USED's Latest Nonsense

The statement on testing was embargoed and held until 12pm on a Saturday. What's with that? The US is out picking out pumpkins and Halloween costumes so let's release it then and maybe no one will notice? 

Well, of course, we noticed. We also noticed that major news outlets like the New York Times wrote an entire article without bothering to talk to a single teacher. What's with that? Afraid of what a teacher might tell you about this release? 

I'm not a teacher, but here's what I got out of that release. 

First, and this a biggie. Reducing test time to 2% of the number of hours students are in school per school year. For those of you who grew up without Common Core math, that's roughly 23 hours. TWENTY THREE HOURS. 

Second, "the assessments must be worth taking." Excuse me while I laugh so hard I snort. That's great. Presumably every teacher on the planet would agree. So why has USED forced the adoption of standardized tests? And more to the point, ones that do not do what they claim they do. Why are states, like New Jersey, having committees look at "assessment" with the aim of doing away with tests created by teachers, for the students they are currently teaching, and will be able to immediately use the results to inform their teaching? (hint: no one makes any money on that) How many of your kids no longer have midterms or finals? Mine doesn't. 

Third, and this one cannot be typed with a straight face,  "No standardized test should ever be given solely for educator evaluation." USED offers this up now? When all states that took the NCLB waiver were coerced into creating a teacher evaluation in which standardized test scores are required??? Really?? I'm pretty sure teachers would have a lot to say about that.

Fourth, the babble about students with disabilities and English language learners is the usual trite language about leveling the playing field. If anyone was interested in actually doing that, you wouldn't require these populations to take standardized tests, you would make sure IDEA was fully funded, and you would come down like a ton of bricks on districts that didn't provide appropriate services for their students. 

My take away was not one of a victory in any sense of the word. Yes, I fight like mad to get rid of the crazy testing and, more importantly, the ridiculous high stakes that go with them. Yes, I'm glad that someone in Washington is at least willing to give a nod to the infatuation with testing, but this statement did not make clear which "assessments" they really mean, nor did they back off from the high stakes that go with them. 

New Jersey PARCC Scores *yawn*

From the Dyin-From-Not-Surprise Column, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) announced today that the majority of students who took the PARCC exam failed. If you're like me and you've been following/studying/banging your head against the wall while this crap unfolded over the last several years, you're not fazed. Here's why. 

We have watched New York go through this already. My New York friends have been warning me to "brace" myself. I'm braced. The scores look as expected. This is a multi-million dollar yawn. 

The spin will be that it was really good first try. We have a new benchmark (Really? You are setting a benchmark using a test that hasn't been validated? Explain how that works exactly...). Our kids can do better. The teachers suck, but Pearson is going to sell you a few more millions of dollars worth of test prep, teacher prep, and prep for the prep. And, if that doesn't work, well, the children clearly have issues with lack of grit and we can test for that too. 

The sections in the NJDOE explainer (page 7), comparing scores to NAEP and SAT are really interesting. They forgot to tell the average reader that "proficient" in NAEP-speak represents a very high level of achievement. They also forgot to mention that SAT, beginning with last week's in-school data-mining project delivery of PSAT, is now aligned to Common Core, like PARCC. So, very nice of them to explain SAT, but going forward, for students who are a junior or lower, this does not apply. They have no idea what PARCC scores will look like compared to SAT. 

Note to parents of juniors: Brace yourselves.

And, I can't let this go. What the heck is up with NJDOE making this announcement to only invited guests on the front lawn of New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company? And why did the list include (frankly, continues to include) the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the New Jersey Business & Industry Association? Those two, even more than the Gates and Prudential money taking PTA, really bothers me. They clearly have a fair amount of influence over NJDOE and our legislators. Why aren't parents and students afforded that kind of access? 

So, practically speaking, what does this all mean? Standardized tests don't teach. As parents, we need to speak up. Our children deserve so much better than this. Oh, and Opt Out of the tests. 

I'll leave you with a nod to Chris Tienken:

Dear Mr. President, Really????

