AND ANOTHER THING...

Amongst the many distressing things my principal said in her directives at yesterday's staff meeting, two things really stuck with me and I couldn't get them out of my mind: a) students who would not be taking the tests should be sent to the test refusal rooms with assignments in our test prep books to keep them busy, and b) teachers could neither read nor discuss the tests again this year.

After a fitful night stewing on the continued insanity and non-sensical-ness of it all, I stopped in her office this morning to share my concerns.  I shared my concern for using material that was intended to prep for tests that parents had opted their kids out of because they were concerned about the inappropriateness of the tests, and that it seemed dishonest to not share with the parents what the plan was for their kids.  My admin got very defiant and declared she was not concerned what the parents thought and it was her call.

How do you respond to that kind of thinking?

My response: I asked her not to tell me that.

Seriously.

I felt like I was witnessing something wrong and possibly unethical that I shouldn't be witnessing and as a mandatory reporter I would be obligated to tell someone.

But of course, our laws don't protect children and parents from irrational decisions made by education administrators and policy makers.

But she finally conceded that teachers would be allowed to design their own test refusal room work for students to complete.  She just thought it would be easier to use the test prep books.  (Interesting that she didn't expect the books would be completed in time for the tests, and therefore would be unusable as busy work...)

Later in the morning she sent an email to the staff that they were not required to use the test prep materials, but should provide sufficient independent material to keep kids occupied.

Victory?

Absolutely not.
My response to myself is in what world order is it necessary for a teacher to have to put themselves in a risky situation as I did this morning to bring a modicum of common sense to the insanity of this testing season?!

OY!

P.S. I called the New York State Education Office, Department of Assessment this afternoon.  I felt a need to do my own fact checking, as there is so much that comes forth from my admin that ends up being false.

There is, in fact, nothing preventing teachers from reading the tests and discussing them amongst themselves.  (Copying and posting and sharing in public are still prohibited, of course.)
Despite her unique interpretation of many state regulations, she cannot prohibit us from reading the tests and discussing them amongst ourselves.

Double OY!

A LITTLE RANT IN VERSE...

Couldn't help myself tonight.
In my off-hours from teaching, I vent through writing...  
This I wrote after our staff meeting this afternoon where my principal made clear how much she disapproves of parents who opt their kids out of harmful testing, and where her interpretation of "un-timed tests" means the kids will actually sit longer than they did in previous years, and where she told us almost defiantly that any student who isn't taking the tests must be sent to "test refusal rooms" with a book and the test prep booklets that they will have to complete assignments in, (??!!) I wrote this:

“I know this is true.”

Kids laugh and they curse.  They read and they wrestle.  They make mountains out of molehills. And rush in to help a fallen friend.

And I know, too, this is true:

Kids are not numbers

nor data

nor countable, quantifiable things that can legitimize the millions upon billions that you would so easily spend

To try to convince us that kids are just numbers

and data

and quantifiable things.

Learning is messy and happy and noisy and unpredictable and twisty and turny 

and did I say messy?

Life, too, is messy and happy and noisy and unpredictable and twisty and turny and don’t forget messy.

And no one is demanding to test what YOU do.

"OUR COLLECTIVE VOICES?"

Things are looking up in New York State.  Maybe we really shall overcome.

But I'm still concerned about the union I give a lot of money to.  I'm concerned about how little I feel listened to.  I'm concerned about a group that's so obviously NOT mentioned in NYSUT President Karen Magee's interview on WAMC earlier today.  (Maybe it was just bad editing?)

Ms. Magee's words:

"We got to this point because, over the last two years, NYSUT built stronger coalitions with students, parents and education advocacy groups.  Together, we’ve raised public awareness about the misuse of state tests and other important issues at rallies… at education forums… and in the news media.

Together with parents and others, we’re building a movement… using advocacy as a springboard to press for the changes we want to see.

This ongoing advocacy — our collective voices working together — is how we’ve helped swing the pendulum towards policies in public education that provide an environment for students to learn and for teachers to teach."

