Harsh High Stakes Testing for NJ High Schools

It's difficult to discern real news from fake news these days. But thanks to the great work of Education Law Center and Stan Karp, here's some news for NJ high schools:

This policy makes sense, spend more money on tests, cause more poor, disadvantaged students to leave high school. Besides making more profits for testing outfits and private or public companies while class sizes are imploding, teacher salaries and benefits are being cut and teachers are held accountable for student test scores, how exactly does this help students learn? Oh, I forgot, the goal isn't to help students learn, grow and succeed, it's to close schools, fire staff and replace with privately run charters who can run the schools like a fast food chain. Cha ching!!!!!!

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from the Asbury Park Press

State officials have put in place new education requirements designed to make it more difficult for high school students to graduate.

That’s not exactly how they describe the changes, of course. The goal, they say, is to make a diploma mean more, so that it is truly representative of sufficient learning as graduates go on to college or enter the workforce.

That’s an admirable goal — higher standards can lead to higher achievement. But if that’s all the state is doing — setting higher benchmarks with no attention given to improving students’ chances of reaching them — then the new requirements could do more harm than good.

There is also a political undercurrent to these reforms we find troubling. It is telling that in announcing the more rigorous graduation requirements last week, Gov. Chris Christie also emphasized the significant drop in New Jersey’s graduation rate for the Class of 2011 — down to 83 percent, compared with 95 percent for the previous class.

That reduction is largely the result of new federally mandated methods of calculating the graduation rates more accurately. Fair or not, however, this gives the governor another arrow in his public education-bashing quiver.

The current plan is to eventually replace the High School Proficiency Assessment taken in the 11th grade with end-of-course exams in math and English in the ninth, 10th and 11th grades. The changes will be phased in, set to take full effect for current fourth-graders once they reach high school.

Proof of the administration’s real intent may come in what types of peripheral programs — or the lack thereof — emerge to accompany the new requirements in boosting student performance. For example, additional resources should be devoted to tutoring, summer-school programs and other remedial measures to assist struggling students.

Without such an effort, schools still facing pressure to improve graduation rates will be left to the old standby of encouraging teachers to “teach to the test” in shaping their classroom instruction. And there will be more tests, which is among the concerns that have already been raised.

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National Research Council Finds High School Exit Exams Increase Dropouts Without Increasing Achievement

PDF Summary

Conclusion 2: The evidence we have reviewed suggests that high school exit exam programs, as currently implemented in the United States, decrease the rate of high school graduation without increasing achievement.  The best available estimate suggests a decrease of 2 percentage points when averaged over the population. In contrast, several experiments with providing incentives for graduation in the form of rewards, while keeping graduation standards constant, suggest that such incentives might be used to increase high school completion.

NJ High School Proficiency Test Blocks 3,000 from Diplomas

From Atlantic City Press:

Almost 3,000 high school seniors statewide did not graduate this June because they failed to pass a required state test or win their appeal to the state Department of Education.

Information supplied by the state DOE on Thursday shows that 1,357 students did graduate through one of the special appeals processes announced in June. But 2,904 seniors have still not met the state testing requirement for graduation. They will get one more chance this summer through an online review process provided by the state and a final testing at the end of July.

DOE spokesman Alan Guenther said about 1,500 students have already registered for the summer program. Students must make the arrangements through their local high school, and 65 high schools are participating. The summer program begins July 6.

According to DOE data, of the 1,357 approved appeals, 150 came from students who had qualifying scores on the SAT, ACT, Accuplacer or military ASVAB or AFQT tests. Another 557 students who needed to pass just one more item on the math test did pass a special single-item retest.

Districts were also allowed to submit portfolios of student work to show they had mastered the materials. On those appeals, 239 math appeals were granted, and 245 were rejected. In language arts, 411 appeals were approved and 200 were rejected.

Locally, 17 of 22 high schools had at least one student who did not pass a state test, but some did report success in the appeals process.

Lower Cape May Regional Superintendent Jack Pfizenmayer said they filed appeals on behalf of two students, but both were also able to pass the single-item math retest, so the appeals were not needed.

Stan Karp of the Education Law Center's Secondary Reform Project said the entire process should be reviewed before next year's testing process begins. He said they are very concerned that there were a disproportionate number of non-native English speakers among those failing the state tests, and also a large number of students from urban districts.

"We are glad the appeals process allowed more students to get through, but that was done only in response to the concerns about the testing process this year," Karp said. "We still really don't know what the standard was for granting the appeals."

Karp and others began publicly criticizing the scoring process on the state alternate high school test after it was revealed in April that more than 10,000 students had failed. Students get three chances to take the standard High School Proficiency Test, or HSPA, and another two tries through the Alternate High School Assessment, or AHSA in January and April of their senior year.

Karp said he is also concerned that this year's summer review is available only to seniors when in past years juniors who had failed their first attempt at the HSPA were able to get extra help in the summer before taking the test again in the fall. Some districts, including Millville, are using federal funds to offer a summer tutoring program.

