Testing Blues: A thought provoking conundrum

As we round the final turn for the end of the school year, I am forced to again reflect on all of the TESTING that we require of our students.  I cannot help but ask why, what, how, who? Do not get me wrong, I do think that assessments are vital part of the education system and that they do have a place in monitoring the progress of our students...to an extent. Where I get lost, is in the sheer quantity and magnitude of the tests that we give our students. 

In Maryland, students are required to pass the course and pass the PARCC for Algebra 1 and for English 10 (or PARCC aligned course).  Students must also pass the course and pass the test for the Government HSA and for Biology. Between now and the end of May, students in my school will be taking these courses. The PARCC English Language Arts times for testing are 110 minutes, 110 minutes, and 90 minutes for Units 1-3 respectively. The PARCC Math times are three units of 90 minutes each, to complete the exam. The HSAs are usually broken into several 45 minute sections for each administration of the test. The SAT is an entirely different exam that we require students considering post-secondary education to take at least once and it covers Reading, Writing and Language, Math and an optional essay component. From the Collegeboard website, "Eight Key Changes to the SAT": Relevant Words in Context, Command of Evidence, Essay Analyzing a Source, Focus on Math that Matters Most, Problems Grounded in Real-World Contexts, Analysis in History/Social Studies and in Science, and U.S. Founding Documents and the Great Global Conversation...are all areas that are covered by the SAT - which is another 3 hours and 50 minutes of testing for our children/students.

An article FOUND HERE by the New Brunswick Patch in New Jersey in 2013, quoted the College Board as having a $200,000,000 revenue and a $62,000,000 profit in 2013. The profits are listed as 317% of the industry average, and Gaston Caperton (former West Virginia Governor) was brought on board to increase profits, making $1.3million in 2012. David Coleman, president of the company, was  making $550,000 in 2013and the College Board's executives were making an average of $355,271 per year. Pearson, on the other hand, creators of PARCC was a company reported in this FORBES ARTICLE, is a $8.2 billion revenue company - with 60% of its sales being in North America. Assessing students through high school, grew to a cost of $2.5 billion (a growth of 57% from 2012-2015).  In 2015 the owner cut $15 million in costs and 4000 jobs, purchased Brazil's Grupo Multi chain of English learning centers for $721 million. Pearson gave its chief executive John Fallon a 20% raise in 2016 (see article), with the base salary going from $995,763 in 2015 to $1,000,896 in 2016 as a base salary, but the real bonus came in with incentive pay - adding $440,137 to his salary.

There are so many questions to gleam from all of this: 

1) Why do these executives, make so much money on the backs of the students that have to sit through these excruciating exams, repeatedly and redundantly?

2) Why do students have to take and pass both PARCC/HSAs and take an SAT/ACT? One tells Maryland that the students have achieved a specific level and the other tells colleges/universities that students have/are capable of achieving a certain level.

3) Why isn't the SAT/ACT enough to use as this measuring tool? Allow students to begin taking it in 11th grade and offer it up to four times, and allow a mandatory minimum grade to earn a high school diploma, while also using the scores as college admittance exams?

OR

Use the PARCC/HSA exams as the benchmark of level of learning and capability (aptitude) and scrap the SAT/ACT exams?

Here is the real question: So a student sits for and takes the Algebra 1 PARCC assessment in 8th or 9th grade presumably.  When he/she does "OK"; not great, not poor...what is done with that information? Are those students remediated in a summer school course, evening school course, additional period after school each day? During lunch each day? 

What becomes of that information? The student is going to be enrolled in Geometry the following year (in Maryland anyway), so what becomes of that average score? What information can be gleaned from that that makes the colleges/universities feel good/bad/indifferent about the student's mathematical prowess? What does the local school system do with that information to specifically improve that student's score? What is the actual value of the score, other than being used by state, local, and national education department "powers that be" to compare that student to the 8th/9th grader who took it last year, or who will take it next year, or who took it in a different classroom, school, state --- this year? And what is the score's impact on the child's future? 

So many questions and so few people who take the time to answer them, to honestly consider them, and think outside of the box....what are we gleaning from the scores, stress, and lost classroom instructional time? What do we gain by having teachers teach to tests, worried about their evaluation being effected by students' scores? Can we push pause, step back, get some of the more progressive and brilliant EDUCATORS involved in these decision? PLEASE?