Anybody see "teachers" mentioned here?  "Our" collective voices?  I fully support parents and am hugely grateful for NYSAPE and other groups.  But where do teachers' voices come in?

(UNANSWERED?) LETTER TO THE NYSED #623

I'm on Spring Break.  Lots of time on my hands.  Couldn't help myself but compose another letter:

Dear Ms. ___________

I had the opportunity to meet with Commissioner Elia in White Plains last week.  When I raised my question about the math testing timeline I've emailed you about, she expressed interested in further details.  

Ms. Elia admitted she was unfamiliar with the "Shifts in Instructional Focus" document published with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, and also printed in all NY State Administration manuals.  She engaged me in a dialog regarding my specific concerns and asked for my copy of the "Shifts" document from which I was referring.  

I was wondering if the Commissioner may have spoken with you or your colleagues about this subject.  Specifically, I'm referring to the challenge of teaching for deep mathematical understanding rather than teaching tricks and short cuts, and checking for understanding before moving on to new concepts.  With the current amount of curriculum expected to be taught in time for April tests, all that's possible much of the time is "covering" topics so students have at least some familiarity with all the content they may encounter on the tests.  I know the Commissioner is committed to righting past wrongs and responding to the concerns she heard while on her listening tour.  She sounded genuinely interested in teachers, students, and parents finding a new level of trust in the State Ed Dept.

I believe the Commissioner when she shared her commitment.  My concern is real, and it prevents students from successfully finding deep understanding of mathematical concepts without specific redress.

I look forward to continuing this conversation with you, a colleague of yours, or the Commissioner herself.

Thank you for your time and consideration in reading my email, once again.

THIS HELPS ME UNDERSTAND A LOT. MAYBE IT WILL HELP YOU TOO...

Scientists: Earth Endangered by New Strain of Fact-Resistant Humans

March 20, 2016

Scientists have discovered a powerful new strain of fact-resistant humans who are threatening the ability of Earth to sustain life, a sobering new study reports.

The research, conducted by the University of Minnesota, identifies a virulent strain of humans who are virtually immune to any form of verifiable knowledge, leaving scientists at a loss as to how to combat them.

“These humans appear to have all the faculties necessary to receive and process information,” Davis Logsdon, one of the scientists who contributed to the study, said. “And yet, somehow, they have developed defenses that, for all intents and purposes, have rendered those faculties totally inactive.”

More worryingly, Logsdon said, “As facts have multiplied, their defenses against those facts have only grown more powerful.”

While scientists have no clear understanding of the mechanisms that prevent the fact-resistant humans from absorbing data, they theorize that the strain may have developed the ability to intercept and discard information en route from the auditory nerve to the brain. “The normal functions of human consciousness have been completely nullified,” Logsdon said.

While reaffirming the gloomy assessments of the study, Logsdon held out hope that the threat of fact-resistant humans could be mitigated in the future. “Our research is very preliminary, but it’s possible that they will become more receptive to facts once they are in an environment without food, water, or oxygen,” he said.

Source : Newshubs.info

RE-IMAGINING AND RE-DESIGNING OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

I recently attended a workshop run by the dynamic and passionate Jamaal A Bowman, principal of the Cornerstone Academy of Social Action in the Bronx.  He challenged our group of parents, students, and teachers to REimagine and REdesign our schools. It was a simple yet brilliant concept that focused our energy and creativity on positive outcomes, rather than on the often negative energy that comes from defining and articulating all that's wrong with public education today.  

I'm not interested in naiveté of thought that all our problems can be solved by positive thinking.  But it certainly felt good to spend some time working towards plausible, positive solutions. I spend so much of my teaching life protecting my students from the multitude of bad directives that come from "education reform" efforts.  I have to filter all the crazy stuff I'm told to do before I can create a sane, coherent learning environment for my students.  I don't think I should have to spend more time questioning, than planning and implementing what my students need.

I'm still a realist with a healthy dose of skeptic thrown in. But I'm also willing to believe there's value in imagining positive change to work towards true REdesign.