But Karp said there is one possible bright side to the problems this year in that the appeals process could lead to more discussion of allowing students who struggle with standardized tests to instead submit a portfolio of work, similar to the appeals process.

"Some good could could actually come of this, and we would like to explore moving away from just the commercially produced test," he said.

Commissioner Schundler Spins As Thousands of High Schoolers in NJ Left Without Diplomas

More crimes against the poor and the brown in New Jersey.  From Stan Karp at the High School Redesign website (get info here to subscribe):

Between two and three thousand seniors will be denied diplomas this month according to new estimates presented by Department of Education officials to the State Board of Education at its June 16 meeting. While the number is down from the nearly 10,000 students who were told early April that they did not pass the state’s new Alternative High School Assessment, it still represents an unprecedented number of “diploma penalties” imposed on NJ seniors who would otherwise have graduated this June after completing all their course credit and local requirements.

Despite having given a two-year $1.1 million contract to Measurement, Inc, a commercial testing vendor, to manage scoring and data for the new test, the Department did not release complete results or disaggregated data for student subgroups. There was, however, plenty of spin.

Commissioner Schundler claimed that the “process has produced very positive results” and that passing rates increased from January to April because of “an increased focus on instruction.” In fact, January AHSA results were returned to schools just a few days before the April test was given and had no impact on instruction. Passing rates were significantly higher in April (though still under 50%) because public and legislative pressure led the Department to significantly revise the scoring process and modify Measurement, Inc’s role in deciding who passed.  As a result, passing rates on the language arts section of the test rose from 10% in January to 35% in April and from 34% to 47% on the math.

Under pressure, the Department also rescored thousands of January tests and created a patchwork “appeals process” to reduce the numbers at risk of not graduating. According to Deputy Commissioner Willa Spicer the Department has processed about 800 appeals and has a hundred or more pending. Spicer indicated that, so far, about 75% of the appeals were approved, although ELC has received numerous reports of inconsistencies. Many districts were confused about the criteria, process and deadlines for the appeals process, which was revised 4 times in the two weeks after it was first announced in mid-May. ELC is continuing to gather information on the appeals process and explore legal options for students whose appeals were denied or who were not informed about the process.

Despite the spin, everything the Department reported to the Board today confirmed the Department’s mishandling of the new assessment. (For details see NJDOE Flunks AHSA Test, But Thousands Of Seniors Will Pay)

The bottom line is that two to three thousand of the state’s most vulnerable students will be denied diplomas on the basis of a flawed and dubious test. If ELC hadn’t released the initial results back in April, when the Department wanted to keep them under wraps, the numbers would no doubt be much higher.

Students who do not graduate this month will have another chance to take the AHSA in August. The Department says it will make available an “online instructional program,” but access to summer programs is particularly uncertain given this year’s budget crises.

ELC will also press for revisions of the AHSA process for the 2010-11 school year.

"Since 2003, more than 25,000 [Mass.] public high school students have finished high school without receiving a diploma."

If this crime against the poor is not enough to make the Boston Brahmins leading the current education genocide in Massachusetts hang their heads in shame, there's not much hope that anything emanating from their neo-eugenics policies will.  If there were a more efficient way to insure a continuation of a permanent underclass, I can't think of one. 


Quote is Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford, in this op-ed from The Herald News (ht to Monty Neill):

By Scott Lang

Posted Jun 15, 2010 @ 05:28 PM

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the graduating class of 2010 at all of the private and religious high schools across the state. These graduating seniors are off to the brightest of futures. They will have every opportunity available to them, as they should, after working hard and meeting all of the graduation requirements set by their schools and approved by the state.

Unfortunately, many of our public school students who successfully completed the same graduation requirements as their peers in Massachusetts private and religious schools will not have the same opportunities in life, because they have been unable to pass an additional hurdle — the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, a graduation requirement imposed since 2003 on only the public school students in our state.

The MCAS graduation requirement, while well-intentioned, simply cannot withstand the weight or scrutiny of its results. We learned last week that 2,933 students who have not passed the science section of the exam will not graduate with their high school class this month.

There are additional students who have not passed either the English or mathematics portion of the test as well.

Since 2003, more than 25,000 public high school students have finished high school without receiving a diploma, only because they did not pass the MCAS test. This is a staggering number that must give us tremendous pause as we consider the consequences for these young people and our communities.

We cannot stand idly by while the MCAS creates a permanent underclass of young people who face bleak future prospects. It is important to note the public high school diploma that is earned by way of the MCAS system has no more weight in the college admissions system than a private or religious school diploma. The MCAS scores are not even reported to colleges and universities.

National data indicate that our public school students in Massachusetts are achieving at the highest level in the country. The current MCAS system is not working when, despite being ranked the best-performing state in the nation, each year more schools join the “needs improvement” list, and each year, more and more public school students across the state finish high school without receiving a diploma.