Modern Day Book Club: Innovator's Mindset by George Couros, presented by George Couros

George Couros (@GCOUROS) is hosting a modern day "book club" as an opportunity for connected educators/administrators to participate in reflection/discussion of his book: The Innovator's Mindset. Follow the link below to be taken to more information about the schedule of the event, and to sign up for his e-mailing list - if interested in participating.

Click Here to be taken to the information page.

Happy Holidays and Reflections of the first half!

To all of the teachers around the world who I am fortunate enough to chat with, debate with, share with, and learn from: Happy Holidays!  As I sit on Christmas Eve and it is still warm enough in the mid-Atlantic states to have the screen door open, birds chirping, I am reflective on the past 5 months since attending ISTE2015.

I have read many good books, including @Alice Keeler and @EricSheniger, and also Running Lean. I have become the building administrator for Google Apps For Education (GAFE) and have been slowly able to learn, and experiment with GAFE as an enhancement for the LMS that I currently already use.

Mostly, I am contemplative though this Holiday season about the state of education in this country (the US..for all of  my Canadian friends). I am worried that I see football and baseball players turning down contracts of $20,000,000+  per year, while many school districts continue to cut or decrease benefits to employees, stall with raises (cost of living and experience pay), and more and more Unions are under fire.

For 15 years I have remained in education, and have no plans of changing that anytime soon, but I worry about the nobility that once accompanied teaching in the US, has shifted towards the world of S.T.E.M., Sports, and Big Business...and the fast paced lives of those that work in those industries and for the bottom line.  I feel that society is slowly forgetting that teachers are the inspirational base for students growing to be morally correct, and academically curious - lifelong learners. I am yet to hear many comments about the state of our education system in the Presidential Debates (addressing CCSS, Race to the Top, Funding, etc.).  The national movement has not been strong enough for large districts to question the over-testing of students, and move back towards the empowerment and trust of teachers to deliver rigorous, and challenging instruction to students, that promotes growth, exploration, experimentation, and failure---all as acceptable side-effects. We also continue to miss with the professional development times that we 'assign' to our teachers...with the one-size-fits-all approach.

Instead we bury our heads in the data from these standardized tests, we feed the machines of College Board ( http://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrunswick/bp--the-college-board-a-very-profitable-nonprofit ) and Pearson ( http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/pearson-education-115026 ) educational companies.  We buy their test prep programs, their textbooks, workbooks, pay them tens of Millions for stressing our students beyond humane levels, at all too young ages, and for what? So that we can consistently hear that the outlook of education in the US is worse now than ten or twenty years ago? Of course it is! Politicians seem to think that the only place to measure a students' success is from a scantron sheet or computer generated test result.  Politicians who have NEVER spent an entire 8 hour day in the classrooms of  their constituents, observing without judgement, the socio-economic, academic, and familial challenges that our students, and in turn, our teachers face.

As I sit by my open door, on Christmas Eve, I write not with anger, but with passion.  I write with the passion that all teachers have for education, and their students!  As the day winds to an end, so to does 2015.  What will lie ahead in the coming months of 2016, as we elect a new President, have yet more debates about the current state of affairs in education (as if they are all the same), and even entertain ridiculous notions of allowing PRIVATELY held companies to take over our school systems, as we have allowed with the prison systems in the many U.S.states ( http://atlantaprogressivenews.com/2015/02/18/6288/ ), because having a "for profit company" who donates and lobbies politicians, in charge of making decisions about educating our youth...would be  "good" idea?!?!

I want to finish by taking a deep breath, asking you to do the same, and tell you that as I end this post, I feel anxious, but determined about the future of our educational system!  I hope that I can continue to contribute to the lives of so may students, their futures---and continue to see the "light bulb moments" that teachers have come to love so much!  The aspects of education that have been "trying" in my career have never been because of students, rather they are grounded in the 'system' that I long to effect change on.

I want to wish everyone around the world, especially the amazing, determined, loving, intelligent, and dedicated teachers and support staff - a very Happy and Safe Holiday and New Years! May 2016 bring you continued challenges, successes, and happiness!

Back to School 2015!

