Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: Scout26 on February 26, 2014, 11:14:06 AM
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Got this in the e-mail today:
February 2014
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Students in District 200 schools will be taking the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) beginning March 3, 2014. We urge you to make every effort to have your child in school on those days, as the information from the tests is becoming increasingly important to our district and our schools. For schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), at least 95 percent of the students in the school must take the ISAT. Making AYP is important for several reasons:
+ It ensures that we continue to receive federal funding for special programs.
+ It keeps us from being labeled “failing” or “not making progress”.
+ It prevents us from having to make significant changes in our programs and structure.
The test results also give us important information we can use to help individual children in areas where they may be struggling and to plan school-wide improvement initiatives.
Students in grades three through eight will be tested in reading and mathematics. Students in grades four and seven will be tested in science. When the results are returned to us, we will send you information about how your child performed on the tests. School-wide results are reported on the School Report Card which is released by the State of Illinois.
We will review these results along with information from our local assessments to help us improve our school program. You can help your child do his/her best on the test by:
making sure that your child attends school on the days the tests are administered;
ensuring that your child gets a good night’s sleep the night before testing;
providing breakfast on the mornings of testing or encourage your child to eat breakfast at school; (please see attached flier about our school breakfast program)
reminding your child to ask the teacher questions if he/she does not understand the test directions;
letting your child know that you have confidence in his/her ability to do his/her best; and
advising your child not to worry about the test and simply do the best he/she can.
Please call your child’s teacher if you want additional information or have questions about the ISAT.
Sincerely,
{Bolding mine}
It's only as an afterthought that they use the tests to figure out if Suzie and Timmy can't read, and then sit down and figure why none of the kids can do their chiperin' right.
Isn't this what we pay teachers for ?? To teach them all and if some are having trouble, get them the extra (in-house) help they need based upon their observations and interactions in the classrooms? If second graders can tell you who the "dumb kids" in the class are, then so should the teachers.
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+ It prevents us from having to make significant changes in our programs and structure.
This is my favorite. Why make changes when everything is going sooo well . . .
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Oh, I can assure you that the typical teacher knows which students are struggling. And which parents don't want to hear it or want to argue about it or deny it and which parents want to work with their children and the teachers so that the child can be successful.
And because of NCLB, most of the districts put a whole lot of emphasis on the standardized testing to avoid the penalties for failing to make standard and comply with the state and Federal legislative mandates for certain levels of achievement. Most of the teachers of my acquaintance aren't too keen on 'teaching to the test', but the mantra these days is standardized testing.
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If second graders can tell you who the "dumb kids" in the class are, then so should the teachers.
I think the problem is probably that most of the kids can tell who the smart kids are.
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I keep hearing about how much teachers hate standardized testing. But what do they propose instead?
Surely teachers understand that we need some mechanism for measuring the success or failure of our schools.
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I'd like to know something. How do teachers "teach to the test?"
Are they spending time giving testing strategies instead of covering the material?
Have they been given advance warning about what the test will cover?
I've heard this claimed EVERY TIME standardized testing comes up. Can someone provide me an example of what "teaching to the test" is?
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I know that my wife scrutinizes her scores closely and compares them against her peers and the district and state benchmarks. She is pretty keen on standardized testing, but wishes that the district did not mandate so much time be spent teaching to the test but knows how the Feds and state require it. She is designated as a 'Master Teacher' in elementary reading, and her scores even for the lower socioeconomic kids are consistently near the top in the state. The district sends a lot of other teachers to observe her to see how she does it and she also does some curriculum development for the state office of public instruction.
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I'd like to know something. How do teachers "teach to the test?"
Are they spending time giving testing strategies instead of covering the material?
Have they been given advance warning about what the test will cover?
I've heard this claimed EVERY TIME standardized testing comes up. Can someone provide me an example of what "teaching to the test" is?
I will ask her how she defines it and report back. I know that in Washington, teachers are broadly aware of what sort of things are covered on the test for a given grade level, like reading fluency, arithmetic skills, critical thinking and the like. They do not know the actual questions since those are done by an outside company who guards them securely. You read in the media about the occasional cheating scandal whereby students or teachers do get the actual questions in advance. I don't think that happens in the Washington standardized tests, since they are developed and scored by a national vendor. They have scripts to follow when administering the test to try and make it a level playing field for all the classrooms across the state.
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I'd like to know something. How do teachers "teach to the test?"
Are they spending time giving testing strategies instead of covering the material?
Have they been given advance warning about what the test will cover?
I've heard this claimed EVERY TIME standardized testing comes up. Can someone provide me an example of what "teaching to the test" is?
the other thing i've observed is that in the course of teaching a certain unit a teacher might like to expand/expound on some facet. either because of problems or sometimes because the kids are actually learning and going beyond the minimum. that can't happen for long lest they not cover the material they know will be on the test. yea they are given guidelines for what MUST be covered
the testing came into play because in some schools stuff was not working, at all. like the scholars in new york. and teachers have tenure and unions. testing offers a stick to beat them with.
