Jeb Bush, Levesque, Obama, Duncan. No Difference in Educational Philosophy Between Republicans and Democrats. Some Floridians are not Happy with this Bipartisanship.

A trio of elitists applauding the implosion of public education. Is Levesque standing in the wings?

Here's a crosspost of Grumpyelder's blog on what's happening educationally in Florida with Jeb Bush and the boondoggle of common core standards and high stakes testing.

Pay close attention.  This playbook will be coming with a vengeance to your state as well.  Political operative Patricia Levesque (Governor Jeb Bush’s deputy chief of staff for education), is pushing untested, unproven and unfunded mandates to taxpayers and insisting they are superior to what was previously put in place by the Florida state educational department.  Constant assessments will not provide better education to students.  They will provide more money to the testing companies but this is not educational reform benefiting students.

Look into the crystal ball of Florida education.  It's your story in your state if it adopted Common Core.  Your cast of characters will change but the script is the same.

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Floridians are rejecting Jeb’s education schemes

Jeb Bush doesn’t get it,  Last week he got defensive because most conservatives wouldn’t go out of their way to nominate him for …  pretty much anything.  Sure he tried substituting Ronald Reagan’s name for his own, but everyone saw through the ploy.  He claimed the GOP had become too conservative and unwilling to to compromise.

The truth of the matter is people are tired of the GOP putting different packaging on the same schemes the democrats are selling and claiming to have a better product. Sometimes it’s the dems repackaging a GOP scheme.

Either way the end result is the same.

The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution gets trampled, the Tenth as well when it’s done at a Federal Level, government expands it’s reach  and Americans get screwed.

This is true of education and Jeb is beside himself over the idea the Floridians both liberal and conservative are demanding a second the legislature take a second look at the scheme he’s been hawking since before he left the Governors Mansion..  To make matters worse for Jeb, he’s been trying to peddle the scheme nation wide for Barack Obama..  He’s having success with the State legislatures, but like in Florida, a growing number of  parents, teacher and taxpayers are saying NO– or more like Hell No.

Last week The Florida School Boards Association agreed and  passed a resolution opposing the current use of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test

This kind of rejection isn’t good for Jeb political future or his wallet, he’s got big money riding on the states accepting Obama’s Educational Program .. Realizing people weren’t listening to him he sent in  Patty Levesque–

Patricia Levesque: The case for standardized testing

If Florida wants students to be the most prepared in the nation for Common Core State Standards and equipped for success in the classroom and in life, we must ask students to show what they know.

It is unfortunate that school boards are spending time and resources passing resolutions against the FCAT when they could be working to better inform parents, equip teachers and prepare students to reach higher.

Read More Patricia Levesque: The case for standardized testing

“Patricia Levesque is the Executive Director for the Foundation for Florida’s Future. She served as Governor Jeb Bush’s deputy chief of staff for education, enterprise solutions for government, minority procurement, and business and professional regulation. Previously, Patricia served six years in the Florida Legislature in the Speakers Office and as staff director over education policy.” Foundation for Florida’s Future

The nice thing about having a charitable foundation is everyone assumes charitable foundations that promote things like education are above reproach.  Patrica Levesque has been a  front person for Jeb’s education schemes for years.

Common Core is the Nationalization of Public School Curriculum.. But they can’t say that because the concept itself is a violation of Federal Law and an insult to the 8th and 10th Amendment in The Bill of Rights..

Instead what they plan on is a set of National Standardized Tests,,  The won’t tell school districts what to teach, but if kids don’t pass the Federal Tests the districts lose funding and individual schools may get shut down.. If schools get shut down, Jeb and Obama have plenty of friends in the Charter School Business ready, willing and maybe able to help out..

You notice I said  ”maybe able”  because there have been some reports that many of the charters just aren’t that able to show they can do a better job than public schools …  Bob Sikes wrote about one of those schools that just happens to be owed by Frank Biden, Vice Presidents Biden’s brother  Why Mavericks Charter Schools Got Some ‘Splainin’ to Do..  

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What's apparent in Florida is that this isn't about education "reform".  It's about centralized control and crony capitalistic ventures using taxpayer money for your profit and your children as the tokens.

The Fight Against High Stakes Testing Will Not Be Easy

The state of Florida remains at the forefront of education issues so it is useful to keep an eye on how things are going there. In a nutshell, they are not going well.