LETTER TO THE NYSED DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY

I was taken aback the other day by my principal confiding in me how upset she is that our school didn't make AYP this year. I asked her what exactly that meant, especially with ESSA, but all she could see was that "she" had "failed" at something.  She doesn't accept failure and is taking this very personally.  I'm predicting that her public response to me and my colleagues will be to pressure us to be sure all our students take the State tests that start in two weeks.  I don't often feel I have the opportunity to initiate such a candid conversation with my admin, but she opened a door with her own sharing.  I decided I'd like to engage her in a conversation about her concerns, but need more information.  

So I wrote the NYSED Department of Accountability:

My principal was visibly upset on Friday when she spoke to me about our school report card and not making AYP.  (We've never not made AYP, nor even been close.)  I want to be able to support my principal and make good decisions in response to her concerns. I'm not sure what AYP means, though, since the ESSA was enacted in December and test results have been decoupled from evaluations of students and teachers.

Can you please help me understand what the report card means and what the consequences may be for not making AYP?  

Thank you for your timely response,

CONGRATULATIONS BETTY ROSA!

Can we all take a moment to be happy, grateful, and hopeful in NY State?

It seems to happen so rarely these days that there’s anything to celebrate in the public education policy arena.
The good news: Betty Rosa was just chosen to be our next Education Chancellor! 

I’ve met Ms. Rosa several times at NYSAPE forums where she is happy to speak and just to listen. She is a tremendous supporter of real teaching, real learning, and understands what our true challenges are.

Surely, the tides can start to turn now…

Let’s do what we can to help and support Ms. Rosa in her new position.
Maybe New York can help lead other states in a new direction.

- Ever hopeful me...

THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING DURING THIS ELECTION SEASON

Our whole school rearranges our daily schedule several times a year to teach character education lessons.  Today I led a lesson in "Respect." In the middle of talking about how words are powerful and you may not see wounds on the outside, but unkind words can hurt you on the inside, I was stopped in my tracks.

Here I was speaking with my students about the importance of treating each other civilly, with kindness, understanding, and respect, even when we may not agree with each other, and it suddenly seemed so futile.

My students are living in a country where lack of civility and even fomenting violence towards those you disagree with is common place.  Politicians running for office in this election cycle are making disrespect, rudeness, and even violent overtures towards those they disagree with common place and apparently acceptable.

How successful can I be teaching character education to pre-teen students, when all around them are adult models of bad behavior?

Teachers face so many challenges in the classroom.  We're familiar with the long list. But this it too much.

Adults vying for the top office in the land are modeling the worst of human behavior as acceptable, even laudable.

How hard is it for kids to think it's now okay for them to act disrespectfully, even violently towards one another?  It seems the worse you treat others, the more votes you get. Or at the very least, the more air time on television you get.

Who can overcome the powerful allure of that?

And can we be successful countering the dangerous narrative that hateful speech is okay as long as people applaud you for it?

I of course will keep trying.

But I'm less confident who will win this struggle to be decent, moral, ethical, and kind.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED FOR TESTING SEASON 2016

In case you don't have time or energy to read my previous epistolary post, I just want to say once again,

NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL HAS CHANGED FOR TESTING IN NEW YORK STATE THIS YEAR!

Read the letter posted previously for more details or let me know you'd like a shorter, more concise bulleted list and I can create one.  The message is simple, though:


NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL HAS CHANGED FOR TESTING IN NEW YORK STATE THIS YEAR.

TESTING 2016 - LETTER TO NYSUT

Today's epistolary offering: (written to the president of NYSUT)

With the testing season nearly upon us, I was hoping to hear from NYSUT regarding your position on support for the 2016 tests.  Last year your voice was loud and clear. I've closely read the "changes" the Commissioner is so proud of, and I've met with her personally.  It is abundantly clear that despite the appearance of change, NOTHING has actually been made different.  None of the four main concerns she said she heard articulated by stakeholders has been addressed in an effective or substantive way.  How can we support the tests this year as if something had actually changed?

Upon close reading you would be hard-pressed to consider SED's responses worthy of increased trust and therefore increased participation in the 2016 testing season.

