TFA Supports Junk Science to Grade Colleges of Education by Student Test Scores

I’m very glad Diane posted this today, as I can’t take back the three minutes of my life reading this absolute horror: http://townsquaredelaware.com/2015/02/02/the-case-for-teach-for-america/ This was written by a 19-20 year old. Sorry kid, what in the world do you know about any of this? It read like someone paid him to write it. The only thing TFA is good at in schools is teaching to the test. That’s all they do, and this drill, test, repeat method is getting old quickly.

Diane Ravitch's blog

A group of alternative certification programs, the most significant of them being Teach for America, declared their support for the Obama administration’s plan to grade colleges of education by the test scores of the students taught by their graduates. Alternative certification teachers typically do not go to colleges of education, which is why their certification is “alternative.” Their decision to weigh in on this issue, which does not affect them, is no doubt intended to shutter the teacher prep programs where students study education for one or more years. It also is an expression of their support for value-added-measurement (VAM), which does not affect alternatively certified teachers who enter the classroom for only one or two years because they are not in teaching long enough to produce data by which to be evaluated.

The Department of Education’s proposal would make test scores the overriding purpose of education. Courses in child…

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Alternate Testing Approved By Senate Bill 229 Last Summer Won’t Start This School Year

Last June, Delaware Senator Nicole Poore sponsored Senate Bill 229, which allowed for the most disabled of students to take an alternate assessment as opposed to the Smarter Balanced Assessment.  In the past, these students took what was called the DCAS-Alt, but a new “portfolio” test was supposed to start this academic year.  That is not going to happen.

Due to some issues with the wording in the new regulation, Senator Poore went to the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens and the State Council for Persons with Disabilities and put forth new parts to the regulation which had been approved by the Delaware State Board of Education at their December meeting.

Because of the changes in the regulation, it has to go up for a 60 day comment period.  The updated regulation was published on February 1st, giving the comment period until April 1st.  The earliest the State Board of Education will be able to approve the new regulation would be at their April 16th board meeting.

What this means is any new alternate test won’t go through this year.  These students will still have the DCAS-Alt, but some students with extreme communications issues will have a shortened version.