My 52 Views on High-Stakes Tests

Today marks the second week of NJASK testing here in New Jersey. Grades 5 and 6 began testing this morning, and make-ups are being conducted for 7th and 8th graders that weren't tested last week.  

Last week parents were told that if they insisted on opting out their child's test would be scored a zero and their child would be placed in remedial classes next year.

Reports are coming in today that students are being forced to sit through make-up sessions even though they opted out last week. The only options presented to parents are to keep children home during the make-ups or have their child pulled from class only to sit in front of a blank test booklet. 

NJ opt-outers are attempting to work with administrators to come up with more student-centered solutions for their children.  

Diane Hewlett-Lowrie is one of the brave moms starting an opt-out journey this week. Here is a guest post she wrote clearly demonstrating that New Jersey parents know EXACTLY why they are opting out!  

Generally, I am opposed to high-stakes standardized tests because: 

• They constitute an undue burden of stress on young children;  

• They constitute an undue financial burden on schools; 

• They don’t tell the classroom teacher anything about how well any child learned new skills or topics; 

• 21st Century skills include cooperation, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. These skills will not be developed in a ‘pass the high-stakes test at all costs’ world;  

• Teaching students how to do well in these tests will result in this generation of children acquiring skills that are NOT required in the work world they will enter, while losing valuable lessons in the skills they DO require;  

• Linking test scores to teacher evaluation over such a short time period is inappropriate, untested, untried, still in the developmental stage, not recommended even by the test companies, and will result in the loss of many good teachers;  

• Linking test scores to teacher evaluation does not take into consideration the top reasons for students doing well in school or not, that is parental involvement and socio-economics; 

• Linking test scores to teacher evaluation that may result in teachers losing their jobs will result in a lot more pressure on students to perform well in these test;  

• Good teachers are leaving the profession because they cannot educate the children in an innovative and creative way, meeting the needs of every child - they are being forced to teach-to-the-test;  

• It is inappropriate to use our children to resolve labor issues;  

• No professional writer would produce a finished product essay in 30 minutes. Why then ask kids to do this 3 or 4 times in two days?; 

• Teaching the children how to write a finished essay in 30 minutes is only teaching them how to write to pass this test, it is not teaching the real approach to the writing process;

• The tests are too heavily weighted in favor of people with strong language arts skills; 

• Numeracy evaluations are polluted with language arts portions. This is not fair on students who are very strong in math, but weak in writing;  

• These standardized tests are biased against budding scientists, engineers and mathematicians; 

• These tests tell children if they can’t write, they can’t excel. Wrong!; 

• Over-emphasis on testing is narrowing the curriculum in all schools; 

• Test scores are being used inappropriately to close down schools in poor neighborhoods leading to overcrowding of the schools that remain; 

• The current tests were never designed to be ‘high stakes, they were supposed to be ‘snapshots’ to let school know if they are on the right track; 

• Policy makers, legislators, and big business are using “the test” in ways it was never intended to be used; 

• The high-stakes nature of these tests and the curriculum they assess force teachers to teach subjects and concepts to young children who are not developmentally ready under the guise of being ‘rigorous’; 

• Too much time that could be spent learning is spent getting ready for the test, or taking tests and this is only going to get worse when there is a test for every subject in every year; 

• The time, money and other resources that have been spent on establishing these tests could have been better spent on instruction of students and professional development for teachers; 

• There is inappropriate product placement (aka free advertising) in the tests; 

• One company seems to have a monopoly on these tests, and therefore the text books. Last week, a passage from Pearson’s text books showed up in a standardized test. MASSIVE conflict of interest; 

• There is too much emphasis on learning via ‘informational text’ leaving no time for real-life, hands-on, exploratory learning; 

• There is too much emphasis on learning via text books, leaving no time for field trips, museums, historic sites, environmental education centers, etc; 

• The writing that is being taught is formulaic – probably because it’s easier to score on a test, not because it’s the best way to write; and 

• Nobody I know in the real work world has to produce a 5-paragraph persuasive essay in 30 minutes – without being able to research and verify facts via good sources.