No one denies the need for setting the highest goals for our students, and everyone believes each child deserves an excellent education, but it is time to make necessary changes to a system that is producing devastating educational collateral damage.

As a result of the MCAS system, the public schools are being strip-mined as resources are poured into a MCAS numbers game that turns our young students into high-stakes test takers rather than well-rounded and educated citizens of tomorrow.

The socio-economic consequences of this system are devastating. Students finishing high school without a diploma will experience an average lifetime earnings loss of more than $366,000, compared to a person with a high school diploma.

Individuals who do not receive a high school diploma because they are unable to pass the MCAS will cost our society hundreds of millions of dollars in direct assistance each year.

These economic consequences, each time one of our children does not meet the MCAS graduation requirement, are tantamount to imposing an ever-rising silent tax on our citizens.

A high school diploma is essential to becoming a productive member of our society. Every individual has an important function in our economy and communities. A surgeon isn’t going to fix your muffler, and the Midas repair person isn’t going to perform surgery, but invariably, they both may give you piece of mind, depending upon the circumstances.

If one of these individuals, however, is denied a high school diploma only because they did not pass a “one size fits all” test, we will all feel the loss of these productive citizens.

We need to give our young men and women every opportunity to join our society in a meaningful, industrious way, not putting up artificial barriers so they have educational dropout status, when they in fact, have not dropped out of school, but have successfully completed their high school studies.

The Department of Education argues that passing an MCAS test is the only way to “validate” having earned a public high school diploma, disregarding the fact that a student has passed all state required subjects for 12 years, taught by certified teachers, just as the private and religious school students do.

These private and religious schools award diplomas to the students who earned them, no MCAS test required. Let’s award our deserving public high school students the same diploma, and watch them excel in our society and communities.

For those who believe the MCAS is the “validation” of high school achievement, let’s award those students who pass the MCAS a designated MCAS high school diploma.

This will distinguish their achievements from those students who don’t take the test, or who are not required to take the test, or students who have failed the test.

Awarding either an earned high school diploma or an earned MCAS high school diploma is the equitable resolution to the disparate treatment of public school students under our current MCAS system.

To prove the heart of the matter, I challenge all pre-MCAS era high school graduates to take the exams. Let’s determine whether we can “validate” our previously earned educational degrees, high school or otherwise.

I would be happy to coordinate an adult MCAS examination for the first 500 adults who reply. Geniuses are not eligible. We will all learn a good deal about “validation” from this exercise.

I look forward to seeing you at the exam, and get ready to turn in your diplomas.

Massachusetts to Deny 2,933 Students Diplomas: 69% Are Special Ed, 12% ELL

The final test numbers are in for graduation, and four percent of Massachusetts seniors will not get diplomas this year because they did not pass a high school science exam.  Despite the cruel reality that would indicate otherwise, Commissioner Mitchell Chester has declared that he is "not going to give up on these students." Let's see what the Commissioner has in mind besides re-testing and re-testing and re-testing again.  Does that make the no excuses and high standards idiots sleep better at night?

So remember boys and girls, if you have a learning disability or mental impairment, that's no excuse when it comes to the MCAS or the exit exams.  And if you are just learning English, that's not an excuse, either.  And if your schools don't have science labs or textbooks or a real science teacher, same deal--no excuses. Tell me how this can happen in a civilized state.

From the Globe:

. . .The 2,933 students unable to earn diplomas represent about 4 percent of this year’s senior classes, according to data requested by the Globe from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. More than half of these students also have not passed at least one of the other MCAS exams, in English and math, that are necessary for graduation.

Mitchell Chester, the department’s commissioner, called the failure rate alarming. He said that school districts have pledged to work diligently to help these students pass future testing sessions and that some districts have created summer school opportunities for these students.

“I know our schools are going the extra mile,’’ Chester said in an interview. “We are not going to give up on these students.’’

. . . .
But some educators and school advocates say requiring that students pass a science test for graduation goes too far. Some students, they say, are not adept at the sciences, and some schools struggle to offer rigorous science programs because of difficulty in finding qualified teachers or a lack of modern science labs and other resources.

Of those who have not passed the science exam, 69 percent receive special education services and 12 percent are learning to speak English. . .

You're Doing Heckuva Job, Commissioner Schundler

The incompetent gang that Christie has put together to destroy public education in New Jersey would have comedic possibilities if so many children's lives were not at stake. What a mess.

From Stan Karp at the Education Law Center:

Assembly Ed Committee Seeks Solutions for AHSA Fiasco

A two-hour hearing held May 13 on the NJ Department of Education’s mishandling of the alternative high school assessment (AHSA), ended with members of the Assembly Education Committee searching for ways to avoid a dropout disaster next month. Thousands of students who passed their courses and met all other requirements for graduation, including many who have been accepted to college, the military or other post-secondary institutions, may not receive a diploma because of the scores on the new AHSA.

