Re: Test Protection

[aburke5054@aol.com]

In an op ed in NYT a few days ago, Juan Williams called NCLB an effective tool for forcing "teachers' unions and school administrators" to take responsibility for the achievement of poor children and minority children.  You call it the "most socially-corrosive education policy in history?"  It's almost like it bugs you that NCLB  advances the interests of parents and children and doesn't simply flatter the system and you're trying to make the whole thing about testing.

Art


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Horn, James <jhorn@monmouth.edu>
To: arn-l@interversity.org
Sent: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 5:52 am
Subject: Re: [arn-l] Test Protection










Harold and All,

I like it, and I like the plain language. If you would like to offer a template 
for an actionable item, feel free to cut and paste from this piece I call (with 
permission) the Paul Wellstone Memorial Family and Student Testing Protection 
Act. 

I am neither attorney nor legislator, but here are some ideas that need to be 
included in any state bill that takes a moral stand against the most 
socially-corrosive education policy in history. Use what you want of it--no 
charge, no copyright.



The Paul Wellstone Memorial Family and Students Testing Protection Act, in Honor 
of the Experience, Insight, and Courage that Enabled Him to See What His Peers 
in Congress Could Not—the Ultimately-Disastrous Consequences of High-Stakes 
Testing*


WHEREAS, high-stakes standardized testing of children constitutes the year-round 
focus in public schools classrooms; and

WHEREAS, the over-reliance and continued emphasis on high-stakes tests has a 
corrosive effect on preparing children for citizenship in a representative 
democracy; and

WHEREAS, many high stakes standardized tests administered to children are 
neither reliable nor valid; and

WHEREAS, emphasis on testing math and reading has resulted in the de-emphasis 
and disappearance of other important subjects and learning activities; and

WHEREAS, high-stakes testing of young children is inappropriate and harmful to 
their emotional and intellectual health; and

WHEREAS, results on a single test have been used to justify retention policies 
that ignore scientific evidence regarding the harmful effects of such practices, 
and

WHEREAS, poor, non-English speaking, and special education students bear the 
brunt of disproportionate failure on standardized tests; and

WHEREAS, the preponderance of high stakes standardized tests has neither closed 
the achievement gap, nor has it altered the economic and social factors that are 
responsible for those gaps in achievement; and

WHEREAS, failure to meet unrealistic testing targets undermines public support 
for their schools, thus opening the door to privatization; and

WHEREAS, the institutional stress of high-stakes testing undermines the 
supportive and challenging school climate required for children to learn and 
grow; therefore be it


RESOLVED, that schools will develop and use multiple forms of assessment to make 
high-stakes decisions regarding students, teachers, and the curriculum; and be 
it further

RESOLVED, that all standardized tests administered to school children will be 
psychometrically valid and reliable; and be it further

RESOLVED, that standardized tests will not be used as the sole criterion to make 
student promotion or retention decisions or as determinants of the curriculum 
and/or the operations of the public schools; and be it further

RESOLVED, that student scores on standardized tests will be used to help 
teachers address student knowledge gaps; and be it further

RESOLVED, that all testing of children will strictly follow ethical guidelines 
of the education profession and the professional recommendations of licensed 
psychologists and pediatricians; and be it further

RESOLVED, that standardized tests will be used to measure individual student 
gains over time, rather than arbitrary target scores that ignore the 
disadvantages that accrue from poverty, disability, or language status; and be 
it further

RESOLVED, that no test results will be used to justify punitive sanctions 
against individuals or schools; and be it further

RESOLVED, policymakers, classroom teachers, school officials, and parent 
representatives will constitute the appropriate body of stakeholders to make and 
to modify testing policies for schools; and be it further

RESOLVED, that school systems will have funded public awareness programs to 
gather public feedback and to disseminate information on the purpose and 
limitations of assessment programs.

*Use of Paul Wellstone's name in association with this effort approved by the 
Wellstone Action Network

-----Original Message-----
From: arn-l-owner@interversity.org on behalf of Harold Berlak
Sent: Sun 7/1/2007 8:52 PM
To: listserve ARN
Subject: [arn-l] Test Protection
 
Below is a very different version of an earlier effort I circulated .  
I was aided by  feedback and suggestions from many sources including  
from arn-I and CalCARE correspondents. . . It is still only a single  
- back / front- page long.   Your critical reading is invited.  If  
you want the single sheet  WORD formatted version , email me  
directly. On the subject line please put 'test protection' .

versions in other languages are invited

Harold

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Why a Student and Parent Testing Protection Act?
(And what it should include)

There is a need to protect students, families and communities from  
abusive assessment practices that violate due process, civil rights  
and liberties.