Personally, I am opposed to high-stakes standardized tests because

• Participating in four days of testing is not in the best interests of our child; 

• Preparing for and participating in four days of testing is destroying our child’s love of learning; 

• Participating in four days of testing does not help our child’s learning, especially as the neither the teachers nor the parents are permitted to view the completed and graded test; 

• Preparing for four days of testing takes away from a well-rounded exciting and engaging education; 

• Our child is good at math, reading, and science, but the test will not show that as it is so heavily weighted with language arts (e.g. writing in words how a math problem was solved); 

• Our child has a writing disability, yet will be forced to write for hours during these tests. This will cause pain and anxiety; 

• Our child has a writing disability, yet will be evaluated on writing skills (One does not evaluate a person with a mobility disability on how well they can run); 

• Our child has a writing disability, but can type very well. He is not able to type his answers on these tests;

• An education psychologist told us that our child’s brain ‘shuts down’ under high pressure situations, like timed tests, because of a low-performing ‘working memory’. All standardized tests are conducted under pressure with an enforced, unworldly time limit;

• I refuse to have my child be a part of a research project for a testing/curriculum company; 

• Please note, our child consistently gets As and Bs on report cards. Our arguments with the standardized tests are not related to our child’s academic ability, but are everything to do with the numerous reasons listed here.

International perspective

• Other successful developed nations are moving AWAY from this type of ‘education’ because it does not prepare children for the real world; 

• Wales outlawed national testing under the age of 14; 

• The Scottish education system uses a balance of continuous assessment, mixed with
• end-of-year exams, to evaluate learning; 

• Finland – known to have the best education system in the world - does EXACTLY the OPPOSITE of what are currently doing in the US; 

• In Finland, teachers are valued and paid as well as doctors – and the students excel; 

• In Finland, there are no mandated standardized tests, except one at the end of senior
• year – and the students excel; 

• In Finland, the teachers are free to mold their own instruction – and the students excel; 

• The Scottish education system doesn’t have national tests for children under the age of 16; 

• The Scottish education system evaluates students through assessing them, not teachers; 

• Teachers in England boycotted the national tests for 11-year-olds because it took away from valuable teaching time and put an undue burden of stress on young children. The United State’s education system and its current direction is becoming the laughing stock of the world. 

WE ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, AMERICA!!!!

How Do Education Foundations in New Jersey's Top Towns Stack Up To Billionaire Philanthropy? Not So Well.

A comment I received on my post Hebrew Charters Hit The Broadway Stage kind of irked me.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good debate, and have no problem being challenged. In fact, I welcome it. 

I just wish anonymous commenters that take the time to do some research and go toe to toe with me would let me know who I have the pleasure of debating.  

Anonymous brought up an interesting point, that when I compared the Hebrew Charter School Center's (HCSC) Broadway fundraiser to my school's PTO collecting boxtops, I was leaving out the fact that often Education Foundations raise far more money for districts than PTOs or PTAs.

Point well taken.

So it made sense to look at how Education Foundation giving stacks up to the likes of the HCSC.

As I was doing some research for my response to Anonymous' comment I realized there were lots of links I wanted to add, so here is the comment and my response as a post instead.

AnonymousMay 2, 2013 at 6:29 PM 

Darcie, really? 

It seems to me that that the Hebrew Language people may have learned from Highland Park what a good fundraiser theater can be: This past year the Highland Park Education Foundation hosted an evnet using its Broadway connections to raise money when they featured Amy Herzog at the Italian Bistro.  

The Highland Park Education Foundation has boasted over the years raising thousands of dollars for the Highland Park Public schools, and I would think that the Highland Park Education Foundation folks would love to leverage other famous HPHS grads like Sam Hoffman, Willie Garson and Soterios Johnson. So while the Matilda fundraiser may have been a bit more sucessful, Highland Park is hardly limited to boxtops. 

And while the Highland Park Education Foundation may have not been sucessful raising big money for the Highland Park public schools, other public school supporters have been very effective in raising very large sums: 

The Princeton Education Foundation has boasted giving their district $113,000 this past school year. 

The Rumson Education Foundation boasts having raised $15 Million since its inception for their school district. 

