your school needs to address the technology issues. Computers have been around in schools for a very long time and they are not going away. Perhaps someone in your school needs to start writing grants to get more computers, etc.

As for test regulations, that is not new.


WHY IS CHANGE SO HARD FOR PEOPLE????? It's just a different test people. Schools have been administering standardized tests for decades and decades. It is NOT NEW...it's just a different test!!!

You are right they have been around for decades, but decades ago the only ones worth stressing over were the SATs. I'm pretty sure your children are not in elementary school any longer, so maybe you aren't personally aware of the issues people have with their children taking these tests. Its not just about "change" its about the needless stress put upon the teachers and kids for the sake of these tests.

 

[kamik86]

I guess your school needs to address the technology issues. Computers have been around in schools for a very long time and they are not going away. Perhaps someone in your school needs to start writing grants to get more computers, etc.

As for test regulations, that is not new.


WHY IS CHANGE SO HARD FOR PEOPLE????? It's just a different test people. Schools have been administering standardized tests for decades and decades. It is NOT NEW...it's just a different test!!!

This is something I could see being an issue in many schools. I know most of the public use computers in my high school was awful (The ones in the IT lab, the typing class, in the electronics, buisiness, and computer aided drafting shops, etc were good but that wouldn't be enough to test on unless only one grade was testing and you kicked everyone else out of those classes too). Almost all computers in my middle school were awful. Granted this was a number of years ago so maybe they have gotten better in most places... but if not I would hate to have taken a computer test on those.

My first computer based standardized test was the GRE for grad school in 2009, but I took that at my college testing center, so it was specifically set up for us to take tests like the GRE.

 

[kamik86]

You are right they have been around for decades, but decades ago the only ones worth stressing over were the SATs. I'm pretty sure your children are not in elementary school any longer, so maybe you aren't personally aware of the issues people have with their children taking these tests. Its not just about "change" its about the needless stress put upon the teachers and kids for the sake of these tests.

Actually I'm 28 and I remember students freaking out some about the CAT tests in elementary school (we had to do these every year, although it was only a few hours a day for 3-4 days). My state then made the MCAS tests and started giving those to 4th, 8th, and 10th graders. I know I took it in 8th grade so that meant we had it by the year 2000.

Then for the graduating class of 2003 the 10th grade one became high stakes so they would have taken that in 2001.

One of the reasons often cited on why we needed this high stakes test when everyone was complaining about it was that NY state already had one (the regents) and that they were surpassing us in education because of it. So that tells me at least two states have had these types of high stakes tests for the past 15 years.

 

[Kayabee]

Actually I'm 28 and I remember students freaking out some about the CAT tests in elementary school (we had to do these every year, although it was only a few hours a day for 3-4 days). My state then made the MCAS tests and started giving those to 4th, 8th, and 10th graders. I know I took it in 8th grade so that meant we had it by the year 2000.

Then for the graduating class of 2003 the 10th grade one became high stakes so they would have taken that in 2001.

One of the reasons often cited on why we needed this high stakes test when everyone was complaining about it was that NY state already had one (the regents) and that they were surpassing us in education because of it. So that tells me at least two states have had these types of high stakes tests for the past 15 years.

I'm a bit older so I'm talking about decades ago, and there was no where near the level of stress associated with these tests back then.
I took the Regents, and other than studying like you would for a class final it wasn't crazy like it is today. My kids now in HS have packets that they work on for weeks. We had our notes from our notebook lol. Oh, and when I took the Regents, it wasn't mandatory unless you wanted a Regents diploma. Besides, those tests were for HS, there was not that kind of stress put in 4th graders.