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!