11/7/11 UPDATE:
APS has now cut out some of theses tests as a result of "feedback" they've been receiving. "Removing" tests from SEPT. and OCT. is virtually impossible, so no benefit here. Now students only lose 3-10 hours of teaching time.
- These tests are NOT necessary. Teachers assess student progress.
- Tests are NOT professionally developed based on research.
- Teachers are NOT getting results in a timely manner to help students. If teacher deficiencies need to be uncovered, more observations are needed by Principals.
More feedback is needed! Contact Super of Instruction Karen Waldon kwaldon AT atlanta.k12.ga.us and/or Super Davis ebdavis AT atlanta.k12.ga.us with your concerns.
We're working on a petition and will have that available soon. Let teachers TEACH, and let administrators focus on supporting teacher improvement wherever needed!
- 1st & 2nd Graders will take 6 tests throughout the year
- 3rd & 4th Graders will take 19 tests throughout the year
- 5th Graders will take 20 tests throughout the year
- 6th Graders will take 19 tests throughout the year
- 7th Graders will take 18 tests throughout the year
- 8th Graders will take 19 tests throughout the year
- Approximately 35 weeks of class for students (176 days for instruction) on APS calendar
- Teacher comments/experiences would be invaluable - and anonymous
Problem is this doesn't truly benefit the students and was implemented AFTER school began so planning was complete. Yes there are some benefits to assessments but these will provide little dependable data and are too costly financially and professionally in terms of time spent away from instruction and teacher support.
Tests will be approx. 25 questions (Scantron/bubble graded by computer) with 1 extended response (graded by hand by teachers). Results are to be returned to teachers within 48 hours so adjustments to instruction can be made. The following assessments will be administered by teachers in the classroom:
- 1st & 2nd Graders will take 9 tests throughout the year
- 3rd & 4th Graders will take 24 tests throughout the year
- 5th Graders will take 27 tests throughout the year
- 6th Graders will take 29 tests throughout the year
- 7th Graders will take 30 tests throughout the year
- 8th Graders will take 34 tests throughout the year
- Approximately 35 weeks of class for students (176 days for instruction) on APS calendar
- Would students benefit more from instructional time instead of assessments?
- Are teachers comfortable with inserting these assessments into their teaching plans?
- Is the goal of educating our children TODAY being traded for potential long-term gains?
Comment away!
If you'd like to contact APS for more information:
Superintendent Erroll Davis: ebdavis AT atlanta.k12.ga.us
Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Staff Steve Smith: swsmith AT atlantak12.ga.us Dr. Raymond Hart - Research/Planning/Accountability: rhart AT atlantak12.ga.us
Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Karen Waldon: kwaldon AT atlanta12.ga.us
Your APS Board Members are http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/37
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Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Staff Steve Smith: swsmith AT atlantak12.ga.us Dr. Raymond Hart - Research/Planning/Accountability: rhart AT atlantak12.ga.us
Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Karen Waldon: kwaldon AT atlanta12.ga.us
Your APS Board Members are http://www.atlantapublicschools.us/page/37
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Remember, those water meter covers the City installed a couple years ago- the ones with the solar-powered meters? The covers don't fit. The City spent so so much money placing all of them when they KNEW they would NEVER fit but rather just be something to trip over for years.
ReplyDeleteSomebody thought these new assessments were a great way to make sure all kids were learning on schedule and "sold" the idea to the powers-that-be without getting buy in from teachers and stakeholders. Some of us are voicing concern. But, rather than stopping and addressing the issue, APS is pushing forward.
If APS is trying to close the achievement gap and ensure all kids get a quality education, APS needs to assess the teachers in all the schools- but NOT by assessing the kids with more bubble-in tests.
APS could better spend its money with actual classroom observations of teachers.
There is too much emphasis on testing and not enough on learning. Every time you turn around there is another teacher work day or holiday disrupting the schedule. Testing takes away from the time they have. Students performed better before the introduction of all these extra breaks and when testing was performed in the classroom on the material taught. Those tests gave the teachers immediate feedback that allowed them to spend additional time on material if needed. Waiting for 3rd party verification of results does nothing to address gaps in the classroom in a timely manner. While the stated intent is 48 hours, the reality will more likely translate into a week. What it does do is set up an additional drain on the districts resources that could be better spent on the students.
ReplyDeleteI think that lessening the amount of tests into something more quarterly is a fair compromise. As a teacher, then I get to follow the scope and sequence in a more fluid and organic way, depending on how my students are learning-- not pump through lessons and concepts in order to meet some testing deadline every 2-4 weeks, regardless on what my observations are as the teacher.
ReplyDeleteIf you look over the comparisons chart, most of the school districts are doing that (Decatur, Gwinnett). Those are pretty successful districts with high numbers of students that are considered at-risk. Something to think about...
all this testing really concerns me. i don't know much about how this new thing came to be, but my instincts say that more testing is bad for the education of these kids. it assumes that all kids are on an even plain - not of intelligence, but type of intelligence. we all know there are many different manifestations of intelligence, but only a few that test well. why is APS cramming this down the kids and teachers throats? it's a wonder anyone teaches in this kind of environment. oh public school how you disappoint me so.
ReplyDeletea personal story: when i was a kid, i tested terribly. i was always in the bottom percentile. i was convinced i was dumb. it was traumatizing. from elementary school on i had anxiety when being tested which of course led me to perform poorly. if i don't say so myself, i am pretty smart. i know this now. so what about how this testing culture negatively preys on the psychology of some students? what about the time it is taking away from learning? how can a teacher bear to know that another test is just around the corner? pressure much? for everyone involved. no good for learning.