Dear President Obama,

It must be Friday. It's one of those days where you just can't believe how incredibly stupid the education news of the day is. First, Arne is leaving. Ok, we can just file that under "Dyin' From Not-Surprise" because, let's face it, it sucks living several hundred miles away from your family and well, no one thought he'd hang in there with you until the bitter end anyway. His temp replacement, though, that is a bit of shocker. I'll get to why in a sec.

So, Arne, your good b-ball buddy, has left quite the boot footprint on US education. Pushing the unproven, not-validated, not-internationally benchmarked Common Core State Standards (CCSS) on all of us (btw, that is something you and your family have never had to endure). Pushing the ridiculous, expensive, time consuming testing that goes with CCSS. Pushing the invalid teacher evaluations. And, my personal favorite, selling the insipid notion that "high expectations" will magically make students with disabilities perform like their neurotypical peers. My goodness, Mr. President, did he ever read any actual peer-reviewed work on education? Ever? Speak with actual teachers and parents? Ever? If you need to see what I'm talking about, read Diane Ravitch and Mercedes Schneider for CCSS and testing; read Bruce Baker for why teacher evaluations are a sham.

Arne's latest foray into practically abolishing special education is especially heinous. He made sweeping changes, with barely a nod to those of us who wrote in protest over the last couple of years. And, he did this while citing research that either cannot be found or using research in specific areas as the basis for major changes that don't apply the way he says they do. Really, someone has to answer for that. Will it be you? It certainly doesn't look like it will be him. 

Now for the temp. John King. I'm laughing as I write that. Surely, Sir, you know what a disaster his tenure in New York was. Right? Well, maybe you don't. Your education policy suggests you haven't a clue what's happening out here. So let me help you. 

I have watched the education war in New York for some time. They are about a year ahead of us in the unmitigated disaster that is CCSS. I've watched the progression of teacher and parent advocacy. The growth of the Opt Out movement. I have helped bring that advocacy here to New Jersey. I have watched in stunned horror at the treatment of parents and teachers as they tried, in vain, to advocate for their children and students. And, I have watched John blow them all off. "Unfortunately, the forums sponsored by the New York State PTA have been co-opted by special interests whose stated goal is to "dominate" the questions and manipulate the forum." [emphasis mine] Glad to know that people like me, the ones who are able to speak up (loudly when necessary), are considered a "special interest." Duly noted. Of course, that set off an even louder outcry and the meetings were rescheduled, but pretty disappointing that the guy in charge of New York ed was willing to just walk away because he didn't like what he heard. I hope his skin is thicker now because he will have parents and teachers from all over the country to listen to. 

You, Sir, also have in him a charter cheerleader. He co-founded one. He led Uncommon Schools. Curious that he's now going to be overseeing US public schools. I wonder if he'll give more to charters than Arne...

And, then there is the teacher evaluations. Yeah, in case you didn't know, a New York teacher filed suit against NY ed officials, including, get this, your new SecEd. A highly regarded educator all of sudden was deemed "ineffective" because of the new teacher evaluation. That's the one that Bruce Baker, above, shredded.

I know the response in the education advocacy world has been swift. But, you know (or maybe you don't), we're getting used to whatever it is you throw at us. Our kids deserve so much more than the Arne Show Part II you're about to unleash on them and their teachers. We aren't going anywhere. Our numbers are growing and we will not give up.

Sincerely,
Julie B.
Mom, aka Special Interest
I've decided the new acronym for this is #OOF  Opt Out Fuel! 

South Brunswick Board of Ed Tries to Oust Education Advocate

In every generation, you hope there will be people who are active and engaged in the community in which they live. You hope they are smart and willing to devote time to contribute and make things better in their corner of the world. New Jersey is lucky to have a lot of such people, especially in education advocacy. 