The committee heard from Commissioner Schundler who attempted to defend what he called “the Corzine Administration’s process.” But he was clearly not well-informed on the details of the issue and deferred many of the questions to Deputy Commissioner Willa Spicer or promised to “get back” to the committee with answers. His plans to offer an “online instructional program” to prepare students for a summer administration of the test drew especially pointed criticism from committee members.

The Commissioner was followed by extensive testimony from the public, including NJEA, Education Law Center, parents, students, teachers, bilingual educators, adult educators, and administrators. Their testimony documented the many flaws in this year’s AHSA process, the chaos and uncertainty it has created for students and their families, and the basic lack of fairness in using the scores to deny diplomas to students next month. [Available testimony attached. Others who testified are encouraged to post their statements to the list.]

By the end of the hearing, Committee Chairman Diegnan and both Republican and Democratic members of the committee were discussing steps they could take to resolve the mess created by the Department's implementation of the new AHSA. With time short and the futures of thousands of students hanging in the balance, the Committee must act quickly.

Notice of any steps the committee takes will be posted as soon as they are available.

Attached: testimony from ELC, parents & students.

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New Jersey's Punish the Poor Education Steamroller Rolls Over Seniors

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

By Rita Giordano

Inquirer Staff Writer

The June graduation of thousands of students could be at risk after most who took New Jersey's retooled alternative exit exam during the winter failed to pass, according to data obtained by the Education Law Center.

In January, 10,308 students statewide took the math Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA), the test given to students who do not pass the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). Of those students, 9,514 took all required parts of the test and only 34 percent passed, according to the law center's data.

Of the 4,293 who took all required parts of the language arts test, only 10 percent passed.

In Burlington and Camden Counties, 13 percent of students who took all language-arts sections passed. In Gloucester County, the rate was 6 percent, according to the data.

On the math, about one-third passed in all three counties.

Among Camden City students, only 4 percent passed the reading and writing test, and 8 percent passed the math.

The law center has called on the state to treat this year's test as a pilot, as it has other high-stakes tests in their early years, and let local districts determine whether students may graduate this spring while the state reviews the new test process.

"They rolled this out and have been making this up as they have been going along," said Stan Karp, director of the law center's Secondary Reform Project.

Thousands of students might not graduate, and many might just drop out, he said. Most affected will be low-income students, students of color, and nonnative English speakers.

Many students who have struggled through four years of school are very demoralized, educators said.

"I have one student who got accepted to a four-year college on a football scholarship," said Erica Schmid, a Maple Shade teacher. "He doesn't know if he can go."

Deputy Education Commissioner Willa Spicer said it was the schools that the failing students attended that might have some answering to do.

"Somehow, [the students] reached their senior year without mastering fundamental math and language arts skills," Spicer said in a statement. "The schools that failed the students must be held accountable for the results, and we must do a better job of helping students long before their final year of study."

Spicer, who did not try to refute the law center's information but called it "incomplete and unofficial," said the state would not throw out the test scores. If students ultimately fail, she said, they will have been given six chances - three tries each on the HSPA and AHSA - to prove mastery of basic skills. . . .

Massachusetts Set to Deny Diplomas to Almost 3,000 Special Education and ELL Students

Why, you ask? Well, the State must uphold its "world class" tests that are designed, somehow, "to better prepare high school graduates for careers in the booming health and science fields and to help them more easily navigate an everyday world more reliant on technology." Never mind that these special ed students and immigrant students will be cut off forever from any decent career without high school diplomas that are being denied them because of a learning disability or a language deficiency. And they wonder why there is a dropout problem, yes? From the Boston Globe:

With less than two months to go before high school commencements, more than 4,100 seniors across Massachusetts have not met a new state graduation requirement: passing an MCAS science exam.

The students, about 6 percent of the state’s approximately 69,000 12th-graders, have failed the exam repeatedly, most recently in February.

With less than two months to go before high school commencements, more than 4,100 seniors across Massachusetts have not met a new state graduation requirement: passing an MCAS science exam.

The students, about 6 percent of the state’s approximately 69,000 12th-graders, have failed the exam repeatedly, most recently in February.

. .. .

In many cases, schools are dealing with an academically challenging population. Of the remaining 4,119 12th-graders who have not passed, 60 percent receive special education, and more than 12 percent are learning to speak English.

Victory in Pennsylvania on High School Testing

Many people worked very hard to halt the further spread of the tabulation orgy in Pennsylvania high schools. Congratulations, Penn. citizens. From the Inquirer:

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Rendell administration Monday temporarily shelved plans to develop graduation competency exams for Pennsylvania high school students in hopes of making peace with legislative critics who felt the administration was moving too fast.

"Under the current circumstance and to allow the emerging consensus to develop, we will not spend funds for state-mandated graduation test development" under a seven-year contract signed last month, Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said in a letter to ranking members of the House and Senate education committees.

Some lawmakers were upset last month when the department signed a contract with the Minnesota-based Data Recognition Corporation to develop the proposed Keystone Exams before they approved a testing method.

In last year's state budget, the Legislature included a provision barring the state Education Board from developing regulations to implement the exams through the June 30 end of the fiscal year.