In response to anonymous above, I am also concerned APS is focusing on student FAILURE. These kids that don't pass the CRCT are req'ed to receive extra instr time- great thing APS COULD be doing. But, these kids are staying after school, coming early to school, coming in on Sat, missing specials- in otherwords, it kinda seems like a punishment. These kids who don't pass the CRCT are probably not getting the best of grades on report cards. Now, there's more assessments to tell the kids AGAIN that they are not good enough. I'm a HUGE proponent of doing away with "challenge" or "gifted" classes. But, what these classes are successfully doing is teaching kids by focusing on their STRENGTHS. Hm... wish traditional education did more of that! Maybe dropout rates wouldn't be so high.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interested op-ed from David Brooks concerning testing in schools: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/opinion/01brooks.html?_r=1.
ReplyDeleteHow do all these test days, which interrupt teaching, contribute to a student's lifelong love of learning? I think that's the point everyone's missing. Talk about keeping up with the Joneses (Alabamians, Pennsylvanians). If a teacher can teach tests as being fun to take, maybe then I'd see the point. Unfortunately, the government (oh, heck, non teaching community) is worried about $$$$$. If our state scores in the lowest ranks on tests, people and businesses won't want to move to GA, and then we lose $$$$$. DeKalb Co. drove this home to me in the '80's. Oh, oh. Our county scores are shrinking (and our population of nonspeaking English students is going up), and we are losing potential real estate buyers.
ReplyDeleteI shrugged my shoulders and tried to ignore the newspapers. One year they blamed the government; the next year they blamed the teachers. Then they blamed the tests. Then. . . . This year it's back to teachers.
Learn how to use IBM computers. No, learn MAC. Now learn this program. Wait a minute; learn 5 new programs and take tests over those programs. Oh, scratch the first program you learned and have been using and use this program instead. Transfer all your data to this new program (in the middle of the year after you have 20 days of test and quiz scores and 20 days of attendance, etc.). Print up this. Show that. In 1999 the county came up with a way for us to improve test scores. We had 75--75!!!!!--objectives for each student. We had to record when each student was exposed to this obj., when he achieved this obj., when he was retested, etc. Everyone was screaming bloody murder. By January it became apparent that no one was doing anything about checking on teachers to see if they were keeping up with all this. NOTHING was ever done with it. Seems so typical.
People who are in business seem to think they can grab teachers by the shirt lapels and jerk them into being great teachers. My experience was that the best teachers were the ones who loved their subject and were passionate enough to show it in the classroom. Some were terribly strict. Some were silly. All loved kids and teaching. All this testing drains the love out of the job. When a teacher's performance is related to how well his/her students do on a test, the teacher gets up tight. That uptightness is passed on to the students. Some can brush it off. Some absorb it. Those who absorb it get uptight and have difficulty taking tests.
Teach students as if they are human beings--with respect, with joy, with the aim of creating children who want to learn more and more and more. Instead of doing away with field trips, encourage field trips. Instead of throwing art and music and band and chorus and orchestra and newspaper classes out the window, make them requirements. Teach languages from kindergarten on up and take the kids places where they can use and hear the languages. Give recess back. And, while we are at it, build schools of wood and windows. Encourage daydreaming and gardens and bird watching and camping and and and...
response to anonymous who posted on Oct. 28. :
ReplyDeletei do not agree with doing away with challenge/gifted classes. the kids who are ahead for one reason or another ( age/ brains/ gifts) should not have to wait around for a teacher's attention just like a kid who is "behind" (please don't take that as anything other than an effort to write a sentence, i do not believe that anyone is behind - just different type of learning/thinking - hard to put into regular classes) anyway, gifted/older kids suffer just as much for being left out because they actually don't need attention for particular lessons - it is not a good situation for them either - SO i am just saying lets be thankful that they can go and get "challenged" at least once a week. ( i know of a gifted kid who gets put on the computer way too much because the teacher doesn't know how to make time to help her)
BUT. i do think that kids that don't "perform well" on tests are in a real bind, and i think they are just as bright as others, and i DO think it creates a vicious cycle that unfortunately can harm their psychology. SO, i think added testing is a BAD IDEA! i don't believe in report cards for the younger grades. i think a simple written response is all that is needed to sufficiently communicate to the parents/guardians what is going on at school, and how to resolve it.
- anonymous M
Is our expectation for APS to deliver a baseline education across the board or to deliver a challenging education to each child? By implementing this type of testing across the board, they are basically leveling the education delivered to merely a baseline. This has the potential to be valuable in non-performing schools, but not in high performing schools or for high performing students.
ReplyDeleteWhat could work is that if a child (or school) is targeted as needing additional support (either by a teacher or by scores on the CRCT), these assessments are used to make sure the kids learn the baseline. However, if a student shows mastery of a subject, either by a teacher test or the CRCT, these assessments are completely unnecessary because all the stated goals are met. Scores on the year-end CRCT, will demonstrate whether a teacher is assessing the student properly. And honestly, if a school is high performing, there's no reason at all for any of this oversight. Why in the world would APS want to change what's happening in successful schools?
Essentially, I think APS needs to recognize that the district is not homogenous. Each school has different needs and this type of one program fits all, cannot work (NCLB has proven that). Put the $$ where they are needed.