One of those people is a young woman named Melissa Katz. She is smart and funny and completely dedicated to becoming an urban educator. She is deeply involved in state advocacy for public education, seeing it not only as duty to a greater good, but also with the intent of saving a profession she dearly loves. Her future students will be very lucky to have her as their teacher.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with Melissa, actually I should say another conversation, about how her local Board of Education does a not great job of informing the public about their meetings -- specifically with regard to making their meeting agendas public. What is made available to the public before every meeting, via the district website, is a single page with an outline of a meeting. It looks like something the Business Administrator might start with before filling it in. As a member of the public, you should be able to look at an agenda, 48 hours in advance per the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), and discern what will be discussed. You should be able to decide if there is business you need to attend the meeting for -- either to comment or just to hear the details. South Brunswick Board of Education does not do this. You must attend the meeting to get an actual, full agenda.

Several members of the public have previously brought this to the Board's attention and nothing has been done. Melissa was troubled that the public comments had been ignored. We talked about the best way to approach the Board to ask for an explanation. This, with the full understanding that a Board does not have to respond to the question itself at a meeting. So, Melissa went home and looked at surrounding districts' websites for their Board agendas. All of them were complete. 

At last night's South Brunswick Board of Education meeting, Melissa asked what could be done about providing the full agenda per OPMA. She showed the Board members agendas from three districts. All of which were no less than 19 pages long. She held up theirs...it was one page. She asked how a member of the public could make a decision to attend or not based on the one page "agenda" with no information on it. When she finished, in under the time allotted for comment, she was given a quick thank you and that's it.

Melissa asked the Board VP repeatedly if he would respond. At that point, a simple courtesy (due to anyone who stands up to make a public comment) would have been just to thank her again and take it under advisement. But he didn't do that. Instead, he nodded to the police officer in attendance and asked for her to be removed. 

Think about that for, oh, half a second. A member of the public brings up a legitimate concern regarding how this Board conducts its business, that is by the way, theoretically prosecute-able, and the VP's response is at first to be rude, and then absurd by asking the  police officer to remove her. Melissa refused to leave and sat down. The officer stood over her for several minutes -- presumably to intimidate her into silence. It worked. She said nothing else.

Obviously, this raises some really basic concerns. 

1. Let's presume the Board is not providing a proper agenda because they don't know any better. (Yeah, I know. Suspend your disbelief for a sec.) Once this was brought to their attention, apparently now several times, why didn't they do a better job of informing the public by providing full agendas? Do they not want public input? It sure looks that way. 

2. Boards are not required to respond directly to any questions posed to them during a public meeting. However, they can answer if they choose to.   

3. Perhaps most important, will last night's ridiculous behavior by the Board VP have a chilling effect on the rest of the public? They have just witnessed what happens when a concerned citizen asks a perfectly legitimate question: A police officer will stand over you to shut you up. 

A reminder to the majority of Boards of Education in the state of New Jersey: You are elected to represent the public. Ignoring and attempting to intimidate the public to whom you are responsible is reprehensible. It is unethical. If you can't or won't do the job you were elected to do, step down, get out of the way. There are citizens who would be happy to do the job responsibly.

Note: I'll post video when I can get me hands on an edited version. The entire original is over an hour long. 

Edit to add:
Melissa posted her experience here. This is the edited version from the meeting:

The NJ Standards Review Farce

Back in the spring, Gov. Christie, quite out the blue, announced that he had concerns with Common Core State Standards (CCSS). I’m sure he took a lot of the reformy cheerleaders in the state by surprise. With that proclamation, he also announced yet another review committee to look at CCSS and turn in a report by the end of the year.

A mad scramble ensued over the summer. The committee was quickly thrown together. The composition of the “stakeholders” was announced. As a parent who is very involved and watching closely, I am appalled by a few things.

First, SPAN was listed as the parent special education representative. Those who know me, know I have a very deep respect for SPAN. They do excellent work in this state. I have even had the great privilege of being recognized by them “For Demonstrating Community Leadership to Strengthen New Jersey Families.” In this case, however, I thought that giving the one special education parent spot to an organization, instead of a parent, was unfair. There are many special education parents in the state who would have made a great representative. Oddly, SPAN did not get the seat allotted to them. SEAC did – NJDOE run Special Education Advisory Council. Hmm…NJDOE advising NJDOE. No problem there, right? Here is the full list of Committee members.