Efforts to reach a compromise on the politically touchy subject were in progress when administration officials signed the contract, said Rep. James R. Roebuck, chairman of the House Education Committee.

"It served really to disrupt that entire process," the Philadelphia Democrat said. "It was as if they were in another world."

The proposed exams would be administered in grades nine through 12 to gauge students' progress in specific subjects and, pending federal approval, would replace the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests currently given in the 11th grade. School districts could continue to substitute their own tests, but they would require advance approval by the state, said department spokesman Michael Race . . . .

Plenty of Money for Tests

Here is perfect example of what is happening all across the country as scarce resources are being funneled from taxpayers to fund more tests while good teachers are being laid off and class sizes are increasing. Meanwhile, with more testing, we can see which kids are the biggest losers - where is the outrage? Looks like some legislators are standing up - let them know the madness has to stop.! Speak up. It's time for ACTION.

Senate panel shoots down new Pa. graduation exams
Tuesday, June 02, 2009

By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

HARRISBURG -- The state Senate's Education Committee today dealt a serious blow to Gov. Ed Rendell's plans to develop new Graduation Compentency Assessment tests for high school students.

Both Democratic and Republican senators angrily complained that the administration signed a $201 million, seven-year contract to develop the tests without sufficient input from the Legislature.

"This is a shot across the bow of the executive branch,'' said Sen. Jane Orie, R-McCandless. "It says they can't just ramrod education policies without input from the Legislature.''

The panel voted 11-0 to approve Senate Bill 281, a bill she introduced that blocks development of the assessment tests, formally called Keystone Exams, unless the Legislature votes specifically to approve them.

The bill, which goes to the full Senate next week, "prohibits the Department of Education from developing any new statewide public high school graduation requirements unless established by an act of the General Assembly.''

Ms. Orie accused state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak of "arrogance'' in signing a $201 million contract with Data Recognition Corp. of Minnesota to develop 10 tests, in subjects such as math, science, reading and others, for high school students to take to gauge their knowledge. She said many educators don't think the new tests are even needed.

"This is a terrible time to be signing a $201 million contract, when the state faces a $3.2 billion budget deficit,'' complained Sen. David Argall, R-Schuylkill. "The deficit is a black cloud over us.''
Mr. Zahorchak said the contract would cost the state only $8 million in the current 2008-09 fiscal year and $21 million in fiscal 2009-10, which starts July 1, which he said is only a tiny part of the department's $10 billion budget. He said that if the Legislature kills the contract, the private firm wouldn't be owed any money.

He said the assessment exams are important because many high school students are now graduating without sufficient knowledge in reading, math and other basic areas, which will hurt them both in their college years and their eventual search for jobs.

He said he has worked hard to keep senators in the loop on development of these tests and denied acting arrogantly. He said local school districts could use the state-developed tests for their students, or develop their own tests, but that would cost local districts considerable money.
Ms. Orie said the state already uses Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests to measure progress of students in several grades, including 11th. Mr. Zahorchak said some students do poorly on the PSSAs but are allowed to graduate anyway, which does them a disservice.

With Democrats and Republicans upset about not knowing enough about the Graduation Competency Assessment tests, Ms. Orie thinks the House and Senate will approve her bill. If Mr. Rendell vetoes it, she would work to override the veto.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.
First published on June 2, 2009 at 11:55 am
Read more: "Senate panel shoots down new Pa. graduation exams" - http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09153/974446-100.stm#ixzz0HNRmRNGp&A

Over 20,000 Florida Seniors Denied Diplomas by State Exit Exam Policy

We know of the dropouts, and some have heard of the pushouts--those that are forced out of school so they won't bring down school test scores and, thus, threaten AYP. But there is another group of losers in the testing derby who we may call the testouts. Florida has over 20,000 testouts this year, and to save a million bucks, the State of Florida will offer no summer retakes this year for the high school exit exam that the testouts failed.

If 20,000 seniors walked out of schools across Florida on the same day, that would be a big story, yes? In Florida, the shocking and shameful facts for the Sunshine State testing factories earn a sidebar in the Miami Herald, which was more intent on talking about the 5,590 seniors from South Florida that will not get their diplomas because of the state exit exam.

From the sidebar:

Florida high-schoolers must pass the reading and math sections of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to graduate with a standard diploma. The last chance for students who wanted to graduate with the rest of the class of 2009 was in March -- and for the first time, students won't have a chance to retake the exam until October. Here is how they did:

Miami-Dade

Of 4,874 seniors who took the reading test, 877, or 18 percent, passed.

Of 1,927 seniors who took the math test, 424, or 22 percent, passed.

Broward

Of 1,896 seniors who took the reading test, 303, or 16 percent, passed.

Of 700 seniors who took the math test, 154, or 22 percent, passed.

Florida

Of 22,925 seniors who took the reading test, 4,585, or 20 percent, passed.

Of 8,540 seniors who took the math test, 2,220, or 26 percent, passed.