At a recent meeting of the Florida School Boards Association, Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson gave a lunchtime speech in which he essentially told the local school boards, comply or else when it comes to the state's main assessment the FCAT.  The Association of 67 school boards across the state is working on a resolution opposing high stakes testing as the main tool for student and teacher evaluation. Robinson said of the local school boards, "They can express their opinion, but let’s also remember the local school board’s obligation is to implement the laws approved by the Florida Legislature; to implement the regulations approved by the state board.”

Got that everyone? You have only as much local control as your state legislature gives you. In Florida the legislature and State Board of Education are together in their support of the FCAT.  It is top down control and that line of command was just emphasized by their Commissioner. If anyone is going to be successful in getting things changed, they are going to have to focus their efforts on the legislature and the BoE. Talking to your teacher, principal, school board member or even superintendent will do you no good. They have no authority to affect change.

The FL BoE is hanging tight to the FCAT because they believe it has produced results.

“If you take a look at where students have performed in math, reading, writing as well and other subjects, we’ve been moving in the right direction for over a decade,” Robinson said. “That didn’t happen overnight. That happened because we set accountability and assessments are in place.”

That is a complete disconnect from the experience of the teachers and parents at the point of implementation.  One school board member characterized it this way, "for our Florida Department of Education not to be willing to listen to the concerns from parents, and students and school board members all across the state of Florida? We have a problem. We have a communication problem, we have a messaging problem."

They have more than a messaging problem.  They have an ego and an economic problem. Jeb Bush has a lot of his personal political worth on the line with education reform in FL. BobsIdleMusings noted, "He cannot remain education reforms voice if he is being challenged by the state’s local school boards – many of them filled with republicans."

They have an economic problem because of all the ties in to Pearson who produces the FCAT and has the company's  future viability challenged if they do not have a lock on the standardized testing protocol in the state. Osceola County School Board member Jay Wheeler said the FCAT, started “with the best intentions,” has turned into a successful “business model for Pearson” — which earns millions from Florida — but not something meant “to help kids.” Where business and politics cross is dangerous territory.

In Missouri, the line of command goes from DESE, through the legislature to the local districts. Many times the legislature has deferred to the decisions of DESE, even when such decisions were not pre-approved by the legislature and end up costing the state money that was not budgeted for by the legislature. Still, it is top down authority. Since our legislators have taken a somewhat hands off approach when it comes to things like Common Core Standards, high stakes testing and longitudinal database creation which were all brought into the state single handedly by DESE, the only way to change things is through DESE whose leadership is appointed by the governor.  Starting to look at the governor's race any differently?

And for those districts crazy enough to apply directly for the new RTTT funding, the line of command will bypass the state all together and come directly from Washington. You think DESE doesn't listen to you or plays hardball? Wait til you try to get an answer, some help or relief from DC.

Republican Education Policy Coming From Florida?

If you want to know where Missouri's republican platform for education came from, you may not have to look any further than the Foundation for Florida's Future. FFF was started by Jeb Bush in 1994 as an education think tank. Here is their education formula for student achievement,

The Florida Formula encompasses a combination of reforms – rigorous academic standards, standardized measurement, data-based accountability, effective teaching, outcome-based funding, school choice – to improve the quality of education for Sunshine State students.  

Every one of these reforms was listed on the Missouri Republican platform.

 

The influence of FFF is dramatic. Its policies have been implemented through the legislature, despite opposition from the teachers union and parent groups, though both sides argue how influential the foundation actually is.  Last term, a parent trigger bill designed by FFF, which would have given parents the choice of how they wanted to turn around their failing school, died in session. 

 

Kathleen Oropeza who started a parent group Fund Education Now in 2009 said, "I was guilty of not really understanding how deeply Tallahassee affects me in my house and my kids' education, and so once I became more aware, it was startling. It became clear that every policy and every law and every new rule was somehow influenced by the Foundation for Florida's Future and was in fact, a continuation of Jeb Bush's governorship. It seemed to be an uninterrupted flow of policy."

Overall, however, the foundation claims that their policies have led to successful turn around in student academic performance in Florida.

Florida’s success dispels common myths about education.  Poverty, an absence of parental involvement, language barriers, disabilities, broken homes, even catastrophic natural disasters like hurricanes, are not valid excuses for a lack of learning in the classroom.

A bold statement in light of the fact that there was a dramatic drop in Florida's FCAT (standardized assessment) scores this year. For reading, it was 52 percent failing this year vs. 39 percent last year. For math, it was 47 percent failing this year vs. 26 percent failing last year. The drop was blamed on changes to the way the test was graded. The schools could have survived the adjustment except that teacher pay and retention decisions are now based on those scores. This had the Florida Board of Education scrambling to keep their school system from falling apart.