I know I’m going to get flak for that comment about SEAC. Let me be really clear. The person appointed represents a dyslexia group that is part of SEAC, and you would only know that if you’re familiar with SEAC members. However, in the NJ education world where transparency is as clear as mud, this appointment was bad form. SPAN, too, would have been for the same reason.

Process matters.

Next was the seat to PTO. Parent Teacher Organization is any non-PTA group. That includes, PFA, PTO, HSA, and so on. I wondered what NJDOE thought the definition was and how they were going to contact all of those organizations in the state when there is no central office for “PTO,” unlike PTA, who can get the word out to the local organizations – in the middle of the summer.

I called the person at NJDOE (whom I will not name, because this is not about shaming any one person) tasked with forming this committee. I left a lengthy message with an assistant and heard nothing back. I then reached out to the president of the State Board of Education. He in turn forwarded my request for explanation to that NJDOE representative and asked that my question be answered. Nothing. I got no phone call, no email, nothing. So much for transparency. Needless to say, the local PTOs I am familiar with had no idea there was a standards review happening at this very moment. They were never contacted by NJDOE for the opportunity to nominate someone.

Process matters.

Then, last night, I attended and provided testimony at the “Listening Tour” (and Focus Group – I’ll get to this) of the Committee. It was held at the Public Safety Training Academy in Parsippany. Only, it wasn’t IN Parsippany, it was in Morris Plains. I wonder if that’s why the third committee member was a no show. Hmmm.

We each had three minutes to weigh in on the entire content of CCSS. Beyond the laughable time allotment, it also appears that none of it was recorded. Less than 10% of the entire committee was in attendance, and they will not hear what was said. They can read it, but I do know that at least one person spoke about something entirely different than what was submitted in writing – something I regularly do at Senate, Assembly, and State Board of Ed meetings. I hope those members in attendance took great notes.

I chose to speak about process. I am a stickler for process, especially in the public sphere where everything should be transparent. I mentioned everything above. And, where special education is concerned, all of the money spent on NCLB and CCSS and the testing and prepping and the insipid notion that education is a one-size-fits-all enterprise, has cost us dearly. How many districts have spent the money on computers to take the tests instead of reading specialists?

And then, there is The Survey. A very, very laborious and long survey. I sincerely hope teachers take what will undoubtedly be a big chunk of time to complete it. Parents, I suspect, will not. At the very least, I hope they will attempt the standards for the grades their children are in, or were in last year. 

Again, process matters. This survey is taking place at the busiest time of year for teachers. For parents, it’s pretty clear they did not have us in mind at all when this was developed. Frankly, I fully expect that even if a few thousand surveys are completed (or turned in incomplete) the spin will be that NJDOE has thousands of data points to brag about. Nevermind that only a tiny percentage of teachers took the survey.

Finally, in the vestibule there was a monitor listing the events happening last evening in the building. Standards Review Listening Tour and Focus Group is how it was listed. What happened last night was definitely not a focus group. Interested to see if NJDOE does follow through with conducting actual focus groups and who/how those participating are chosen. Or, will last night be referred to as a focus group in the final report? Hmmm.

It is impossible to take any of the state’s review committees seriously. We are still waiting (months) for the Special Education and the Assessment Review Committees’ reports. What is the hold up? Now we have this one which has about 6 months to gather information, opinions, and deliver new standards? Better? Different? The same but with cursive writing and a new name? I know my education professor friends are both horrified and laughing their butts off. This is NOT how standards are developed. 

One of my colleagues is calling this a farce. The #ChristieCCSSReviewFarce. I agree. As usual, we deserve so much better than what we are getting. 

This Is 8th Grade In Newark

Newark Public Schools have been under State control since July 1995. Twenty years. In that time, the citizens of Newark have had no say in what happens to their schools. They have watched their neighborhood schools close. They have watched as District money is funneled into charter schools. They have listened to the politicians in this state criticize the very District they are responsible for. Frankly, twenty years later, anything that is not working in Newark Public Schools is squarely on the State’s shoulders.