Back to school for just about a week now, and we have hit the ground running.  Starting many new things this year after being truly inspired at ISTE 2015!  My high school freshmen will be running the class, with plenty of student centered, student guided lessons and learning.  Project "menus" are posted, and students will be soon deciding which project they will choose to express their understanding of simple machines and mechanical advantage (I know---not interesting for some).  The normal first week of school, laying out the class, the work flow, and expectations, as well as spending a lot of time empowering my students to take ownership of their individual needs related to their own education.  Students, unfortunately are coming to me having only been exposed to the SAGE ON STAGE scenario of education, and are hesitant to trust me when I say they have the capacity to learn much, and do great things with their own innovative mindsets.  My students always tend to do well on the standardized end of year exams, but this year it will be exciting to see them enjoying their learning more, controlling the flow of their own learning, and sparking their creative selves to share their new-found knowledge with their peers!  Parent night Thursday night...time to bump up my REMIND enrollment with parent enrollment!  Good luck to everyone as you start the year!  Looking forward to hearing and reading you share your stories as well!

COUNTING DOWN....

Here on the East Coast of the US in Maryland, I am just a week away from reporting to work for another school year.  I am excited, anxious nervous, and ready! Entering my 15th year in education, I am planning to be just as challenged this year as i was my first.  The challenge though, quite different.  Once it was figuring out how to seat students, where to put them, what assignments to give, and how long to give them, and how to grade them, and how to communicate with parents...
This year I will be blending my Blackboard account and classes (heavily used in the past) with Google Apps for Education (GAfE).  I will be sampling some badge earning methodologies with my freshmen high school students, and developing several PDs for staff I hope.  This year will be about loosening the reigns on the students, removing myself form the front of the class, and inspiring the students to lead themselves, each other.  I want them to become avid learners who are curious, experimental, innovative, creative, and collaborative.  Although I have possessed my Admin credentials for some time now, I am still a front line teacher, honored by my role to develop student curiosity.

I am excited for their first "A HA" Moments this year, anxious to see them learn so incredibly much in just a short time, and ready to begin another journey in my career!

Must Reads for Improving Group Collaboration

I wanted to recommend a great free PDF online called THE AGILE SAMURAI.  It is an easy to ready brief, but thorough introduction to the world of AGILE project management. The book relates Agile strategies to the development of computer software, but I teach a a Project lead the Way Engineering Design and Development course to about 65 students per year, and we incorporate many of the tools used in Agile business.

Scrums, Standups, and Taskboards, are all things that I recommend that you consider implementing when you assign a project to students that will require long term planning, and collaboration efforts. It can be implemented for a project that will take a couple of weeks, to several months, to years...

Once you have read that, I would recommend SCRUM: A BREATHTAKINGLY BRIEF AND AGILE INTRODUCTION.   Also an easy read, once Agile Samurai sets a more thorough understanding of the theories of Agile Project Management, Scrum..., will work as a terrific short hand guide to keep nearby for easy reference.

I find that having students use this approach has two-fold benefits: 1) Collaboration is facilitated much more easily, the communication among group members is tremendous, and the delegation of responsibilities is visual while using a Taskboard.  2) It is a terrific introduction of a strategy being used in the business industry currently, and will only help them in their futures when needing to tackle large abstract projects, by reducing them to smaller parts, and completing smaller milestones toward a larger end product.

How Important Could Those Tests Be?

This past week, a 49 year old Principal in New York, unfortunately committed suicide, among allegations that she was responsible for changing test scores for her third graders' English Common Core exams.  The test scores of those third graders were subsequently "thrown out".  If the scores of the third graders who unnecessarily stressed over the exams for the weeks leading up to their treacherous three days of examination, were just "thrown out", then how important can they be to the future of those students?  I mean, they are now gone...no record of how they performed...no measure of their comprehension through the third grade?  Will their academic futures forever be ruined?  Will they have reduced opportunities for scholarships and college acceptance? Will they be turned away from their first job? Denied a loan application? I mean...I am petrified that they will be at a disadvantage when compared to the rest of the students in the country who took, and had the tests scored!

Obviously there has been a great deal of sarcasm inserted here...more obviously: the value of testing third graders so strenuously should be examined for its true benefits!