STATE TESTING 2016 - DAY 1

Day One of ELA State testing here in New York is over.
37% of my fifth grade students didn't take the test.
30% of my district overall didn't take the test.
I'm curious to see what the numbers are across the State.

Part of me feels victorious.  There are still people taking a stand and using their democratic right to protest in the face of injustice and government overreach.

Make no mistake about it, though.
There have been NO substantive changes this year.  Despite what you may have heard in the news or from Education Authorities, things are much the same as they were last year.

I don't feel any greater trust of the State Education Department than I did last year.
There will still be six long days of testing.
I will never have the opportunity to see my students writing, nor receive their scores for writing to see if my teaching has been effective.
The math tests will still come too soon for me to have finished teaching the topics I know will be on the test.
I again haven't had the time to teach "deep comprehension" of math topics as required by the Common Core "Shifts in Focus."

And I still have to feel like a criminal as I read the test my students are taking to see if the test has, in fact, been made "more fair."  My district administrators are not in agreement with the State Ed Dept about whether or not teachers can, in fact, read the tests. Under Pearson's contract, teachers were prohibited from reading or discussing the tests - based solely on proprietary concerns. (Read: protecting their profits.)   Even though Pearson's contract has been terminated, we're still working under the same gag order it seems. The Test Administrator's Manual has conflicting messages about a teacher's ability to read the tests.  No official seems willing to make a public statement of clarification.

But part of me is also sad and exhausted.
No one wins in the day to day struggle to maintain sanity as a public school teacher.
The confusion of having my class so divided is overwhelming.
The cognitive dissonance is exhausting.

Elementary students should not be put in such a compromised situation of taking or not taking a test their teacher is giving to some of the class.  It is a confusing message to be sure.

I don't blame the parents, as my administrators do.  I don't hold my parents in contempt as my principal does.

I lay the blame squarely on the backs and at the feet of those completely responsible for the mess we're in.

I call out the bullies who have complete control over the debacle they've created.

It is the Governor, the Commissioner, the State Education Department, and the Board of Regents who have the power to turn this around immediately, TODAY.

There is no need for measured decision making in the face of the disaster they've created.

If you want everyone to opt back in, if you want classrooms to be made whole again, if you want parents and teachers and students to have trust in our State Education Leaders,
then bring on change today.
Real Change.
Today.