The changes in the grading may have been triggered by the desire to have more students ready for college. One of the Foundation's goals is to

make high school more rigorous to better prepare students for college and careers. Florida lawmakers provided state funding for all Florida 10th graders to take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) or the equivalent PLAN exam for the ACT. Officials forged a partnership with the College Board to use this data to identify students with the potential to pass Advance Placement (AP) coursework and exams. Was the recent drop in student scores simply a sign that the Board of Education (in conjunction with Pearson who designed and scored the test) bit off more than they can chew when they changed the standardized tests so rapidly? The schools did not have time to prepare the students for the tougher standard, but shouldn't a think tank and major assessment supplier have anticipated this a little better? Makes one wonder what other unintended consequences they have not considered.

The Foundation has worthwhile goals, but the latest news from Florida shows that education reform enthusiasm may have outstripped student reality. Ideally this is a short term problem that leaves minimum damage for the classes graduating high school in the next couple of years. But time will tell if locking schools into tight formulas which can cause these types of outcomes is the right thing to do for the students. Good teachers may be let go through no fault of their own. Many more teachers may decide to abandon the profession rather than wait for the random swing of the scoring ax to catch them.


In addition, rapid changes in standards create an uncertain environment for students. Those who had been receiving good grades in school who are suddenly rated very low by the standardized assessment are dealt a demoralizing blow. And there is already plenty of criticism for the way the Florida 3rd grade literacy requirement is handled.Those aren't suited for the college path may become discouraged by the rigor of the tests and drop out. It will be important for school districts to provide guidance counseling and alternatives for such students.

The reason Missouri voters should pay attention to this is because Jeb Bush may have his sights on being Education Secretary under a Republican president. A bit worrisome when considering the results of the reforms FFF has pushed for in Florida. Even more worrisome when you realize that J. Bush has praised the job Arne Duncan on the Charlie Rose show for the job he has done in the Obama administration. 

Both Romney and Bush stand on their records for improving student test scores by evaluating teachers, holding firm on standards and the testing of students. Evaluating the effectiveness of these reforms is tricky and a bit like predicting global warming based on a few years worth of data. Small gains may be achieved, but the losses must also be considered. It is just as important to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of your reforms and be willing to alter or remove them if they create more problems than they solve (i.e. one of the best math teachers in NYC was rated as the worst  due to the way rating was handled causing her to leave public teaching.) If those in charge of education policy would just hold this simple philosophy we might not still be dealing with NCLB.

The Black Box of Computerized Assessments - Does Anyone Know What's Really In There?

There's an old saying about the inmates running the asylum that comes to mind with this story from a science educator in Florida who looked into the science portion of Florida's standardized assessment. Robert Krampf was developing some science test prep questions for 5th graders preparing to take that state's high-stakes FCAT test.  Using the FL DOE's own site as a guide, he found many flaws in what was presented as science.

A few weeks ago, I started developing FCAT practice questions to help students review concepts and prepare for the test. To develop those questions I used FLDOE's FCAT 2.0 Science Test Item Specifications. These documents are used as:

"a resource that defines the content and format of the test and test items for item writers and reviewers." 

I expected the Test Item Specifications to be a tremendous help in writing simulated FCAT questions. What I found was a collection of poorly written examples, multiple-choice questions where one or more of the wrong responses were actually scientifically correct answers, and definitions that ranged from misleading to totally wrong.

On his blog - the Happy Scientist, he sited these examples:

A glossary of definitions (Appendix C) is provided for test item writers to indicate the level of understanding expected of fifth grade students. Included in that list is the following definition:

Predator—An organism that obtains nutrients from other organisms.

By that definition, cows are predators because they obtain nutrients from plants. The plants are predators too, since they obtain nutrients from decaying remains of other organisms. I have yet to find anyone who thinks that this is a proper definition of a predator.

This sample question offers the following observations, and asks which is scientifically testable.

1. The petals of red roses are softer than the petals of yellow roses.
2. The song of a mockingbird is prettier than the song of a cardinal.
3. Orange blossoms give off a sweeter smell than gardenia flowers.
4. Sunflowers with larger petals attract more bees than sunflowers with smaller petals.