The Somerset Hills Education Foundation just raised over $100,000 at their chiili cook off. 
and,  

The Summit(NJ) Education Foundation just raised $150,000 at their Casino night fundraiser. And the foundation boasts giving their public school districts $342,000.00 in grants in 2012.

My response

Ah, I love it when Anonymous posters make a point to call me out by name. 

Really, I do. 

Anonymous, I can't speak for Rumson, Princeton, Summit or Somerset Hills.  Those districts have nothing to do with my district, or Hatikvah. 

But I do appreciate your point that often Education Foundation fundraisers pull in more money than PTO, PTA or parent driven fund raisers, and I ignored that.  

So lets compare the Highland Park Education Foundation (HPEF) and the Amy Herzog fundraiser you mention with the HCSC and the Afternoon at the Theater fundraiser I wrote about and see if you have a valid point when you claim that "other public school supporters have been very effective in raising very large sums."

Amy Herzog is an HP alum, and is now a successful, albeit still off-Broadway, playwright. She came back to her home town and gave a talk at a local restaurant. I forget the ticket price for the event, but I can assure you it was far less than the $50,000 some of New York's wealthiest families paid to see a private showing of a Tony Award nominated Broadway production of the Royal Shakespeare Company.   

According to their website, in the last two years the HPEF has awarded a little more than $25,000 in grants. That's two years worth of work to raise HALF of the $50,000 some folks shelled out for just 12 of the 1460 seats at the Shubert Theater.

According to HCSC's 990, in 2010 alone Hatikvah received $248,596, and that DOES NOT include the $142,000 that was given to their after school programs.  

So Anonymous, your attempt to equate a home town girl done good helping to raise a little bit of money at a local bistro and the HCSCs ability to commandeer an entire performance of a hit Broadway musical kind of falls flat.    

I'm kind of intrigued now, so let's explore this idea a little further. Above I said I wouldn't address the other Education Foundations you mentioned, but doing so may in fact be interesting. The towns you list are some of the wealthiest in the state, so I wonder how they stack up against the giving power of the HCSC?  

NJ Monthly says Rumson is number five in NJ's Top 20 Towns, so let's use them as our test case. Their Education Foundation has raised a whopping 1.5 M since it's inception 17 years ago. (In your comment you erroneously state it was 15 M - I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that this was an honest mistake.)

That sounds like a lot of money, right?

Except according to that same 990, HCSC gave out 1.2 M in 2010 alone and had 4M in total assets. 

And let's take this comparison just one step further.  Rumson has about 1,000 students and Hatikvah has around 200. 

If Rumson schools get about $90,000 per year from their Education Foundation, that breaks down to approximately $90 a student.

We've already established that Hatikvah got almost $400,000 in 2010 for their charter and after school programs.

That's $2,000 per student. 

Anonymous, while you may have a point that Education Foundations raise more money than the bake sales, book fairs and box tops I wrote about in my original post, they're not exactly raking in the "very large sums" you indicated. Even Education Foundations in New Jersey's wealthiest towns fall FAR short of the giving power of billionaire backed foundations like HCSC.

So yes, REALLY Anonymous. 

Traditional public schools can not match the private money that flows into charter schools backed by hedge fund billionaires.

But thanks for stopping by!

Darcie 

Are Children Being Used As Pawns In The Game Of High Stakes Testing?

Today marks the end of NJASK testing for 7th and 8th graders in New Jersey, with 5th and 6th graders in the hot seat next week. NJ parents across the state are opting their children out, and we are working together to find ways to make the experience as smooth as possible for our children.

NJ mom Lisa Grieco-Rodgers has chosen to have her 6th grade child opt out, but her 4th grade child will take the test. She explains that her daughter is a strong student and has taken the NJASK in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. This year her daughter has already sat through end of the marking period tests, district placement tests and now weeks of test prep.

Grieco-Rodgers asks, "when is enough, enough?"

Guest post from Lisa Grieco-Rodgers  

 

We can all appreciate the need for standards and guidelines and the people that must enforce them.  However, when the pendulum swings too far and these standards and guidelines become counterproductive, adversely affecting our children, then the constituents who voted in our representatives need to speak up.

