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Re: AYP celebrations

States are supposed to assist schools that don't make AYP. That's the heart of NCLB. That so many people in public education are having an allergic reaction to that says more about public education and about them than it does about NCLB.

Monty says that he thinks that not all supporters of NCLB seek to demolish public education - though he says it in a way that leaves the door open to maybe lots or even most supporters of NCLB seeking to demolish public education. Paranoia dies hard. I do, though, like Monty's invitation to supporters of NCLB to work with "true school improvement advocates." We all know who the truly enlightened are, right? Stay by your phone, Monty, Miller and Kennedy will be calling any minute.

Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Monty Neill <monty@fairtest.org>
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Sent: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 7:48 am
Subject: Re: [arn-l] AYP celebrations


The AYP rate varies state by state and by the two tested subjects. Depends
on the starting point essentially divided by 12 - CA was indeed close to 8
percent per year. Other states had a much lower rate of improvement because
they deemed a far greater percentage of students "proficient" based on the
tests and cutoff scores than did other states.


In any event, studies from at least 10 states show that most or all schools
will fail to make AYP by 2014, with those receiving federal title I $
subject to sanctions (and in some states, other schools as well, depending
on state policies). (See current FT Examiner update on NCLB with link to
breif FT report summarizing the studies on projected numbers of schools.)


Clearly, this data has been and will be used to attack public education.
Some privatization advocates - e.g., Nina Riis - explicitly saw AYP as a
tool to attack public education, while others saw a way to cash in (e.g.,
privately run charter school operators).


That said, it is I think not true that all NCLB supporters seek to demolish
public schooling - some genuinely believe NCLB will lead to a focus on
improving schools that will provide benefits for low-income students. They
are wrong, were predicted to be wrong and have been shown wrong. It is
therefore (past) time for them to withdraw their support for NCLB and to
work with true school improvement adovocates to devise an actually
beneficial role for the federal government.


Finally, Joe is correct to be concerned about teachers not stepping forward
to actively participate in overhauling both state and federal test-based
accountability systems. In some places this is very hard to do because it is
easy to fire teachers - but there are quiet ways to educate on the problems
of NCLB and to support healthy educational activities that can counter the
reduction of schooling to test-prep. And yes, even in other places teachers
face pressure and sanctions - but compared to most employees, they have far
greater job protection. In survey after survey, some 85-90 percent of
teachers have opposed NCLB. A far greater share of these teachers need to
find ways to be active - they are essential.


Monty


----- Original Message -----
From: <MONICALUCIDO@comcast.net>

To: <arn-l@interversity.org>

Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 9:23 PM

Subject: Re: [arn-l] AYP celebrations



Well, you're wrong. On the ANNUAL MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES FOR ELA, the
requirement from this year through 2014 is approximately 8-10% growth
PER
YEAR of the number of students that should land in the proficient
range.
Of course, according to the all important standardized test.



Joe Lucido

EPATA

-------------- Original message ----------------------

From: aburke5054@aol.com

Nowhere in NCLB is there a requirement for 10 percent annual

improvement.



The whole purpose of NCLB is to make sure that schools focus on all

children. Standards, tests, and AYP are surely imperfect, but they
can

be an important mechanism for advancing the educational equity that
is

the heart of NCLB. We should expect far better out of public
education

than the "game of looking good rather than being good." We should

expect and demand better today, the day we celebrate Martin Luther

King's birthday, and every day. For people who cling to the
delusion

that AYP is a tool to destroy public education, there is simply no
hope.



Art



-----Original Message-----

From: Nancy Patterson <patterna@gvsu.edu>

To: arn-l@interversity.org

Sent: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:24 pm

Subject: Re: [arn-l] AYP celebrations



The really inane thing about being on the dreaded AYP "list" is that

now even so

called top schools are failing to make annual yearly progress
because

they can't

improve the required 10 percent each year. Someone in the Bush

administration

forgot how to do math. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that
a

10 percent

gain each year is impossible. In some schools the only reason why
they

didn't

make AYP is because of the special ed students. Under NCLB, all but

the

severely impaired have to take the tests, even if they can't read.

And,

non-english speaking students have to take the tests, too, even if
they

can't

read the tests.



What has happened in some schools is that special education and at
risk

students

have been shoved out--sent to alternative schools or simply kicked
out.

In

other schools, kids who aren't likely to pass the test are retained
the

year

before a significant test is taken. Then they skip a grade, into

another grade

where a significant test is not given. It becomes a game of looking

good rather

than being good.



Nancy



Nancy Patterson, PhD

Literacy Studies Program Chair

College of Education

Grand Valley State University

920 Eberhard Center

301 W. Fulton

Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504

616-331-6226

patterna@gvsu.edu

http://faculty.gvsu.edu/patterna



>>> "Tauna Rogers" <taunar@plateautel.net> 1/21/2008 11:25 AM >>>

Diane,



My .02 is that you are right on the money. Celebrating making AYP

serves to

legitimize a mechanism designed to discredit and ultimately destroy

public

education, although I can easily understand how relieved the schools

must be

to get off the dreaded list. Keep up the good fight. They may mean
well

but

celebrating making AYP sends exactly the wrong message. Stick to
your

guns,

you're doing the right thing!



Tauna



----- Original Message -----

From: "Diane Aoki" <dkeikoa@hawaii.rr.com>

To: <arn-l@interversity.org>

Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 2:28 AM

Subject: [arn-l] AYP celebrations





> Please help me out on this. I had a recent outburst at a union

meeting

> about

> plans to honor schools that made AYP after being in restructuring.

This is

> how I feel: Making AYP is the result of many factors that have

nothing to

> do

> with the teachers at that school and the quality of their
teaching.

These

> factors could be: whether or not that school is large enough to be

> required

> to count the subgroups; whether or not that school focused their
time

and

> resources on the test at the expense of other subjects -
"teaching

to the

> test;" the schools may have focused on the "bubble kids," at the

expense

> of

> the others who are too low or too high to make a difference on the

test.

> Those are my main points - are there others?

>

> My reasons for being upset are: The NCLB reform program of which
AYP

is an

> integral aspect is not meant to improve public education, but to

destroy

> it,

> so we need to be critical of it. By celebrating AYP, we are saying

that

> NCLB

> is working. By celebrating AYP, we are sending a message out to
the

other

> schools, if they can do it, you can too. But the way it is set up

(100%

> proficiency by 2014), we will either all fail, or all be Stepford

schools,

> shaped into such by private companies who got lucrative contracts
to

do

> this. By celebrating AYP, we are being divisive, setting the AYP

schools

> in

> opposition to the non-AYP schools, a heirarchy based on test
scores

that

> don't necessarily mean better schools. By not recognizing the
truth

of it,

> we are blurring our vision, which should be focused on, what IS a

quality

> school, how CAN we take back our profession, how can WE be the

determiners

> of what a good school is and celebrate that.

>

> In the room of about 11 people, only 3 seemed to get what I was

saying.

> And

> these were union leaders. They said things like, "we need to be
more

> positive," "it gives us hope," "it's all we have."

>

> Please help me out. I need to know if I am off my rocker or on the

money.

> Is

> what I am saying so off base? Or is it just one of those things
that

are

> hard to be honest about, so people would rather cling to the
illusion.

>

>

> -------------------------------------------------------

> Unsubscribe ARN-L:

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>
















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