The document indicates that 4 is the correct answer, but answers 1 and 3 are also scientifically testable.
For answer 1, the Sunshine State Standards list texture as a scientifically testable property in the third grade (SC.3.P.8.3), fourth grade (SC.4.P.8.1), and fifth grade (SC.5.P.8.1), so even the State Standards say it is a scientifically correct answer.

For answer 3, smell is a matter of chemistry. Give a decent chemist the chemical makeup of the scent of two different flowers, and she will be able to tell you which smells sweeter without ever smelling them.

While this question has three correct answers, any student that answered 1 or 3 would be graded as getting the question wrong. Why use scientifically correct "wrong" answers instead of using responses that were actually incorrect? Surely someone on the Content Advisory Committee knew enough science to spot this problem.

This is another example of why local control is so important. Who does the public, or teachers for that matter, go to to correct these types of errors in a test they didn't write? There is not only no mechanism for doing so, to even suggest you might want to, is to invite the accusation of cheating.

Teachers describe the atmosphere is school during these standardized tests as similar to nuclear lock down. The test forms are stored in the office and only released to the teachers moments before testing begins once something akin two officials turning their keys simultaneously after entering the launch codes occurs. Teachers are forbidden from doing almost anything to help the children during the test and there are sometimes observers in the classroom to make sure teachers follow this rule.

Here is one teacher's account of what happened during his class's algebra end of course (EOC) exam done on computer:

The teacher/proctor is not permitted to read the question, only to assist with students and computer operating issues.  Student works through problem on scratch paper, and finds that his/her answer doesn't match with any choices given.  Teacher looks at problem worked out on scratch paper, and determines that the child has correctly answered the problem, but the correct answer is not one listed.  Teacher can do nothing about it since he/she is not permitted to read the test, only the test prompts.  School therefore does nothing.  Child has no defense, and since testing by computer is graded by computer, the testing company is not held accountable. 

Stories like this abound in the comment sections of similar articles.

Since no one is allowed to see the test before testing begins, there is no way to correct errors, even innocent typographical ones, by the test developers. And since teachers are not supposed to be reading the tests, there is no mechanism for them to report faulty questions after the testing has been completed. The same errors can last year in and year out depending on how often the test developers decide to reuse old material.

An obvious fact should be springing to everyone's mind. The computer grades these tests based on what the test developers have told it is the correct answer. In the science question above, children who answered #1 would be marked wrong even though they are not only inherently right, but are correct as defined by their own Board of Education. In the algebra question above children have a 25% chance of guessing the correct wrong answer previously determined by the mental midgets who developed the test. The computer is only as smart as the people who programmed it. If they are not that smart, why do they have control of the education system?

And therein lies the biggest problem in standardized testing, done on computer as is planned for all Common Core assessments. The tests will only be as accurate as the people writing and entering them in the first place. If those people don't know their subject or don't care about accuracy, then what chance do our children have of scoring well on these exams?  If no one except the students is allowed to see the exam, how will we even know what they are actually being tested on?

Worse still is the fact that we will now hold teachers and schools accountable for what amounts to the errors of the testing company. Who will hold Pearson, or McGraw-Hill responsible? Can they defend the qualifications of their "content committees" if these types of errors appear on their tests? When thousands of educational dollars are on the line for these test scores, their answer should be "no." Nothing short of perfection should be accepted.
 
Local control could address these errors. Massive government funded and mandated distant bureaucracies have little incentive to address them at all, let alone on a timely basis.  We should not accept the black box of computerized standardized assessments.

When High Stakes Testing becomes Abusive, it's Time for Parents to Keep their Children Home.

When an educational system becomes so abusive as to cause physical and/or emotional harm to children, it is a parent's duty to keep that child home from public school and find other schooling alternatives...or demand changes to school policy.

MAP testing is a terrible time of the year.  Remember our post last year about the reasons MAP is given to students?  It's not to determine the true educational knowledge of students.  It's to determine how well your child/school performs on standardized tests your child has been prepped for in practice tests and hepped up to do well in pep rallies:

The MAP test is used to determine how the school is performing. Results of the test will not determine if your child advances the next grade or not. Results of the test will not determine any additional services you child may or may not receive. Results of the tests are broken down into subgroup testing to determine how subgroups (Asian/Pacific Islands, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, White, Other/Non Response, Free/Reduced Lunch, IEP, LEP) score. If one subgroup in a school fails, the whole school fails. And what does failure mean? If a school does not show improvement over a specified period of time, the school can become unaccredited and lose funding.