We chose to keep our 6th grade daughter home during NJASK testing this week, because enough is enough.  Our daughter has taken the NJASK for 3 years now, and based on the NJ DoE changes that are coming in 2014, she along with her brother will be tested until 11^th grade.  Our   daughter is a straight A student, in AP Math and in general actually finds testing to be a fun challenge – go figure. 

However, when NJ ASK prep started 2 weeks before the actual test, she came home saying.  “Mom, I just finished all the trimester tests and the district placement test.  Do I really need to go through 10 more hours of testing?”  Her father and I said “NO!”  Enough is enough.

As her parents we are actively involved in her and her brother’s education.  Each night we review their homework and weekly, we discuss their work to determine if they need more support. 

In her particular case, this year, NJASK proves no value to her.  In fact her placement into 7th grade will be decided on before the NJASK results are published in September 2013.

As for our son, we chose to allow him to take the NJASK in 4^th grade for after discussing his abilities with his teacher and the principal we decided that since he has not gone through the battery of testing our daughter has the NJASK will help reinforce what he has learned and strengthen his test taking abilities.   

Many folks have said to me, aren’t you contradicting yourself?  No, it’s OUR CHOICE based on the needs of the individual child.  We are their parent’s, we decide what is best for our kids.

NJ DoE however, does not believe we have the right to decide and in the end could potentially penalize the school districts and our kids for OUR CHOICE!

We understand that the school district must follow State regulations – for they have NO CHOICE.  But it is time for each district to take a stand and speak out that the district should NOT be adversely affected financially or otherwise, because of a parental right.  The State is holding the district hostage.  Less than 95% participation could potentially impact district funding from the state.  The children also have to miss 10 hours of class during test make up week, because the State DoE has stated that they cannot attend class if they don’t take the make-up test.  How ridiculous is this! We have already decided that they NOT take the test!

Since when do we live in a communist state?  Please tell me we have not fallen into a dictatorship! Why should the state penalize the school district because of OUR CHOICE?

There is nothing wrong with assessment testing, when administered appropriately, but when is enough, enough?  Whether or not you believe the pendulum has swung too far already, wait…. NJASK currently tests kids for 10 hours per year from 3^rd-8^th grade.  When PARCC testing is implemented, it will bring this to a whole new level with FOUR new rounds of tests totaling 12 hours per year from K-11^th grade.

We hear over and over from state regulators that parents are using their children as pawns.   Really?

When the State withholds money from the district if the district does not achieve 95% participation rate on the NJASK and when the State does not allow our children to attend class during test make up week – then who is REALLY holding our children as pawns?

Why On Earth Does My Daughter Have To Take This Test?

NJ Opt Out 2013 is underway!  Today is day one of NJASK for 7th and 8th grade, and parents across the state are doing what it takes to say NOWAY to the NJASK.   

Between now and the end of testing season I hope to bring you the stories of opt outers and test refusers across New Jersey. The movement is growing, and each year more parents become engaged in the struggle to take back public education from the private interests that have invaded our children's classrooms.

My hope is that these stories bring to life both the HOW and the WHY of opt outing out, and how for many students, such as M in today's guest post, the test is not only inappropriate, but educationally unsound.

It's high time parents, teachers and educators stand up to this nonsense.  Here is the brave story of how Julie Borst did just that for her child. It's impossible to read Julie's story and conclude that she is doing anything other than what is best for her child and that the state's insistance that every child should be tested is beyond absurd.  

BRAVO Julie!

Guest post from Julie Borst

 

Why on earth does my daughter have to take this test?

I have been asking that question of school administrators, child study team members and teachers for a lot of years.  My daughter has brain injury from birth, causing significant educational delays.  M has never come close to being “proficient” in any category of NJASK...of course, she's never actually seen grade level material, but it appears logic is not part of this. 

Every year I would protest and was assured that no one thought it was fair.  All possible accommodations were made.  M would have a supernaturally boring week of filling in bubbles.  And, at the end of the school year, I would get the letter from NJDOE telling me my daughter was not proficient at grade level.  Yes, thank you, we already know that.  How about telling me something I don't know, like at what grade level is she proficient? 