SOURCE: Florida Department of Education

Stereotype Threat and Jack O'Connell's 22,000 Annual Failures

From the Fresno Bee:

New questions are being raised about California's high school exit exam after a recent study -- which examined test results for Fresno Unified and three other large school districts -- found the test disproportionately hurts minority and female students.

The exam, a state graduation requirement since 2006, is keeping diplomas each year out of the hands of as many as 22,500 students who would otherwise fulfill all their graduation requirements in California, the study estimated. The study was released last week by the Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice at Stanford University.

Sean Reardon, associate professor of education at Stanford and the study's lead researcher, said the test has not boosted achievement, especially among low-achieving and minority students.

"I'm all for having high standards," he said. "But what I'm not for is high standards that [differ] by race or gender."

The study looked at school districts in Fresno, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco but did not report the findings by district. The patterns were similar in all four, Reardon said.

"It's not a Fresno problem. It's a statewide problem," he said.

Girls and minorities failed the exam more often than white boys who are their academic equals, based on other standardized test scores, the study concluded. Girls struggled more on math.

Part of the failure, according to the study, is consistent with "stereotype threat," a theory that negative stereotypes become self-fulfilling. Reardon said girls assume they can't do well in math and minorities assume they aren't as smart as whites. The added stress and worry about confirming negative stereotypes may hurt their performance on the exit exam, he said. . . .

The Testing Bandwagon Is Heavy With Bodies

Without the Congressional support to get NCLB, The Sequel passed before the end of the Bush Nightmare, Spellings has done the next worst thing. She and her ed industry goon squad have squeezed through new NCLB regulations that go as far as Spelling can to add public high schools to the Bush/Spellings elementary and middle school list for targeted failures. Unable to impose, without a re-write of NCLB, the same kind of sure-fire test failure mechanism that has been used so successfully in public elementary in middle schools, the new regulations will impose "accountability" on high schools via dropout reduction demands.

And if high schools don't reduce the number of dropouts, they will face, yes that's right, sanctions. What kind of sanctions? Firstly, their principals will be replaced, one might assume with the non-educator CEO types that Eli Broad is spending millions to create with his principal training model. And secondly, those schools who don't meet the dropout reduction targets will be required to offer, ta-da, tutoring from the same corrupt, unaccountable, ditto-dispensing dip dog corporations that have been sucking a billion dollars a year from federal education funds to tutor elementary school kids since the passage of NCLB.

Imagine for moment an epidemic has struck. One of four patients seeking medical help is dying. In the most vulnerable areas of town, one out of two dies. The mayor declares an emergency and issues a directive that all hospital administrators will be fired if the death rate is not brought under control. And as an added measure in combatting the ravaging disease, the mayor requires that hospitals now must pay, from their current budgets, an exorbitant fee for pharmaceutical companies to set up aspirin dispensaries on every floor of their hospitals. And if these heroic efforts do not stem the dying, then the hospitals must suffer further consequences as yet unnamed.

Of course, the media and the know-nothings of both Parties seem to believe that Mayor Spellings is on the right track in her heroic efforts to get control of a disease already at epidemic proportions before her NCLB treatments set off the current dropout pandemic in 2002. Yes, the testing bandwagon is heavy with bodies, and as the idiot majority on Maryland's State Board of Education showed yesterday, it will be making more pick-up rounds across the state sometime before the next scheduled graduation:

BALTIMORE, Oct. 28 -- One of every six high school seniors in Maryland has not met a new state test-score requirement for receiving a diploma, state officials reported Tuesday, leaving thousands in jeopardy of missing graduation in the spring.

Even as state officials disclosed that 9,000 of 54,000 seniors have either fallen short on a battery of four tests in algebra, biology, government and English or have not yet taken all of them, the state Board of Education decided to move ahead with the requirement. Students who do not reach minimum scores can show mastery of the subjects through an alternative path.

On a 7 to 4 vote, the board rejected an effort to delay enforcement of the requirement after an impassioned debate, during which one board member shouted into his microphone and another almost broke into tears. . . .

Rendell Pushes for Punish-the-Poor Graduation Test

Despite the evidence of harm and no benefit associated with high school exit exams, Governor Rendell adds his shovel to the expansion of the high school dropout pit. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Some state lawmakers are seeking to block a proposal to require new state graduation tests for Pennsylvania high school students, arguing that greater legislative input is needed before the state spends any money on the exams.

But their cause is unlikely to succeed because Gov. Ed Rendell's administration insists the testing program is essential to establishing uniform graduation requirements for the state's 501 school districts.

While Rendell is demanding uniform graduation requirements for all public schools, will the Governor also offer his support for uniform funding for all public schools in Pennsylvania? Uniform teacher quality and teacher benefits? Uniform health, dental, and eye care for children? Uniform safety in getting to and from school? Uniform opportunity for parents of school children to have jobs? Uniform school libraries, art rooms, and science labs? Uniform extracurricular opportunities for all public school children?