In response to the widespread concern that students "did not have enough time to apply their best reading skills in the time allowed," the New York State Department of Education reduced the amount of reading passages and test questions by exactly one reading passage and the accompanying questions. 


Do they really believe this "will decrease testing fatigue for some students?"


In response to the widespread concern that students sit too long for tests, the State claims to be "pleased to announce the transition to untimed testing for the Spring 2016 Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics Tests." 

They go on to say that as "NYSED also received extensive feedback from educators from throughout the State about the inability of students to work at their own pace on the Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics Tests" students are now being given almost limitless time to complete the tests.  

NYSED supports this decision by claiming, "This change will provide students further opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do by allowing them to work at their own pace. In general, this will mean that as long as students are productively working they will be allowed as much time as they need to complete the ELA and Mathematics tests. Additionally, this change in policy may help alleviate the pressures that some students may experience as a result of taking an assessment they must complete during a limited amount of time."

Really?!  Is it just me or do these "changes" sound more like editing and shell games?

Can these changes honestly be characterized as substantive responses to the significant concerns parents, teachers, and students have raised in response to testing in Grades 3-8?

I've written to NYSED and yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Commissioner Elia directly.  THERE IS NOTHING SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGED FOR THIS YEAR despite the claim that "These changes are just some of the efforts that NYSED is committed to implementing to improve the quality of the State’s assessments and the experiences that students have taking these tests."

It is difficult for me as a dedicated and concerned teacher to see these changes as an honest effort to improve anything.  It's hard not to take these decisions as anything more than a slap in the face. There is nothing in the actions of the State that can be considered a serious response to significant and serious concerns. 

To be sure, the tests will continue to be inappropriately long in item number.  (Removing the ridiculously few items indicated does not in any way address concerns that students are being asked to take inappropriately lengthy tests.)  And it is hard to understand what "un-timing the tests" will do to address the concern that students experience stress when facing a timed test.  When I met with the Commissioner yesterday, she was very unclear on what administering an untimed test would ultimately look like.  If you can't envision it for yourself, how can you make it happen in a  workable way for students?

Please, join us together in a unified voice of concern and committed critical analysis of the facts.  Change has not yet come.

Thanks,

CALL OR EMAIL YOUR SENATOR

If your senators also voted in favor of John King for Secretary of Education yesterday, please call or email them to share your dismay/disappointment/frustration/anger.  I couldn't help myself.  I wrote a letter to my Senator who voted for King:

Mr. Schumer,

I am dismayed and disheartened at your vote in support of John King's appointment to Secretary of Education.

I am aware my representatives have much larger agendas than a single issue I may feel passionate about.  But your decision to vote in support of a man who openly and proudly forced destructive sweeping changes on the public schools of New York State is a terrible misrepresentation of the best interests of your constituents.

You have made a terrible mistake, if the welfare of this State's children is your concern.

I would be happy to engage in a meaningful conversation with you, should you be interested in why your vote was such a serious mistake.

Your constituent,

KEEP TALKING ABOUT K-12 EDUCATION!

SIGN THE PETITION!

I signed a petition on Action Network telling Senator Bernie Sanders to Senator Sanders: Keep Talking About K-12 Education!.

After months of waiting for candidates to talk about our issues, Bernie Sanders tweeted the tweet that was heard around the education world:

I want to thank Rahm Emanuel for not endorsing me. I don’t want the endorsement of a mayor shutting down schools and firing teachers. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 12, 2016
In the last month, the only tweet to garner more attention on Sander's twitter feed was the announcement of this historic upset in Michigan.

The corporate media counted us out. The pollsters said we were way behind. But we won. Thank you, Michigan. pic.twitter.com/Iywg9N3B1z

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 9, 2016

Help us tell Senator Sanders that this is not a fluke - if he keeps talking about our issues and takes the time to really understand them, it will be another historic moment in his campaign.

Can you join me and take action? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/bernie-sander-keep-talking-about-k-12-education?source=email&

Thanks!

IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD IT SAID BEFORE

Billionaires have monopolized the conversation. They’ve re-written the narrative that American citizens are telling each other.  Those with the money to speak without penalty have become brilliant at getting frustrated Americans to think they (the Billionaires) have their (the frustrated Americans) best interest at heart.