Last year, M was in 7^th grade and something changed.  M was agitated the entire week of testing; she didn't want to eat, she didn't sleep well.  In spite of the annual pep talk - don't worry about the test; do what you can; it's not about you; blah, blah, blah – she was miserable.  On the last day of testing, she left school in tears.  She asked if I could start homeschooling her the next day.  When I asked her why, she replied, “I found out this week just how far I am behind my friends”  Ugh.  That one hurt.  M's disability manifests itself in different ways.  It's a horrible curse to understand your disability and have the ability to relate it to the “neurotypical” kids who are your friends. 

That conversation sent me into research mode.  There had to be a way out of taking these tests, especially for a classified student!!!  I contacted an old friend who is a Vice-Principal at a NYC high school.  She told me about “opting out” and about my rights as a parent.  Woo hoo!  14^th Amendment rights!  Armed with that tidbit of information I had a meeting with our district Superintendent.  I informed him of what I had learned and that I would not longer allow M to be tested.  To my surprise and great relief, he agreed with me.  He, as a teacher and as principal, had witnessed students sobbing with frustration and others becoming physically ill during the test.  His suggestion to me was to simply keep M home.  Nothing would be held against her...just be sure to know when the retests were taking place because if she were in the building during retests, they would test her.  I left that meeting feeling very relieved. 

A few weeks ago I contacted my Superintendent to remind him of M opting out.  I asked if there was any way for her to go to school the week of retests without her being tested.  Other than keeping M home, he wasn't sure what could be done, but he went to find an answer.  I know he spoke with at least one other local Superintendent and with the County Superintendent.

 I heard back this past Friday from the person who runs the day to day operations of Special Services in my district.  She told me that NJDOE had directed them to have M come to school to decline each portion of the exam.  The district's interpretation is this: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (8^th grade ELA, Math and Science) we arrive at 8:45am, just as the test is being administered, and report to her office.  We will be allowed to be with M.  She will give M the test.   M will verbally decline to take the test.  The test will be marked “Void,” thus making M ineligible for the retest the following week.  We go home.  The scenario is convoluted, even M thinks so. 

I'm very uncomfortable with putting any of the responsibility on M.  This is an adult transaction and kids shouldn't have to do anything.  This sure looks like NJDOE thinks a minor should be made to decline in front of  their peers.  Why would a minor's actions/words carry more weight than those of their parents?  Was this scenario suggested with the hopes that parents would balk at this kind of responsibility being dumped on their kids?  I'm tremendously grateful for administrators who are committed to making M as comfortable as possible. 

Over the last year, I've spent hundreds of hours learning about education reform, the impact of Common Core, high stakes testing, teacher evaluations, charter schools, etc.  I am horrified by what I see.  My journey to opting out was very personal and for a very specific reason.  However, I'm talking to as many parents as I can about opting out because the broader implications of what these tests will mean for our public education system are completely unacceptable.  The best thing any parent can do is learn about what is happening and find your voice!

Hebrew Charters Hit The Broadway Stage

It's Their Party And We're Not Invited

Are you free this Sunday?  Do you have an extra $50,000 lying around?  

If you answered yes to both of those questions, then you could be eligible to attend the inaugural benefit for the five charters in the Hebrew Charter School Center's (HCSC) network (including Hatikvah, which is taking almost $300,000 from my small district next year).

"Afternoon at the Theater" is a private performance of Roald Dahl's "Matilda The Musical" at the Schubert Theater in NYC.

That's right.  A private performance of a Broadway musical as a fundraiser for five "public" schools.

You need some serious disposable income if you want to attend this school fundraiser on steroids.  

 

Sponsorship Packages 

$50,000 - Chancellor 

TWO teachers in every classroom! 

Help to enable every Hebrew Charter School Center classroom in Harlem, Washington, DC, East Brunswick, NJ, San Diego CA and Brooklyn to have two teacher in every classroom."

Includes 12 premium Matilda tickets

$25,000 - Superintendent 

Give our kids a leg up! 

