NUT Report: Schools short of money, but no talk of cutting testing

Reprint of Stephen Krashen's letter sent to Education Week, August 24, 2011
[bold added]

Schools are "facing tough budget choices" (August 24) and cutting back
on teaching positions, tutors, support staff, summer programs, and
extracurricular activities. According to an ASCD survey (SmartBrief
poll, 2011-12), 78% of respondents said that they are "experiencing a
lack of funding and it has affected student learning.

Unmentioned in the Ed Week article is the fact that at the same time
money is so short, we are keeping a number of useless tests and
actually increasing testing to astonishing levels, in the face of
empirical evidence showing that these tests do not increase student
achievement

A clear example of a current useless test is the High School Exit
Exam used in many states. Studies consistently show that high school
exit exams do not lead to more college attendance, increased student
learning or higher employment. In fact, researchers have yet to
discover any benefits of having a high school exit exam.

The US Department of Education is planning an astonishing increase in testing. In addition to end-of-year tests, there will be tests in reading and math near the end of school year and testing several times during the year (interim testing), In addition, the Department is encouraging pre-testing in the fall and testing other subjects as well. Recently, the Department announced plans to test children before they enter kindergarten. In addition, all tests will be administered on-line, a huge expense. There is no evidence that the new tests will help children.

We all agree that assessment is part of teaching and learning, but our philosophy should be "no unnecessary testing": Determine which tests are useful and eliminate the others. Over-testing is choking our schools both intellectually and financially.

Stephen Krashen

Original article:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/08/24/01openingday_ep.h31.html?tkn=QOQFffbFmIbu4uJDCSj3MNDKAeQOV%2BCORTw3&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

Some sources:

High school leaving exams, most recent review: Holme, J., Richards,
M., Jimerson, J., and Cohen, R. 2010. Assessing the effects of high
school exit examinations. Review of Educational Research 80 (4):
476-526.

No evidence the new tests will help: Nichols, S., Glass, G., and
Berliner, D. 2006. High-stakes testing and student achievement: Does
accountability increase student learning? Education Policy Archives
14(1). http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v14n1/
.; OECD 2011. Lessons from PISA for the United States, Strong
Performers and Successful Reformers in Education, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264096660-en

On the Recommended List

Grumpy Educators celebrates 100 blogs today. Here are some reports that are worthy of your time.

Scathing Purple Musings posted Why Conservatives and Tea Party Followers Ought to be Appalled by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top:

"And in what ought to trouble conservatives and tea party followers, but really doesn’t (not yet anyway) “…developing effective teachers and leaders,” speaks to reformers “accountability” mantras. This is school reform code-speak for more tax dollars going for corporate standardized tests, elaborate software or training seminars. Or what Steve Wise cleverly described last February as “infrastructure,” on the floor of the Florida Senate."

Missouri Education Watchdog posted information about providing public input by August 15 regarding Common Core initiatives in Register Your Written Opposition to Common Core Standards. Note an expanded call to action in an earlier post here.

According to the Tampa Bay Gradebook, a new study published by the RAND Corporation indicates that merit pay based on student achievement on standardized tests does not work:

"A New York City program designed to improve student performance through school-based financial incentives for teachers did not improve student achievement, most likely because it did not change teacher behavior and the conditions needed to motivate staff were not achieved, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today."

How many more studies does it take before meaningful accountability is formulated? There is no evidence of value-added measurement working anywhere, as currently designed. There is plenty of evidence that excessive testing is occurring.

Recently, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed results of geography achievement by U.S. students. Yes, that is another test administered selectively throughout the nation, roughly 30,000 of the 52 million attending school. The detail of those results were covered by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post here.

"NAEP, administered to nationally representative samples of students by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, is sometimes referred to as the nation’s report card because it is the only K-12 assessment system given across the country. The 2010 assessment in geography was given to 7,000 fourth graders, 9,500 eighth graders and 10,000 twelfth graders."

Before you go to the article, see what you think the answer to this geography question is:

Which of the following is an accurate statement about the American Southwest?

a) Alternating areas of dense shrubbery and sand dunes often make travel difficult.

b) Arid conditions make access to water an important public issue.

c) Generally fair weather means that most people rely on solar energy in their homes and businesses.

d) Easy access to Mexico has led to a strong manufacturing sector.

Student Data Collection: Purpose, Costs, Risks?

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something different. The current policies are different, but are they better, more effective, and more efficient?

According to the President's Blueprint, the state longitudinal data base initiative will provide the targeted accountability to raise achievement by ensuring students are making progress and by linking student achievement to teacher performance. The recent proposed FERPA regulations requires additional safeguards for the collection, release, and safeguarding of student data. The fiscal impact on State and local-levels is not mentioned.


Four reasons the public should have deep concerns about the development and proposed regulations and the collection of data from birth to college on every student in the nation:

April 20, 2011, SONY CEO apologizes for major security breach.
Sony Corp. Chief Executive Howard Stringer apologized for "inconvenience and concern" caused by the security breach that compromised personal data from more than 100 million online gaming accounts.

May 17, 2011, Data Breech Infects Massachusetts Unemployment Office.
An estimated 225,000 Massachusetts residents could become fraud victims as a result of a computer data breach in the state unemployment system.

May 27, 2011, Data Breech at Security Firm Linked to Attack on Lockheed.
Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest military contractor, has battled disruptions in its computer networks this week that might be tied to a hacking attack on a vendor that supplies coded security tokens to millions of users, security officials said on Friday.

June 2, 2011, Google Mail Attack Blamed on China.
Suspected Chinese hackers tried to steal the passwords of hundreds of Google email account holders, including those of senior U.S. government officials, Chinese activists and journalists, the Internet company said.

June 3, 2011, Hackers Attack another Sony network.
Hackers broke into Sony Corp’s computer networks and accessed the information of more than 1 million customers to show the vulnerability of the electronic giant’s systems, the latest of several security breaches undermining confidence in the company.