Have you ever wondered what a student’s schedule looks like? After all, New Jersey Department of Education is laser-focused on standardized test scores and being college and career ready. How does New Jersey translate that into the lives of the young citizens of Newark?

A Newark dad shared his child’s schedule. To my suburban friends, can you ever imagine your child bringing home a schedule that looks like this? Or a superintendent selling this to you? No? Me neither. This is outrageous.

ELA = English Language Arts. SS = Social Studies. It’s not possible to tell how often Social Studies will actually take place, but given that it’s not currently tested and used to condemn students, teachers, and schools, one would presume more time will be given to ELA. By the way, what the heck is a STEM class? In a 30-period week, they already have half devoted to STEM.

We hear a lot about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Really, we should be hearing more about STEAM (A = Arts), but I digress. Should any student be subjected to so narrow a curriculum? And in 8^th grade no less!

Where are music? Chorus? Art class that’s more than one period a week? Languages? Gym that’s more than two periods a week?

College and career ready is all we hear about from the US Department of Education and the New Jersey Department of Education. They haven’t bothered to define what that is exactly, but from this schedule, for kids in Newark, it means ELA and Math to exclusion of all else that makes life interesting, worth living, and generally makes for a well-rounded person. 

Edit to add:
Well, this clearly struck a nerve. Here is the 8th grade schedule from a dad in a decidedly Sparkly District. This is what Newark students' schedules should look like.

Edit to add:
Link to Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post: An eighth-grade boy's 'outrageous' class schedule

The Independent in the U.K. also picked up the story: 'Outrageous' class schedule of 13-year-old boy highlights unequal opportunity in US schools

Arne Says Common Core and Standardized Tests for Students with Disabilities

Dear Arne,

As I read the Federal Register the other day, frustration, disappointment, annoyance, more disappointment, astonishment, were just a few of the emotions I felt. I am still gobsmacked at the utter lack of understanding of students with disabilities. The lack of compassion. The lack of expertise. And, frankly, the utter meanness of your latest demonstration in lack of creativity when dealing with serious educational issues. Just force students with disabilities to do the same as their age peers with no regard for those disabilities and, magically, they will perform as though they are neurotypical. That’s your plan?

Do you have any understanding, at all, of the damage your policies, including this one, will have on children in this country? Any notion at all? Have you ever met a student with a disability…any disability? Have you ever considered, even for a minute, how your opinions on subjects you clearly know nothing about will impact millions of students? Have you thought about what their lives and the lives of their families will look like as they face wildly inappropriate curricula and testing – that are, ultimately, without purpose?

We do NOT suffer from a lack of high expectations. Just the thought of that is laughable. We do, however, suffer from policies that are meant to fail our children. We suffer from poor funding. We suffer from experienced teachers leaving the profession in droves. We suffer from the effects of professional development aimed at how to administer a test, rather than a true honing of teaching skills. We suffer from poorly written IEP’s and from districts that are more interested in “saving money” than teaching our children. We suffer from the notion that Common Core State Standards are good, well researched, and validated. We suffer from lack of support from the Office of Civil Rights.

It is impossible to take you and your policies seriously. If you truly wanted students with disabilities to succeed, you would insist upon and make sure that ALL school districts were well funded. You wouldn’t promote standardized tests as the only way to judge the abilities of our students. You would make sure there are certified teachers in ALL of our schools. You would make sure new teachers are well supported within their districts and that there is money to pay for continuing professional development.

So, when September 21^st rolls around in a few short weeks, how many students with special needs will be well and utterly screwed as they are forced to face developmentally inappropriate curricula and testing? Do you even know the number? How many of them won’t have a prayer of graduating high school, much less be “college and career ready?” (Still waiting for a definition of that, btw.) How many of those will simply end up in prison or on welfare?

As I have said before, part of my job as a parent is to make sure my daughter is as well prepared and educated as possible as she enters into adulthood. I am trying to raise a well-rounded, curious, compassionate individual with something to contribute to the world. Arne, please stop making it so damned difficult and get out of the way. Please.

Sincerely,

Julie B.

P.S. Thanks for adding yet another reason to Opt Out.