Send out most at risk students to summer and spring recess sessions at Harlem Hebrew. 

Includes 10 premium Matilda tickets 

$18,000 - Head of School 

Broaden our students' horizons! 

Help provide chess, Israeli dance, and music in one school for a year. 

Includes 8 premium Matilda tickets 

$10,000 - Principal 

Make our teacher the BEST! 

Help support educational coaching for teachers in Hebrew, math and general studies for our teachers in all HCSC schools. 

Includes 6 premium Matilda tickets 

$5,000 - Teacher 

Support our most challenged students! 

Help support special education including additional instructional time for our most challenged students.
Includes 4 premium Matilda tickets.

Individual Tickets

$750 - Priority Plus Seat

$500 - Priority Seat

$250 - General Seat

Sponsor a student

$250 - Sponsor one of our students to join us at the show!

Interested? 



Or maybe you wish you could figure out a way to have this kind of fundraiser for your kid's school?

Well, here's all you have to do to make that happen!

Step One !

Find a hedge fund demi billionaire!

Step Two!!

Get his daughter(who also happens to be married to a hedge fund guy)to run one of your schools and be on your board!!

Step Three!!! 

Gather your closest, most loaded New York socialite friends to be on the Host and Event Commitees!!!

Jonathan Tisch Chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels.

Jeffrey Zucker President of CNN Worldwide

Lisa Applebaum Haddad She may have less name recognition, but she's the daughter of Eugene Applebaum, who sold his chain of drugstores to CVS in 1998 for a mere $1.48 BILLION.  Oh, and Lisa happens to be a HCSC board member.

You could spend hours searching through the list of developers, investment firm CEOs, and entrepreneurs named Bippy on the Host and Events Committees, and one just turns out to be more stinking rich than the next. 

Traditional public schools that aren't backed by billionaires DO NOT have the kind of connections to pull off a private performance of a hit Broadway musical. Guess we'll just have to stick to bake sales, book fairs and box tops to get extra programs for our kids.

Can you imagine the fundraising efforts it would take in a public school to afford two teachers in every classroom?  But these guys can make that happen in a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon.

Must be nice.

I have half a mind to hang out in front of the Schubert theater on Sunday with a big sign.

Wanna join me?

I've Opted Out And You Can Too!

This morning I spoke with the Assistant Superintendent of my district, and was told it's no problem to opt my 1st graders out of the NJPASS. This is not a mandated test, and the results are not reported to the state.  It is given mostly to prepare students for taking the NJASK in 3rd grade - so in my estimation, it's all but useless for my kids and a waste of money for the district.  

The OK to opt out this year came with a warning that once my girls hit 3rd grade this would not be such a cake walk. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, I feel an incredible sense of relief. 

Relief that my girls won't lose almost 7 hours (I was told it sucks up 2 hours and 15 minutes on 3 consecutive days - they're SIX!!) to a standardized test that has next to no meaning for them or their teacher.  Relief that my district was accommodating (they can spend the time at home or will be invited into a Kindergarten classroom). Relief that I have taken the first step to giving my daughters a K-12 education without the stress and burden of high-stakes standardized tests.

Here's a generic version of the letter I sent to my district. I took out identifiers and specifics, so if you are inspired to join me, feel free to cut and paste parts that resonate for you and  create your own letter. Or steal the whole thing.  

It's my gift to you for taking the brave step to tell the powers that be, "You can't sort and label our children! We opt out!!"  

I have been informed that first graders will take the NJPASS on May 7, 8 and 9. It is also my understanding that these scores will not be reported to the state, and do not have high stakes attached to them. However, I fail to see the benefit of starting my child(ren) on a standardized testing path that I know is leading to their class being the first group of 3rd graders to take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Carriers (PARCC) assessments in the 2014/2015 school year.

In the current education reform culture, standardized test scores are used less often to improve outcomes for students by reinforcing skills that have not been mastered, and more to evaluate teachers, schools and districts. Student test data provides the state false justification to take over districts, close schools, and open charters; all "reforms" that have not been shown to significantly improve student outcomes and instead serve to further weaken traditional public schools and the communities they serve. 