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the other thing i've observed is that in the course of teaching a certain unit a teacher might like to expand/expound on some facet. either because of problems or sometimes because the kids are actually learning and going beyond the minimum. that can't happen for long lest they not cover the material they know will be on the test. yea they are given guidelines for what MUST be covered
the testing came into play because in some schools stuff was not working, at all. like the scholars in new york. and teachers have tenure and unions. testing offers a stick to beat them with.
And, regrettably, this illustrates the main problem with a centralized, one-size-fits-all approach: the students also get hit with the indiscriminate stick. =|
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And, regrettably, this illustrates the main problem with a centralized, one-size-fits-all approach: the students also get hit with the indiscriminate stick. =|
my time in the school leads me to believe that the standards are a minimum. and going below that should be unacceptable. having the gov set the bar and swing the stick sucks but it came as a result of some real bad schools that never improved under local control. lots of reasons for that some financial most political
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my time in the school leads me to believe that the standards are a minimum. and going below that should be unacceptable. having the gov set the bar and swing the stick sucks but it came as a result of some real bad schools that never improved under local control. lots of reasons for that some financial most political
Understood, and I don't disagree. Just commenting on the shame of applying a bloated bureaucratic solution to a bloated bureaucratic problem, with the result that the only thing that suffers is the original goal of the whole exercise.
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Yea it sucks. Brings to mind african proverb. " when elephants fight only the grass suffers"
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Yea it sucks. Brings to mind african proverb. " when elephants fight only the grass suffers"
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An excellent analogy, apart from being somewhat insulting to real elephants.
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I will ask her how she defines it and report back. I know that in Washington, teachers are broadly aware of what sort of things are covered on the test for a given grade level, like reading fluency, arithmetic skills, critical thinking and the like. They do not know the actual questions since those are done by an outside company who guards them securely. You read in the media about the occasional cheating scandal whereby students or teachers do get the actual questions in advance. I don't think that happens in the Washington standardized tests, since they are developed and scored by a national vendor. They have scripts to follow when administering the test to try and make it a level playing field for all the classrooms across the state.
Thank you, I'll be interested to know what is meant.
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There is no one more arrogant than a school teacher.... Except perhaps an IT guy. ;)
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Chef is at least as bad
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lots of reasons for that some financial most political
Bullcrap.
Chicago Catholic schools spend less then 1/3 what Chicago Public schools spend per pupil but get 70% higher test scores. Political it is, but the Number One driver of school test scores is parental in involvement. Period. End. Full Stop.
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So you know which week to schedule vacation on.
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Bullcrap.
Chicago Catholic schools spend less then 1/3 what Chicago Public schools spend per pupil but get 70% higher test scores. Political it is, but the Number One driver of school test scores is parental in involvement. Period. End. Full Stop.
i think you over simplify it
catholic schools can pick and choose who they take public schools have to take anyone
catholic schools aren't saddled with a dozen gov "programs" they are legislated to provide
kids in catholic schools know their parents laid out big bucks and there will be consequences if they waste dads cash
catholic school kids have a higher percentage of 2 parent family's. thats a biggie
catholic school kids feel different/special in a positive way. they know the bar is higher and they are surrounded by other kids like them
catholic schools use user fees for lots of extracurricular activities
another biggie is kids in catholic schools know there are consequences
and don't overlook the religious component as a behavioral modifier
sadly in some cases parents use catholic school as a substitute for involvement. lots of busy parents think that the school can compensate for their limited time with their kids. sometimes its a matter of convenience or careers that demand a lot of time. or guys who are overseas and are trying to give the parent at home a bit of help keeping the kids on track.
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i think you over simplify it
catholic schools can pick and choose who they take public schools have to take anyone . . .
What this means is that Catholic schools don't have to tolerate the level of thuggery, drugs, and violent offenders that politicians have mandated for "da publik skuuls."
Nor do they suffer under the asinine politics of teacher's unions.
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Yes good summary
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i think you over simplify it
And I think you talk out your ass.
catholic schools can pick and choose who they take public schools have to take anyone
Umm, no. The Chicago Catholic schools will take anyone who can pay (and it ain't a whole lot) but those within Chicago generally can't afford to pay both taxes and tuition. There have been several Catholic schools close (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/01/09/more-chicago-catholic-schools-set-to-close/) because they can't get enough kids to enroll.
catholic schools aren't saddled with a dozen gov "programs" they are legislated to provide
One benefit of NOT being a public school
kids in catholic schools know their parents laid out big bucks and there will be consequences if they waste dads cash
Maybe not big bucks (IIRC tuition is around $3k per year.) But again. Parental involvement.
catholic school kids have a higher percentage of 2 parent family's. that's a biggie
No, lots of one parent households send their kids to Catholic schools here in Chicago.
catholic school kids feel different/special in a positive way. they know the bar is higher and they are surrounded by other kids like them
No necessary . Not many nuns left teaching. Most are in administrative roles. And again IIRC, the majority of the kids aren't even Catholic.
catholic schools use user fees for lots of extracurricular activities
And so do the public schools. You ought see what we pay for Baseball and other sports. Football is about $1k. Hockey is about $5k
another biggie is kids in catholic schools know there are consequences
and don't overlook the religious component as a behavioral modifier
True.
sadly in some cases parents use catholic school as a substitute for involvement. lots of busy parents think that the school can compensate for their limited time with their kids. sometimes its a matter of convenience or careers that demand a lot of time. or guys who are overseas and are trying to give the parent at home a bit of help keeping the kids on track.