Problem

Many students are being denied promotion, access to programs and  
schools, and barred from receiving high school diplomas or graduation  
certificates based solely or primarily on standardized test scores.  
These students are disproportionately poor, of color, and from  
immigrant families whose home language is not English. Large numbers  
of competent students, including exceptionally talented students and  
students with learning disabilities, do not perform well on  
conventional standardized tests.

Problem

One consequence of No Child Left Behind (NLCB)and state testing  
requirements is that schools and programs may be 'restructured' or  
dismantled based solely or primarily on standardized test scores.  
Numerous exemplary schools and programs have been closed or are under  
threat of closure.

Problem

The pressures on schools to raise standardized test scores[,]  
particularly those that serve poor children and children of color[,]  
narrows the curriculum, marginalizing crucial areas of children's and  
adolescents' development and growth. Among the casualties are music,  
the performing and graphic arts, bilingual education, community  
internships, citizenship education, fitness and health education.

Problem

NCLB Act's Reading First provisions are being used to dictate to  
states, school districts, and teachers how reading should be taught.  
Currently the US Department of Education approves funding for  
materials and programs that meet the government's interpretation of  
the term 'scientifically based'. Federal approval of Reading First  
grant applications has become thoroughly politicized and corrupted.  
The head of the Reading First program was forced to resign after the  
Inspector General and a Congressional committee found gross  
violations of the USOE's guidelines by Reading First officials who  
approved purchase of highly structured phonics reading programs and  
materials favored or produced by corporations and corporate  
executives who are major contributors to political campaigns.

Problem

School officials rarely inform parents of their legal rights with  
respect to testing and assessment. Information about available  
exemptions, test content, technical specifications, and methods of  
analyzing and reporting test results are often withheld from  
students, parents and the public. When parents or students attempt to  
challenge testing procedures and results, they are often denied  
access to information from test producers and government officials.



Proposed Parent and Student Testing Protections

1. Require an Educational Impact Report prior to the imposition of a  
system of high stakes assessment or a particular method of assessment  
by a governing authority. The report should address the immediate and  
longer-term effects on students, schools, and local communities  
(disaggregated by race, gender, and family wealth), and to assess the  
human and material resources required to fulfill the assessment  
requirements. Assessment goals or standards may not be instituted or  
modified if the resources required for meeting these standards are  
not provided by the government jurisdiction that set the standards.

2. Prohibit the use of standardized tests as the sole or primary  
basis for determining promotion, student access to advanced programs  
or schools, and the awarding of certificates or diplomas. Non- 
standardized, qualitative modes of assessment must be available to  
students or particular groups of students whose education is better  
served by alternatives to standardized forms of testing and assessment.

3. Prohibit the disestablishment or restructuring of a school or  
program within a school based solely or primarily on rankings of  
students on standardized tests. All standardized tests mandated for  
assessing individual and institutional performance must be  
independently verified as meeting accepted national professional  
standards

4. Grant parents the right to exempt their children from tests and  
assessments  they deem harmful or inappropriate. Forbid governments  
from imposing punitive consequences on students or schools; protect  
students regardless of the percentage of students or parents within a  
school who have exercised their right to be exempted from taking a  
particular test or set of tests.

5. Prohibit government officials and agencies from mandating school  
curriculum, setting local priorities or prescribing specific  
curriculum content and pedagogical methods. The determination of what  
constitutes appropriate practice should reside with teachers, local  
educational authorities, and communities While federal, state  
governments, and local educational authorities (LEAs) have the  
authority and responsibility to set general guidelines and standards,  
this may not be construed as granting governments the authority to  
direct teachers how to teach or mandate the specific body of skills  
and content that meet the broadly stated curriculum goals,  
guidelines, and/or standards. Government requirements for  
'efficacious' or 'scientifically-based' materials and approaches may  
not be construed as granting government the authority to override the  
public interest, local community, parent, and student prerogatives by  
declaring what does and does not count as scientific truth. It is an  
affront to the democratic commitment to an open society to grant  
elected or appointed public officials at any level the power to serve  
as the final arbiter of what is accepted as scientific truth.

6. Require transparency. Teachers and school officials should be  
required to fully inform students and families of their testing and  
assessment rights, the right to know in advance the competencies and/ 
or the area or areas of knowledge the assessments cover; the  
technical specifications and limitations of assessments; standard  
error of measurement; on whom and how the tests were normed or  
scaled; and how cut scores or proficiency levels were established.  
When assessments are used for promotion, eligibility for a program or  
award of a diploma, parents and students should have the right to due  
process and prompt redress of grievances including access to test  
questions and answers.

JULY  2007. May be reproduced or posted without prior permission.  
Source: Harold Berlak hberlak@yahoo.com 
  -------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe ARN-L:
http://interversity.org/lists/arn-l/subscribe.html

-------------------------------------------------------
ARN-L archives:
Lhttp://interversity.org/lists/arn-l/archives.html



 


________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.