PLEASE, LET'S BE SMARTER THAN THAT.

What conversations should we really be having?  

TELL CONGRESS TO FUND BACKGROUND CHECKS

TELL CONGRESS: FUND BACKGROUND CHECKS!

There's no question background checks save lives by keeping guns out of dangerous hands.

But right now our background check system is woefully understaffed, underfunded and missing millions of records – making it far too easy for the next mass shooter to slip through the cracks.

Tomorrow is a critical deadline for urging Congress to make funding and fixing background checks a top priority. Sign Sandy Hook Promise's petition right now to demand Congress take action to protect all of our children and communities.

JOHN KING IS NOT OUR MAN

A friend sent me an article about the National Urban League supporting JohnKing’s appointment tomorrow. 

It continues to strike me as odd (to put it mildly) that so many who claim to represent underrepresented, traditionally disenfranchised, ignored or abandoned populations could think that the offerings of the falsely titled “education reform movement” would actually be working to help solve problems affecting those populations. John King's actions and words support the premise and the goals of that movement.

The first thing I did was Google “National Urban League” and “Gates Foundation.”  More than a few hits came up.

There is no need to look any further.  Anything Gates, (or the Waltons, or the Broads, or the Koch Brothers) touch is tainted with ulterior motives.  It's more of the same - the wealthiest people are buying this country lock, stock and barrel. They've clearly bought our electoral system, the health care system, and absolutely the education system, to name a few.

They've concocted a false narrative that American schools are failing. That enables them to pose as the saviors - the altruistic financiers of "The Solution." 

The narrative they keep telling is FALSE though.  What's failing are schools that are de-funded and the policies that demand a need to teach to standards created by business people and to test children at inappropriate levels with poorly-written tests, and the punitive approach to teachers and teaching.

And the solution to the problems they create?

Privatize the schools.  Test kids till they throw up. Demean, exhaust, and scare teachers so they become nothing more than pawns willing to do anything they're told.

Is this what it looks like before despots and fascists come to power?

John King is a pawn too. And shame on him for playing the race card and the child of a single mother card and the product of the public schools card.  Those labels mean nothing.  What matters is what he says and what he does.  And on those counts, he has nearly destroyed the school system in a state that previously had schools to boast about.  (New York.)   He is arrogant or ignorant.  And bizarrely calm in the face of passionate pleas by parents, students, and teachers to listen and not keep bulldozing his way through with extreme and overarching policy changes.  

Have you ever seen him speak?  Have you seen him "not respond" to direct questions and concerns?  His behavior is nothing short of bizarre. And definitely inappropriate in the face of very real concerns that his decision-making has caused.  If you look into his actual experience and credentials, he begins to look a lot less credible.  Beyond the superficial descriptors I mentioned above, there really is nothing about John King that makes him a person appropriate to lead the US Ed Dept.  If real leadership of a public school system for all is what’s intended.

John King’s policies damaged the schools in New York State. What possible good can come of having him become the US Secretary of Education, even if only for a short time?

Yes, I'm angry.  I'm frustrated. And I can't see a good way out of the mess we're in.  

Billionaires have monopolized the conversation. They’ve re-written the narrative that American citizens are telling each other.  Those with the money to speak without penalty have become brilliant at getting frustrated Americans to think they (the Billionaires) have their (the frustrated Americans) best interest at heart.

And it couldn't be further from the truth.

(Not that I have any opinions at all, ever.)

What do you think we should do?

SANDY HOOK and HOW YOU CAN HELP

I live close enough to Newtown, Connecticut to know people who were personally touched by the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012.  I work with people who lost family members and friends.  And I regularly receive pleas from parents who organized a group called "The Sandy Hook Promise" on behalf of their precious children who were senselessly killed by preventable gun violence. The organization works to end senseless gun-related deaths, and to promote sensible gun violence prevention laws.

They need our help.
Please check out their site.  Donate if you can.
Thanks.
sandyhookpromise.org

NYSUT, WHERE ARE YOU?