Starting next year, AchieveNJ will be implemented statewide, and education advocates and legislators are still debating with Education Commissioner Chris Cerf how much of a teacher's evaluation will be based on their student's standardized test scores. These tests were never created to evaluate teacher performance, and the use of Student Growth Percentiles (SGP) and similar Value Added Modeling (VAM) to evaluate teachers has proven highly controversial in other states. 

This is not the only way student data is being misused. Testing companies have begun collecting student data, including "information about the children’s hobbies, attitudes, and interests" as well as "(d)isciplinary records, attendance records, special-needs records, testing records." This information is then shared with other testing and educational companies without parental consent. Parents have not been given the opportunity to opt-out of the database, and the data will be used to tailor educational products to parents. 

And as you well know, standardized testing creates a financial burden for districts across the state. The infrastructure needed for the coming PARCC assessments is as of yet undetermined for our district, but is anticipated to be quite onerous. As PARCC is administered entirely online, it will require large purchases of technology and increased bandwidth, in addition to the cost of the test itself. Paired with the loss of almost $5 million in state funding our district has suffered since Governor Christie took office, the additional expense could be devastating.

For all these reasons and more (teaching to the test, narrowing of curriculum, cheating scandals, etc.) I am ardently opposed to the testing culture that has been inflicted upon public schools, and the over reliance on data driven instruction in a never ending quest for evidence that students are "college and career ready." To be clear, I am not implying that our district is engaged in ANY of these practices. These are my observations of the national discussion on standardized testing, and the impact the overreliance on test scores has had on public education nationwide.

I trust my daughters' teachers to make sound judgments regarding their education, and the district has my full support in administering any teacher or district created assessments as deemed necessary. I whole-heartedly object however to any state-wide standardized tests the district chooses to administer, or must administer according to state mandates.

Therefore, my husband and I respectfully inform you that we have decided to opt our child(ren) out of the NJPASS. We have decided to join the growing number of parents across the state that have similarly decided to opt their children out of high stakes standardized tests. 

Ours is a progressive district committed to public education. I would love to see a broad conversation in our schools, purposefully framed to include parents, teachers, administrators and board members, about the effects this nation's obsession with standardized testing is having on the education of our children.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

    

  

Darcie Cimarusti

If you are interested in the opt out movement, reach out to me in the comments. A group of New Jersey parents and educators have already started a supportive Facebook group that you can join, and you can also find information at United Opt Out.

The NJDOE is using our kids' tests scores as the basis for their attempts to privatize and take over our public schools. Opting out is the best way to tell the state we want nothing to do with the destructive war they've waged against our schools, and we won't allow them to use our kids as a weapon to fire their teachers and close their schools.  

Parents and teachers know that standardized tests are antithetical to learning. We need to stand up for what we know.

In solidarity,
Darcie
AKA 
Mother Crusader

Newark And Irvington Kids Stuck In Cerf's Charter Revolving Door

Today John Mooney wrote about the revocation of 100 Legacy Academy's charter.  It can't be stressed enough that this charter was just opened in September.  This is the schools FIRST year of operation.  While I will concede that the charter was granted before Cerf became commissioner, the rest of the decisions to open this charter rest squarely on his shoulders. He could have avoided this at multiple turns.

I guarantee the spin on this will be about how how accountable this DOE is for shutting this school down, but a truly accountable DOE would never have let this happen in the first place.

If you can stomach the schmaltz, watch this video produced by the founders of the charter. And if you wonder why parents chose charters over public schools, just remember this video.  More often than not parents are sold empty promises.



Interestingly, when this charter was approved the New Jersey Charter School Association (NACSA)  tried to sell that there was an increasing demand statewide for charters, and NACSA CEO Carlos Perez and his buddies at Jaffe Communications tried to spin the approvals into a need for multiple authorizers in the state.

Perez said the continued growth of charter schools points to the need for legislation to increase the number of charter school authorizers. Currently, only the state Department of Education can authorize a charter, but proposed legislation supported by the NJCSA would allow universities to approve and oversee charter schools.