Ummm, again no. Parents that send their kids to a private school, be that Catholic or otherwise, generally are involved with their kids, and are striving to give them better then average to help them succeed in life. It's generally those that send their kids to public schools that simply use the school as a babysitting service. I knew several who sacrificed (and you don't want to know how much fundraising crapola I bought when I worked on the west side of Chicago. Not just from Hispanics but also African Americans seeking to reduce their tuition and other costs), to put their kids into catholic schools because the wanted their kids to do better than them.
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I spent 6 outa 12 years in catholic school. I volunteer at the local ones (2) and I spend a ton of time at the public schools my kids go to. Your perspectives differ from my observations
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Because I'm talking about the ones here in Chicago, perchance? And my conversations and observations with my employees who sent their kids to Chicago Catholic schools?
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My wife's definition of 'teaching to the test', which she says is shared by most of her colleagues: teaching the kids the possible questions and answers for a specific section of the standardized test. In other words, the teacher does not know that a question will ask about the capital of Canada, but may know that a common geography question is name the capital of a country in North America. You don't know which equation, numbers or operations will be on the test but know that the math section usually has questions about how to solve an equation with a certain sequence of operations. Or the Language Arts section will likely have a question about how to write a topic sentence.
She says teaching to the test will be much more difficult with the Common Core Smarter Balance Assessment since it will be given by computer and the test questions will get more or less difficult depending on how you answer a given question. The material being tested on will be much broader and there are thousands of possible questions for any one grade level for all the subjects. She is on some sort of national taskforce that is writing questions for the Smarter Balance Assessment, which is intended to be a nationwide test.
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Because I'm talking about the ones here in Chicago, perchance? And my conversations and observations with my employees who sent their kids to Chicago Catholic schools?
So we're using the greater distance for better vision and smaller sample for better accuracy model?! Gotcha
I am stuck with knowing folk who can't get their kid in or having them "not invited back" thats the way the Catholic schools here phrase it. They unlike public schools cull truly disruptive kids since they are not required by law to educate em. Nor do they fear some gov twit will ding em if they aren't disciplining them with thr correct percentages of various ethnic groups represented
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My wife's definition of 'teaching to the test', which she says is shared by most of her colleagues: teaching the kids the possible questions and answers for a specific section of the standardized test. In other words, the teacher does not know that a question will ask about the capital of Canada, but may know that a common geography question is name the capital of a country in North America. You don't know which equation, numbers or operations will be on the test but know that the math section usually has questions about how to solve an equation with a certain sequence of operations. Or the Language Arts section will likely have a question about how to write a topic sentence.
She says teaching to the test will be much more difficult with the Common Core Smarter Balance Assessment since it will be given by computer and the test questions will get more or less difficult depending on how you answer a given question. The material being tested on will be much broader and there are thousands of possible questions for any one grade level for all the subjects. She is on some sort of national taskforce that is writing questions for the Smarter Balance Assessment, which is intended to be a nationwide test.
That sounds to me like the problem isn't "teaching to the test" but too much prior information about the test being available. Hopefully the assessment test you mention in your second paragraph will avoid this problem.
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Part of the trouble is the test is the sword of damacles. Careers hinge on results and the process has flaws. Many of which are typical of what happens when folks plan globally and the plans fail at taking into account reality
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heres whats going on
i don't know what to say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/28/a-video-that-shows-why-teachers-are-going-out-of-their-minds/?tid=sm_fb
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heres whats going on
i don't know what to say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/28/a-video-that-shows-why-teachers-are-going-out-of-their-minds/?tid=sm_fb
Abandon all hope yee who enter into the public education system?
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its a start
i'd have walked out
have walked out of better
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heres whats going on
i don't know what to say
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/28/a-video-that-shows-why-teachers-are-going-out-of-their-minds/?tid=sm_fb
It's possible this was an example of how not to do it . . . .
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So we're using the greater distance for better vision and smaller sample for better accuracy model?! Gotcha
Reading is fundamental. If you go back and look you'll see that I referred only to Chicago Catholic schools. Not the schools in your area nor anywhere else. You're have decided that what you see in your area applies to everywhere.
I do know that my sister sent her daughters to a Catholic High School in Indianapolis (Turns out to be one the top rated ones in Indiana) and that there was some competition to get them in. But being a lawyer and able to pay full boat on tuition might have helped sway the school's decision making. Both of them also got full ride scholarships to Indiana Unnversity after graduation, so they weren't dummies or trouble makers going in.