Re: Test-Prep Triage Documented

[Diane Aoki <dkeikoa@hawaii.rr.com>]

Isn't it amazing that we can feel the same kind of responses to NCLB across
the Pacific in HI. It was not as extreme, and presented in a gentler manner,
but we were told right after winter break, that we needed to identify in our
minds the kids in their subgroups, and be able to tell if they were going to
pass or not. And then we were to focus our efforts on them so that we did
make those percentages. We had tutoring available for after-school and were
told these were for the "bubble" kids. My teaching partner defied that, and
referred the low readers who had no chance of passing the state test. She
got flack at first, but the principal allowed it. The math tutoring was
strictly for the bubble kids though. A few weeks ago, we were told to turn
in our percentages, the students in their disaggregated subgroups, by name,
who were probably going to pass. I don't know what she's going to do with
that data. Perhaps visit the teachers who predict that their teachers are
not going to make it, and ask him/her what have they been doing, what can
they do more? 
Diane

On 3/4/07 3:36 AM, "Bob Schaeffer" <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net> wrote:

> A CONCENTRATED APPROACH TO EXAMS:
> 
> ROCKVILLE SCHOOL'S EFFORTS RAISE QUESTIONS OF TEST-PREP ETHICS
> Washington Post -- March 4, 2007
> by Daniel de Vise
> 
> The principal of Earle B. Wood Middle School in Rockville gathered
> teachers and handed out a list of all the black, Hispanic,
> special-education and limited-English-speaking students who would take
> the Maryland School Assessment, the measure of success or failure under
> the federal No Child Left Behind mandate.
> 
> 
> "