Didn't think so. Just the same old uniform method of guaranteeing a dependable supply of disposable--and uniform--workers and soldiers.

High School Exit Exams: No Benefit to Passers, Big Harm to Failers

From MyFox9 in Minneapolis:

Created: Monday, 12 May 2008, 11:23 AM CDT
Last Edited: Monday, 12 May 2008, 11:23 AM CDT

MINNEAPOLIS -- State-mandated high school exit exams harm students who fail and provide no benefit to those who pass, according to new research from the University of Minnesota and University of California, Davis.

Approximately three million U.S. high school seniors graduate each year, but tens of thousands of students have their graduation put on hold because they have yet to pass state-mandated high school exit exams.

U of M sociology professor John Robert Warren and Eric Grodsky at the University of California, Davis have challenged the value of state exit exams.

They found state exit exams reduce high school completion rates and neither boost academic achievement nor improve graduates' post-high school labor market prospects.

State high school exit exam policies have been implemented in recent decades to ensure that graduates have the skills required to succeed in college and in the 21st century global economy. The exams in place in 23 states and affect about two of every three students in the class of 2008.

In a study shows no measurable impact on the reading or math achievement levels of 13 to 17-year old students. In another study, Warren and Grodsky found students earning diplomas in states requiring exit exams experienced the same chances of getting a job and the same wage rates as those who were not required to pass exit exams.

“For many people denying diplomas to some students in order to more broadly boost academic achievement is an acceptable trade-off,” Warren said. “But there’s no evidence that exit exams boost the academic achievement or workplace preparedness of U.S. high school students.” . . .

No Confidence in Testocrats or Their Tests

From Seattle PI:

By JESSICA BLANCHARD
P-I REPORTER

Kids aren't the only ones who hate the WASL -- so do many teachers, and some are so fed up that they're taking on the state's top education official over her continued support for the test.

Members of several local teachers unions will decide soon whether to issue votes of no confidence in state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson.

Much of the discontent stems from Bergeson's unwavering support of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, an annual statewide test used to gauge public school students' academic performance and to show progress toward meeting federal reading and math goals.

The test always has been controversial, but opposition has reached a fever pitch as high school graduation approaches for the class of 2008. Those students are the first required to pass the reading, writing and math sections of the test, or an approved alternative, to earn a diploma.

"Her over-the-edge commitment on this has really created a big problem," said Dan Wilson, president of the Edmonds Education Association. "She endlessly says what a fabulous test it is, and teachers are saying, 'No, it's not.' "

The Auburn, Bremerton, Edmonds, Seattle, Lake Washington and Lake Stevens teachers unions are among the affiliates considering votes of no confidence.

The discussion is simmering at the local level for now, but it's likely a prelude to larger action that could occur when the statewide teachers union, the Washington Education Association, holds its annual meeting in May.

"After 12 years, they've reached a point where the frustration level is high," WEA spokesman Rich Wood said. "The discontent is pretty widespread."

Bergeson, a former teacher and counselor, is seeking re-election this fall to a fourth term as state superintendent, and losing the support of the state teachers union, a group she once headed, could be politically damaging. She wasn't available for comment Friday. . . . .

. . . . Even teachers in the Lake Washington district, where students generally perform well on the WASL, have problems with the test, said Kevin Teeley, the president of the local teachers union.

"Teachers are really, really frustrated about the time it takes away from instruction," he said. Between test preparation and actual test-taking time, "it's easily a month of lost instruction."

More importantly, he said, subjects that aren't tested on the WASL -- such as social studies -- tend to get pushed aside. . . .

Dousing the Flame in Pennsylvania High Schools

Teacher Jake Miller speaks out for his students and for his profession on the plans in Pa. for high school exit exams.

From morningcall.com:

''Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.''

While a student at Bloomsburg University, I remember stumbling across this banner, and being floored by its message. These words, which I later learned were a quote by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, serve as the flag to my classroom at Panther Valley High School today.

I am a firm believer that students learn by doing, but more importantly, by wanting to do. Give them a torch and a sense of guidance, and they will find their way. But give them a pail, and you'll find how much they hate being compared to other students on assessments such as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).

After learning about the Pennsylvania Board of Education's decision to make PSSAs standard as a graduation requirement, I gave them the torch of my classroom to discuss the proposals. Here's what I learned:

A mere mention of the acronym PSSA automatically conjured an array of emotions. Some students were filled with revulsion. They hate the PSSA. But they detest our school's 4SIGHT remedial test, its evil step-brother, even more. Just yesterday, one of my problematic ninth grade students was pulled from my class during a test review, which he was fully participating in and thoroughly enjoying, to fulfill his 4SIGHT requirement. He pleaded to stay, but I explained the state supercedes me as boss. His response? ''Mr. Miller, I'm going to finish in five minutes.'' He was back in four.

Many students, like this young man, have learned to be apathetic about tests. After years of taking tests with no review of their answers, they do not know how to improve themselves and achieve the coveted ''Advanced'' or ''Proficient'' ratings. So, they've learned to be unconcerned.