“As we grow into a mature sector, multiple authorizers are needed to meet the growing demand to open new charters,” Perez said. “We think that as demand continues, we need to keep a watchful eye on the quality of charters and improved authorizing would provide a vehicle for doing so.”

But isn't funny how the one authorizer we already have in this state, despite the seemingly never ending assistance of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), can't seem to get it's act together?


Just look at the spin the NJDOE put on the decision to give 100 Legacy and other charters an additional planning year.  

“We think that all of the schools taking a planning year have the potential to offer a high-quality educational choice for students,” said Carly Bolger, Director of the Charter Schools Office. “However, we believe these schools need additional time to plan and develop, and we will not open a school that we do not believe will be among the best schools in the entire state.” (emphasis mine)

And the spin put on the decision to give 100 Legacy and others the green light to open.

“We are deeply committed to ensuring that every student in New Jersey has access to a high-quality public school option that is a good fit for them, no matter whether that is a district, charter, magnet, or vocational school,” said Acting Commissioner Chris Cerf. “We are confident that the charter schools we approved today will provide great options for the children of New Jersey.” (emphasis mine)

Yet just two short months later, a look at 100 Legacy board meeting minutes reveals that this school was not built on a solid foundation, and in fact the judgement of those making the decisions seems faulty at best.  

In the letter from the state to 100 Legacy founder Michael Clark, among several other complaints, Popoff points out that there were concerns about the fiscal management of the school.

The board minutes show that the school was under enrolled by 31 students, meaning the school opened at only 90% enrollment. This flies in the face of non stop claims from charter cheerleaders that there is a never ending demand for charters in Newark.  But I digress...

The discussion of how to fill those seats confirms everything I have ever thought about charters and how they operate. Let's hear what Janus Holder, the 100 Legacy Treasurer, had to say about how those seats should be filled:

Next, Mr. Holder spoke about the components that make up the projected deficit. The largest factor contributing to the deficit is the fact that the majority of the students enrolled come from Irvington, which pays approximately $1,500 less than Newark.

.....

Mr. Holder stated that we need to try to get more NPS students since their per pupil rate is higher, but Newark is saturated with charter schools and parents have many options. Irvington looks to be the best area to recruit students since that municipality has few charter schools so their options are limited.

Hard to pick the worst quote out of this, isn't it?  Is it the sense that Newark is already "saturated" with charters?  Is it that they'd rather pull kids from Newark because they bring in more money and seem frustrated that they can't because there is too much competition? Or is it the resignation that they'll have to try to get kids from Irvington because they have less options so they're easier to ensnare? 

But we're supposed to believe that charters don't cherry pick students.

And as if it's not bad enough to put a price tag on a kid's head depending on which district they come from, how about this one?  100 Legacy was also cited in the letter for failing to "provide required services to special education students." The board minutes also reveal that they were trying to rush to get IEPs for kids before the statewide October 15th enrollment count so more kids with disabilities would be on the books, meaning more money in the bank.

Mr. Holder talked about the funding formula – specifically how to calculate the risk factor and we talked about the number of students with IEP’s. Only 19 students had been identified at this point, but it is believed that there are many more. It would take at least 30 days for a student to get an IEP if the testing and evaluations were just now being initiated. ERESC is contracted to do our evaluations but whether or not they have sufficient staff to fast track evaluations so we could complete IEP’s timely enough for the students’ Special Ed status to be included on the October 15th count is unknown. (I can not put enough of my own emphasis on this)

NACSA and the NJDOE are responsible for this train wreck.  They sell a narrative about accountability in authorizing, and then pretend that closing schools that never should have opened in the first place is somehow noble and good.  

It is criminal that parents and students are sold a bill of goods by perhaps well intentioned but clearly ill-prepared charter founders, and the NJDOE's best solution when everything goes wrong is to close the school and move on. Chris Cerf and his buddy Greg Richmond should have to personally go to this school and speak to the kids and the parents and the teachers that put their hopes and dreams into 100 Legacy.

No Superman for you.

Keep goin' kids, the Commissioner is gonna get
this right aaannny day now, don't you worry...