As many letters as I write to The State Education Department, I also write to my state union, NYSUT.  Sadly, most of those communications go unanswered, as well.

Why is that?  What could possibly be the game plan for a union body to remain silent in the face of a member's attempts to communicate and get involved?  (Especially with the Friedrichs v CTA case before the Supreme Court.)

I'm perplexed.  Stymied.  Confused. And frustrated.

I am also tired of hearing the phrase "I am the union."

I'm not the union. I'm just one lone member.  And try as I might, I can't seem to find 'uniting' nor 'unifying' from my union.

But I am trying to unify others to speak out in a loud, clear voice of reason. It appears we can't count on the groups organized to organize us to speak out as one.

Do you want to join your voice with mine?

D.A.R.E PROGRAM AND TEACHER DECISION-MAKING

Today was the D.A.R.E. Graduation for my fifth graders.  For those  unfamiliar with the program, it's a drug and alcohol abuse education program.  The program's core teaching is that kids need to be aware of the dangers and educated and empowered to make smart and safe choices.  

DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education.  But it also stands for Define. Assess. Respond. Evaluate.  While the efficacy of the program in preventing drug and alcohol abuse could be argued, the intent of the program does have merits. This morning, while sitting through the hour and a half long program filled with speeches and awards, I couldn't help thinking how valuable this program could be if it was adapted and required for teachers.

For example: You are told to do something that makes no sense.  How do you respond?

Because I live and teach in New York State, the math curriculum provided by the State colloquially labeled "Engage Math" comes immediately to mind.  (Anyone who wants to take a look at it can go to the curriculum materials at engageny.org.  The materials are free.)  If you spend any time with the lessons posted there, you will quickly see they are overly complex and often make no sense.

You as the teacher see the impact this has on the vulnerable learners in your classroom. But you were told to use these lessons, so you dutifully teach them as outlined in the lesson plans. And you pass out the Sprints for fluency practice and have the students complete the Problem Sets in class and the Homework Sheets at home, and then frequently assess student learning by way of Exit tickets.  

But you see a lot of frustration.  Tears even.  And students who previously loved math and succeeded in math, are suddenly demonstrating avoidance behaviors, "losing" their homework, and crying over unsolved problems. 

But you persist.  Because you were told to do so. 

You are neglecting to think critically though. 

You are neglecting to Define the problem.  (These lessons make no sense and are not developmentally appropriate for my students.)

You have neglected to Assess what the problem is.  (Your teaching has to make sense and be developmentally appropriate in order for students to learn. These lessons often are not.) 

You have neglected to Respond to the problem.  (Your students are confused and unhappy and aren’t learning the required material.  You have to change what you’re doing so that you can help your students succeed.) 

And most importantly, you have failed to Evaluate the impact of your teaching.  (What changes can you make so that you’re teaching the standards in a way that your students can succeed and learn?)

Okay, maybe this is also sounding a lot like that Intelligent Disobedience I keep mentioning.  It seems to come up all over the place.  Because it is called for in so many ways, large and small, for all of us, and most especially for those of us teaching in American public school classrooms in 2016.

As long as we keep following directives that make no sense for our students, as long as we keep perpetuating the myth that learning is a business, and as long as we keep following the “CEO’s” directives that our product will improve with their leadership, then we are complicit in the failures of our students.

It’s not easy.  But every day we are responsible for helping kids make sense of the world.  We cannot contribute to the confusion.  We cannot contribute to the frustration and tears that too often accompany learning under “education reform” directives.

Take the lessons from DARE and try them for yourself.  Define. Assess. Respond. Evaluate.

And if you find that your teaching is looking more like a worker following orders, and less like a teacher who designs lessons to help students make sense of their world, (and maybe occasionally even inspire them,) then I hope you will find your inner Intelligent Disobedient self, and make a change.

Please.

KEEP SPEAKING OUT...

The Washington Post recently published an article by Valerie Strauss entitled  "Activists urge Senate not to confirm Obama’s pick for new education secretary" 
In part it reads:

"Dozens of students, parents, educators and activists are urging the U.S. Senate not to confirm John King, President Obama’s choice to succeed Arne Duncan as education secretary, because he pushed education policies when he was education commissioner of New York State that they say were “ineffective and destructive.”