Yet, others are entirely consumed by them. One student told me that when he was in third grade, he used to get nauseous the day before the PSSA because he had been brainwashed to succeed. Instead of finding success, some students unearth stress. Approximately 49 percent of students suffer from test anxiety; giving them more tests shows how little their apprehension matters.

Special education students are also a concern. One of my students explained to the class, if we have these standardized tests, a student like her might be forced to drop out. Her face turned sour as she explained, ''I need teachers' help on tests, and I feel lost when I take the PSSA.''

What about vocational-technical students? ''I'm not going to college,'' professed one of my very blatant students. ''I just want to learn a trade. But with this proposal, I'll be forced out of something I love to do into college prep courses. That is crap!''

Imagine that your son or daughter has problems the year he or she is to take one of the two English PSSAs (language arts and reading and writing, which must both be passed). Said another student, ''It doesn't matter what the problem is whether it's a bad teacher, a teacher on maternity leave, or the student having personal issues. He or she still will be forced to take a test needed to pass, but are doomed to fail.''

I love feeling floored by statements like that.

But, if teachers are forced to teach to tests, conversations like the one I had with my class, where students discuss and solve problems, will be replaced by the memorization of answers. In effect, we will force a continual extinguishing of the fire by examining the filling the pail that is standardized testing.

It's a light we cannot afford to lose.

Jake Miller is a social studies teacher at Panther Valley High School.

Parents and Teachers Standing Up in Olympia, WA Against WASL

From the Olympian:

Education WASL battle continues

The issues: One major issue that doesn't look likely to go away is the fight over high-stakes testing for high school students. Last year, lawmakers delayed a requirement that seniors pass the math WASL in order to graduate. Similar pressure will be brought to bear by teachers groups, parents and skeptical lawmakers to suspend the reading and writing requirement for graduating seniors this year. Also on tap: Washington Education Association requests for belated cost-of-living pay raises to cover increases teachers didn't get in 2003-04, when raises for all state-paid workers were skipped to help balance the budget without general tax increases. Lawmakers also are likely to keep talking about school-funding issues and ways to bolster math instruction.

What's at stake: For this year's high school seniors, the right to graduate with classmates is one concern. But so is the education establishment's effort to raise learning standards, elevate student performance and make Washington more prepared to compete economically.

The players: The WEA long has had questions about using the WASL as a graduation test, and in October the state Parent Teacher Association took a position against using it as a graduation requirement. The business-oriented Washington Roundtable, Gregoire, state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson and other advocates of higher performance have been adamant in wanting to push forward with testing.

Likely outcome: The testing has survived many attacks over the years, and Gov. Chris Gregoire gets the last word with her veto pen. Chopp put it this way: "I think there are going to be vigorous discussions about keeping the WASL as a graduation requirement. That doesn't mean we do away with it. … The governor has been very clear on that."

"Hard Times" Comes to Pa. High School Students

From Beaver County Times and Allegheny Times:

Published: Thursday, January 10, 2008 7:21 AM EST
Education is supposed to make children think, not churn out better test takers.

In yet one more step toward testing-based factories that will masquerade as schools and wring all the joy out of learning, the state Board of Education is considering the adoption of a statewide graduation test.

The Associated Press reports proponents have said the rules would ensure that all students entering college and the work force meet the state’s academic standards.

The regulations, which would take effect for the class of 2014, call for students to pass a battery of state-approved tests in reading, math, science and social studies that would replace traditional final exams. Failing students would be allowed to retake the tests, but schools would have to provide remedial help for them first.

In the draft under consideration, students can demonstrate their proficiency in a given subject by passing the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests; a state graduation competency assessment; local exams approved by companies that evaluate educational tests; or Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

In a rare show of unity, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, oppose the proposal. The AP reports they and other groups that oppose the new state tests say the revised proposal doesn’t address their objections that the plan places too much emphasis on a single test and undermines local school boards’ policymaking authority.

But there’s a larger matter in regard to this issue: As the result of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the PSSAs and other standardized exams, test preparation is crowding out learning in America’s public schools.

Education is no longer child driven; it’s data driven. Children aren’t being taught to be lifelong learners; they’re being instructed on how to be better test takers. Teachers are no longer instructors; they’re test preparers. Children aren’t being taught to become thinkers; they’re being turned into automatons that will vomit back what’s been poured into them. It’s not what children learn that matters: it’s how well they score on standardized tests.

As a result, American children spend far too much class time preparing for tests, leaving little room for creative thinking. They read the same books, take the same tests and think the same thoughts — the ones that they’ll be tested on. They are being conformed to think as one.

Thomas Gradgrind would be right at home in American education today. Unfortunately, he was a fictional education-reform ogre of Victorian England.

In Charles Dickens’s “Hard Times,” Gradgrind blustered, “Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.”

American education truly has fallen on hard times. Dickens’s nightmare has become our ideal.