The MAP testing creates stress for students, teachers and administrators.  It will only get worse in the coming years.  MAP will be phased out but the constant assessments due to Common Core mandates (assessments given every three weeks) will create continual stress for students and teachers.  Now not only can money be withheld from schools, teacher and administrator jobs hinge on these assessment results.

How are teachers responding to testing this year?  In March, one Florida teacher made an 8th grade student wear a sign around his neck to punish him for missing an FCAT test even though he had provided a doctor's note regarding a sickness:

He even had this doctor's note to prove his illness was real, but said when he came back to school this week his teacher put a humiliating note around his neck. 

"It said, since I have decided that I will come to school today but I didn't come to school during the FACT."

Thomas claimed the teacher did nothing as classmates laughed. 

"She just made me feel like I'm worthless."

The teacher apologized but the mother stated:

"There is a zero tolerance policy for a student to bully each other. Well, how is there a no tolerance that they allow a teacher to bully a student," said Cancellare.  

Fast forward to April in Missouri.  From ky3.com and Washburn, MO:

 

(Video from youtube)

A mother is upset over over a classroom incident that left her kindergartner embarrassed. 

A 6-year-old girl had an accident in her classroom, and her parents are pushing for policy changes.

"They told me that the teacher had asked her to go to the restroom before testing time," said mother Lisa Skidmore.

Skidmore says asking a young child to go to the bathroom on demand is next to impossible.

"You can't do that to a 6-year-old."

 

That's why, when her kindergartner told her teacher she had to go to the restroom during the test and wasn't allowed, Skidmore couldn't believe it.  Her little girl couldn't hold it.

"They didn't even bother trying to clean her up or anything.  She still had poop, diarrhea poop, coming out the back, up her front, down her legs," she said.

Skidmore says her daughter was forced to sit in the class for the remainder of test time, about 15 minutes, then mom was called after the test, and it was a 20-minute drive to school to pick up her daughter.

All the while, the little girl had to sit in the mess.  No one bothered to clean her up, although a teacher did give her a trash bag to wrap around herself.
    
"You don't even treat a dog that way!" Skidmore said.

The last paragraph explains why the teacher handled it in this way:

Many kids right now are taking Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests, the state standardized testing required by law.  Those tests start in third grade, but the superintendent says the reason the teacher was sticking so closely to MAP testing guidelines, even for a kindergartner, is because she was trying to simulate the stringent rules to prepare students for what's to come.  (emphasis added)

What these teachers are doing by simulating stringent rules for kindergartners for what they are in store for will dull any love of learning these children might possess.  These teachers should be brought up on child abuse charges for the physical and emotional distress imparted to a 6 year old child.  The father's remarks are right on the money:

"If any parent sent their kid to school with crappy pants, diarrhea-type crap, wrapped up in a garbage bag, stench badly, I believe with all my heart those parents would be facing criminal charges, I believe that with all my heart."

 MAP Time.  It IS the "most terrible time of the year".  Just wait until the common core standards kick in and it will be high stakes not just in the spring...it will be your child's public school existence all year...and now, it will be starting in pre-school. 

Here is the AYP measurement from DESE from Southwest Elementary School in Washburn.  The teachers apparently are feeling the pressure to get the scores up as they are lagging behind the NCLB proficiency model.

It is time for parents to demand their local schools stop this madness.  Your children are not hostages, data subgroups and they should not be forced into these constant assessments.  From our previous posting on MAP testing:

To highlight some of the problems with this type of testing, I took a bit of liberty with the lyrics from "It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year". Here is Andy Williams singing the song on youtube. Play it while following along with our version about the dreaded MAP testing every spring:

It's the most terrible time of the year
With the kids all stressed out
And the teachers burned out
There's no one in good cheer
It's the most terrible time of the year

It's the most-most stressful season of all
With those bubbles to fill
With your pencil so near
Anxiety calls!
It's the most-most stressful season of all

There are instructions imparted
And students imploding
And tears all around the class
There are scary test questions
And stories to study
And answers the kids might not know

It's the most terrible time of the year
There are test preparations
All hearts will be pounding
When testing comes near
It's the most terrible time of the year

The results from the testing
Based on subset groupings
Determines the funding for schools
If the kids don't perform
The school flunks, it's a pity
It's AYP regs, don't you know?

It's the most terrible time of the year
There is much consternation
From districts awaiting
Results of the tests
It's the most terrible time
It's the most terrible time
It's the most terrible time....of the year