Standing up against high stakes

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

> TEACHERS SUSPENDED FOR CSAP PROTEST
> SPANISH INSTRUCTOR REFUSES TO ADMINISTER TEST, SAYS IT'S UNFAIR TO LATINOS
>
> Aspen Times -- March 16, 2006
>              by John Colson
> http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20060316/NEWS/103160039/-1/rss01
>
> The Aspen School District cut the pay and hours of a Spanish teacher
> Tuesday after he refused to issue standardized tests because he said
> they don't test Latinos fairly.
>
> Aspen Middle School teacher Sam Esmiol said in an e-mail that the
> Colorado Student Assessment Program tests "discriminate against Latino
> students and treat teachers unfairly." The CSAP tests are designed to
> gauge student progress in key subjects.
>
> District Superintendent Diana Sirko on Wednesday said Esmiol, a
> first-year employee, is partially suspended.
>
> Esmiol, 38, said his suspension is for morning test periods only; he
> continues to teach regular classes in the afternoon.
>
> "I'm not trying to make a statement against the school district," Esmiol
> emphasized during a telephone interview Wednesday. He is, however,
> trying to alert the public about what he feels are inequities in the way
> the state administers the CSAP tests.
>
> The format of the tests is unfair because "teachers are expected to
> translate multiple-choice questions to a group of Spanish-speaking
> students," he said in his e-mail. "This is unfair because some students
> will understand and answer the question while other students need more
> time and explanation. Individual students cannot move at their own pace."
>
> He also said teachers are not adequately prepared to administer the tests.
>
> "Oral translation is subjective," Esmiol said. "Students' test scores
> are influenced by the quality of the translation. These tests do not
> accurately represent their abilities."
>
> Students in grades 3 through 10 are taking the CSAP tests this week and
> next. The federally mandated tests are designed to gauge achievement
> levels in such basic subjects as English, mathematics, reading and science.
>
> "The state says everybody must test, no matter what," said Tom Coviello,
> Aspen Middle School assistant principal.
>
> Coviello said the testing program provides for "any kind of special
> needs." Students who struggle with English get more time. Students with
> physical limitations that make it difficult to write get assistance from
> a teacher who is trained to "scribe" in such situations.
>
> Esmiol also objects to the way he has been treated since refusing to
> participate in the testing.
>
> "The administration has treated me unfairly," he wrote in his e-mail.
> "They have implied that I am being lazy.
>
> "I felt that they were trivializing the points I was trying to make."
>
> Esmiol is considering legal action against the school district and the
> state, insisting that it's not about money but about a need for public
> debate on testing.
>
> "I cannot perform a task that I feel is unjust. It infringes on my
> freedom of speech and religion," he said in the e-mail.
>
> Sirko, however, said objections to the testing program are not
> constitutionally protected.
>
> "This is not a First Amendment issue," she said.
>
> The school district's attorney researched the matter, she said, and
> found that there are a variety of remedies available to Sirko if a
> teacher refuses to administer the tests, including suspension.
>
> Nonetheless, Esmiol said he has contacted the American Civil Liberties
> Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights. And he said he is also
> planning to get in touch with Latino advocacy groups to explore his options.
>
> Sirko said Esmiol's protest is the first of its kind in the Aspen School
> District. She said it has come up in other districts but the testing
> mandate withstood court challenges.
>
> She said the issue is one that could be discussed, but "this is a
> state-required assessment, so it's a serious matter if a person refuses"
> to take part.
>
> Esmiol was an outdoor education instructor for the National Outdoor
> Leadership School for 11 years before taking a job at the middle school.
>
> "I have been told that this affects my potential career [in the
> district]," he said. "But it's worth bringing it out in the open ... so
> that people see what is happening with the tests."
>
>      http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20060316/NEWS/103160039/-1/rss01