The Senate education committee held confirmation hearings last week and his confirmation by the panel and the full Senate is expected this month. But a growing number of King critics are speaking out, including a few school boards in New York, which passed resolutions against his confirmation. Now a letter signed by a long list of individuals and organizations warns senators not to be “misled” by King’s “vague promises to do better.” Signatories include education historian and activist Diane Ravitch, educator Deborah Meier, and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis."

I also wrote a petition and over 250 people signed it in less than two weeks.  (And that's without Facebook and Twitter...)  
The petition was sent to members of both the Senate and the House (for good measure) today. 

I don't suffer from visions of grandeur.  John King will be our next Secretary of Education.  

But I know for sure that we all have to keep taking our small steps forward, joining together in a unified voice, and persisting in speaking truth to power.

The future of our democracy demands this.

Thanks to all who joined in!

ACTION #3: WHAT IS AN "UN-TIMED" TEST?

Testing season here in New York begins mid-April.  The State Education Department has apparently been working hard to dispel parent concerns about testing which led last year to a 20% Opt Out rate.  

You would be hard-pressed to consider their responses worthy of increased trust and therefore increased participation in the 2016 testing season.

In response to the widespread concern that students "did not have enough time to apply their best reading skills in the time allowed," the New York State Department of Education reduced the amount of reading passages and test questions by exactly one reading passage and the accompanying questions. 


Do they really believe this "will decrease testing fatigue for some students?"


In response to the widespread concern that students sit too long for tests, the State claims to be "pleased to announce the transition to untimed testing for the Spring 2016 Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics Tests." 

They go on to say that as "NYSED also received extensive feedback from educators from throughout the State about the inability of students to work at their own pace on the Grades 3-8 ELA and Mathematics Tests" students are now being given almost limitless time to complete the tests.  

NYSED supports this decision by claiming, "This change will provide students further opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do by allowing them to work at their own pace. In general, this will mean that as long as students are productively working they will be allowed as much time as they need to complete the ELA and Mathematics tests. Additionally, this change in policy may help alleviate the pressures that some students may experience as a result of taking an assessment they must complete during a limited amount of time."

Really?!  Is it just me or do these "changes" sound more like editing and shell games?

Can these changes honestly be characterized as substantive responses to the significant concerns parents, teachers, and students have raised in response to testing in Grades 3-8?


Well, I've been doing my due-diligence and contacted NYSED for guidance.  I've emailed them several times to inquire how exactly I am to administer an "un-timed" test.  

Today I finally heard back from someone in the SED office.  The guidance they are offering is vague and relies on local decision making as to how districts choose to interpret what an "un-timed" testing session should look like.  Is that really in the best interest of uniformity and reliability of data collection, let alone the students themselves?


What do I do when I have some students who finish "working productively" in 20 minutes, and others choose to take two, maybe even three hours?  With my current class, that is entirely possible.  Are all students expected to sit quietly while a few (maybe only one?) work for several hours to meticulously answer each and every question?  

The response I received included a link to the letter written by Deputy Commissioner Angelica Infante and says, in part "These changes are just some of the efforts that NYSED is committed to implementing to improve the quality of the State’s assessments and the experiences that students have taking these tests."

It is difficult for me as a dedicated and concerned teacher to see these changes as an honest effort to improve anything.  It's hard not to take these decisions as anything more than a slap in the face. There is nothing in the actions of the State that can be considered a serious response to significant and serious concerns. 

So, I propose ACTION # 3  (For New York teachers and parents)  

Contact NYSED and ask them your own questions.  A link to the letter from Ms. Infante can be found here.  The guidance the State is currently offering teachers and administrators on how to administer "un-timed" tests can be found here on page 6.

And you can send your own questions about testing programs, policies, and procedures to emscassessinfo@nysed.

I wonder what would happen if New York teachers started filling the NYSED inbox with their questions of concern?  

Will you join me?