Fwd: Joe's Valley Voices on NCLB/Testing /Opt out and Chavez

[Susan Harman <susanharman@igc.org>]

Begin forwarded message:

  From: Horace B Lucido <hbl04@csufresno.edu>

  Date: Sat Mar 8, 2008 7:43:26 AM US/Pacific

  Subject: Joe's Valley Voices on NCLB/Testing /Opt out and Chavez

  Hello all,

  For those of you who do not take the Fresno Bee, here is the Valley Voices
  piece that Joe wrote regarding NCLB/Testing/Opt out and promoting the Chavez
  Conference-it is awsome. Below the article is the link to the current web
  page. It does not yet include the schedule of sessions/program. That should
  be up pretty soon. E-mail me if you want an updated flier and schedule. You
  can use this for distribution. All FUSD teachers should be recieving them
  through your site reps somtime next week....Rog

  JOIN US IN A DISCUSSION OF SCHOOL TESTING

  In this stormy political season many topics have been touched on by the
  presidential candidates: the Iraq war, the economy, health care, etc.
  However, the one topic that has been left off the radar is education.
  Unfortunately, this subject is in dire need of full coverage by the press and
  our candidates because of the negative impact of the current law on our
  children in the classroom. If parents truly knew the research that has been
  released, but never given its just due, their initial decision to support the
  federal No Child Left Behind act would continue to fade.

  As an educator of ten years, I can attest to the dramatic changes that I have
  seen in students over that period of time. Many students, were, for the most
  part, creative thinkers with independent minds that strove to come up with
  answers that made sense to them. They also showed an ability to approach a
  problem from various angles and come up with a solution that was correct,
  while still mastering standards. In this era of standardized testing
  "accountability", these precious elements gave begun to fade dramatically. I
  see students who wait for answers to be given to them, are less confident in
  their thinking capabilities, are less able to follow simple instructions,
  have much less patience, and even have shown an increase in behavior and
  health problems.

  Discussions amongst other educators from Fresno area districts, as well as
  nationwide, have illuminated the same traits.  Some teachers have told me
  about the removal of blocks from their kindergarten classrooms because it was
  told to them that, "Blocks won't be on the test." In other schools,
  playhouses have been removed citing the same reasoning, yet that reasoning
  defies all research and logic which states that children need socialization
  skills in order to be complete learners. The Center on Education Policy has
  shown that 44% of public schools have cut back on recess time, science and
  social studies in the name of testing practice. This evidence is a concerning
  and tangible reality.

  A new study by researchers at Rice University and the University of
  Texas-Austin finds that "Texas' public school accountability system, the
  model for NCLB, to be a dismal failure. Each year Texas public high schools
  lose at least 135,000 youth prior to graduation -- a disproportionate number
  of whom are African-American, Latino and English-as-a-second-language (ESL)
  students." The study shows "as schools came under the accountability system,
  which uses student test scores to rate schools and reward or discipline
  principals, massive numbers of students left the school system." Here in the
  state of California, the drop out rate has increased 4% since the inception
  of high stakes accountability. Dr. Stephen Krashen from USC has pointed out
  that overall student performance has flatlined and even dropped in most grade
  levels since the law has been in place.

  What can our community do about this? Many parents feel powerless in the face
  of lawmakers that make such drastic decisions about public education.
  However, not all have been silent. Parents in Chicago are planning on keeping
  their kids home in the face of their unjust local tests, and in Michigan the
  city of Pontiac's public schools have recently won a judgment against the
  NCLB law. Here in California, Lindsay schools have turned down funding to
  protect quality teaching practices that have been threatened by a myopic
  focus on standardized testing. There are many other situations nationally
  that display parent disenfranchisement with the current education focus.

  It is the LAW in California that parents can choose to opt their children out
  of testing, if they see it fit. Schools are supposed to inform them of this
  during the year, but many fail to do so for fear of repercussions by the
  federal government. Even State Superintendent of Instruction Jack O'Connell
  has stated, "I want to remove the penalty against schools where parents do
  not want their children to participate in state testing," O'Connell said. "It
  concerns me that the Bush Administration apparently does not support the
  rights of parents in this regard, because NCLB unfairly penalizes those
  schools where parents exempt their children from testing." If you are
  interested in understanding more about the impact of the NCLB law on students
  and want to know more, please attend the Chavez Literacy Conference at Fresno
  State on March 28-29th. Parents have rights and should use them without
  fear.   Let's strive to protect our public education system.

  CHAVEZ CONFRENCE INFO:  http://education.csufresno.edu/CesarChavez2_08.htm

  Rog ( Horace ) Lucido, Physics Instructor, Ret.

  Program Evaluator

  Adjunct Faculty, Fresno Pacific University

  Educational Consultant

  Educators and Parents Against Testing Abuse ( EPATA )

  Assessment Reform Network Central Valley Coordinator

  Phone: 559-277-1312

  Cell: 559-355-4215

  email: lucid4@cvip.net

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