Six on Schools: Scores of 'zero' hint at flaws with grade 3-8 ELA test questions; Charter school CEOs get massive paychecks t
philip panaritis
https://networkforpubliceducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NOLA-Rebirth.pdf
|
How To Increase Maturity And Independence in Your Classroom
"In this way, you make a can-do spirit and devouring of any challenge you place before them a normal, everyday part of your classroom.
The truth is, they really can do it.
“This is what is expected.”
“You can do this.”
“You don’t need me.”
“I believe in you.”
No excuses. No rationalizations. No indulging, coddling, or handholding. No pointing fingers anywhere or at anyone.
But themselves."
|
AFT Convention (Pittsburgh) – Day 1 and 2: Featuring Randi Weingarten and Hillary Clinton Speeches
"Yesterday morning Randi Weingarten presented her State of the Union Address, followed by the presentation of the Women’s Right Award to Hillary Clinton.
Click here https://www.aft.org/aft-2018-convention-videos to watch both speeches – (scroll down the left hand column).
Randi’s speech was superb: she laid out a chilling future, autocracy versus democracy, and the vital importance of the November midterm elections. In spite of the Janus decision unions are not only holding on to members but adding members. At a 7 am meeting of the UFT delegation, yes, this is a working convention; UFT President Mulgrew reported that as of a few days ago the UFT has “gained” 126 members.
The convention reconvenes at 9:30 (Saturday) and speakers include Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as well as Representative Conner Lamb, the Democrat who defeated a Republican in a district that was pro-Trump by 20%."
Federal Judge Dismisses Detroit Right-to-Literacy Litigation
"After taking the case under advisement for almost a full year, a federal district judge last week dismissed plaintiffs’ attempt to establish a “right to literacy” under the U.S. Constitution in Gary B. v. Snyder. Plaintiffs, who are children living in poverty and attending public schools in Detroit, alleged that their schools pervasively fail to provide them a reasonable opportunity to learn basic literacy skills. Their legal theory is that there is a constitutional right to literacy under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In his decision, Judge Stephen J. Murphy explored in depth prior U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding the right to education and acknowledged that, although the Supreme Court held in Rodriguez v. San Antonio Ind’t Sch. Dist, 411 U.S. 1 that there is no right to equitable funding under the 14th Amendment, the Court has not yet decided whether the 14th Amendment does guarantee “an opportunity to acquire the basic minimal skills necessary for the enjoyment of the rights of speech and of full participation in the political process.” Accordingly, the Court determined that, in the absence of explicit guidance on this question from the Supreme Court, the district court must “take up this task” on its own.
After rejecting the defendants’ challenges to the plaintiffs’ standing and other procedural objections, the Court examined plaintiffs’ due-process and equal-protection claims. Noting that, despite the Supreme Court’s willingness recently to declare that a right to same-sex marriage is a fundamental interest in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, (2015), Judge Murphy emphasized that “The Supreme Court is historically reluctant to expand the concept of substantive due process because guideposts for responsible decision making in this unchartered area are scarce and open-ended.” Accepting that cautionary perspective, he then held that there is no fundamental right to education under the due process clause, stating in this regard that there was not even a public school system at the time the Constitution went into effect and that there has not been a substantial evolution toward seeing education as a fundamental right among the states since “State courts that have found a right to a minimum level of education have not done so based upon the intrinsic necessities of a free society, but rather, on the precise wording of the relevant state constitutions.”
|
So many 'zero' scores add up to questions about state grade 3-8 ELA tests
Gary Stern | Rockland/Westchester Journal News 2:12 p.m. EDT July 6, 2018
Video: Education Commissioner discusses test scores
Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia discusses the test scores for students in 3-8 grades in a video released by the state Education Department on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017.
Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau
It's a ritual of summer: Parents receive their children's standardized test scores for grades 3 to 8 and have to figure out New York State's mysterious 1-4 scoring scale. Most probably figure out that a 3 means that a student was "proficient" in math or ELA, an achievement that non-educators commonly equate with passing.
Fewer parents probably know that different types of questions on the state's tests have different scoring scales that start below 1. At zero. The big zilch.
A new study by the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz looks at the curiously high percentages of students who received zeroes on certain types of ELA questions between 2013, when New York introduced tests aligned to the Common Core standards, and 2016.
The title of the study gives away the report's conclusion: "Tests are Turning Our Kids Into Zeroes: A Focus on Failing."
TAMPIO: New York's flawed ESSA plan would punish schools for opt outs
PORT CHESTER TEACHER: Testing is just one tool
DATA PRIVACY: Is your student's personal information safe?
The authors, Fred Smith and Robin Jacobowitz, argue that so many kids got zeros on certain questions, reflecting a complete inability to cope with the material, that the tests must have been flawed. "We conclude that testing instruments that put children in a virtual stupor cannot be defended as sound testing practice, nor as a way to raise standards or serve as a foundation for high-stakes decisions..."
The study looks at two types of ELA questions: short response questions, which are scored on a 0-2 scale; and extended response questions, scored on a 0-4 scale.
A key finding is that third- and fourth-graders struggled, reflecting longstanding concerns about the appropriateness of the state tests for its youngest takers. One example: The percentage of zeros on third-grade tests rose from 11 percent in 2012 (the last year before Common Core-based tests) to 18 percent in 2013 to 22 percent in 2016. "The failure here may be in the questions themselves or the belief that it is developmentally acceptable to ask eight-year-olds to sit for extended periods of time to take these exams," the authors write.
Among New York City students, those with disabilities and those who were English language learners had substantially higher percentages of zeroes than other students.
Smith and Jacobowitz are veteran critics of the state's testing program. Smith is a retired testing analyst for the New York City schools who has belonged to a group promoting the "opt out" movement in the city. Jacobowitz is director of education programs at the Benjamin Center and a member of the Kingston Board of Education.
In response to the report, Emily DeSantis, spokeswoman for the state Education Department, said that the Board of Regents and Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia have spent three years listening to parents' and educators' concerns and have made "significant changes to the assessments in response." This year's ELA and math tests, for instance, were reduced from three days each to two days.
In the weeks after this year's tests, though, educators continued to express concerns about the clarity and age-appropriateness of test questions. Rye Schools Superintendent Eric Byrne, in a letter to parents, wrote that some text passages on the 2018 ELA test were "above the appropriate comprehension level" for many students and that some questions were "poorly constructed."
"Many students were distressed and expressed frustration to teachers and administrators," he wrote.
The debate will surely continue as New York moves toward creating new tests that align with the state's slightly revised standards. Elia and the Board of Regents ought to be super cautious about threatening school districts where high rates of parents opt their kids out from the tests. The state's massive plan for complying with federal education law promises that districts that "persistently and substantially fail" to hit 95-percent participation will have to produce a series of reports and audits.
But Elia's new guidelines for that plan also note that the education commissioner may require districts to spend part of their federal Title I money — intended to offset the effects of poverty — to increase student participation on tests. This would be a mistake. Instead, earn public support by building the credibility of your tests over time. There's no shortcut.
Clarify what the value is to students and teachers. As Smith and Jacobowitz wrote, "Questions that yield so many zeroes do not return much substantive, diagnostic information about test takers."
Gary Stern is engagement editor. Twitter: GarySternNY
2:12 p.m. EDT July 6, 2018
