Delaware State Rep. Sean Matthews Tired Of “Test And Punish” & “Cash In The Trash” Education!

Delaware State Rep. Sean Matthews has had enough!  Something I think many of us agree on!  As the Delaware DOE announced the long-awaited and much dreaded Smarter Balanced Assessment results, folks immediately started crunching the data to see what it all means.  On Delaware Liberal and Those In Favor, graphs were made showing the relationship between low-income populations in Delaware schools and the Smarter Balanced results.  These graphs were very telling, and show these high-stakes assessments are not doing any favors for low-income students.

This is what State Rep. Sean Matthews had to say about all this:

Enough already! The corporate education “reformers” keep pushing their “test and punish” agenda. It’s failed. It’s failing. It will continue to fail until we address the endemic poverty plaguing some of our students.

The millions we spend each year on standardized testing is nothing more than “cash in the trash.” If we just collected parent/guardian’s income levels, we would get the same data. There is a direct and enduring correlation between a family’s economic health and school performance.

Don’t believe me? Check out these 2 graphs. One from Red Clay School District and one from Christina School District. Keep in mind that within each district, the curriculum, teacher training and governing district polices are the same. The only major difference is the % of low-income students from school to school.

Rep. Matthews hit the nail on the head!  None of this is about the kids.  It’s about other agendas which results in schools being labeled and punished.  We have seen this sad tale all over America, in Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans and New York City.  Why is it so necessary to turn public education into something it’s not?  These are the tough schools.  The ones where teachers go to, day in and day out.  They don’t have to teach in these schools, they want to.  They want to help these kids.  It’s not for a paycheck, or to have the summers off.  Their unions can’t protect them too much when a school is shut down over high-stakes testing results. They want to be, if they can, the difference in some of these students lives.  I hear so many stories from adults who came from poverty, and very often, they reference a teacher who made a difference in their lives.

When is America going to wake up and realize these kids don’t need the labels.  They don’t need companies and management organizations coming into their schools to “fix” them.  They need consistency.  They need compassion.  They need what they already have.  But the education reformers don’t think that’s enough.  They would rather test these children, all the while knowing the tests they are giving to them are designed for failure, so they can “turnaround” a school.  It all comes down to money, and it makes me sick to my stomach that anyone would use children in this manner.

Someone genuinely asked me if they should continue to send their child to a school like this or send them to a “high-performing” school.  Every time a parent makes a decision in favor of the latter, they are killing public education, one student at a time.  And that’s exactly what the reformers want.  The data in these graphs says one thing.  These tests are great for those with money and very bad for those without.  It’s not about the caliber of the school, or the teachers, it’s about the world these children live in.  The reformers can’t grasp the notion that if they spent their vast millions upon millions of dollars on actually improving communities and creating jobs, that would do far more for these children than any standardized assessment would ever do.  That would be the real reform our children need.

We keep hearing how the Delaware DOE needs this data, and that parents need it. What does it tell you?  You won’t see these graphs on the Delaware DOE website.  But they are more important than any amount of data they will ever put out.  Thank you Rep. Matthews for saying what so many of us are saying.  You have a powerful voice, and we need you to speak for a long time.

*Thank you to Delaware Liberal and Those In Favor for creating these graphs!

Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams Creates New Blog: “Delaware First State”

Let me get this out right off the bat, Kim Williams is awesome!  And not just because we are on a lot of the same sides when it comes to education.  She is the perfect legislator.  She cares about her constituents.  But more than that, she cares about Delaware.  Her heart is in Red Clay, but she knows she belongs to Delaware.  If she has pending legislation, I trust these are bills which will help ALL of Delaware, not just her neck of the woods.  I’ve talked with Kim many times about the issues facing students in Delaware, and she always listens.  But it isn’t just that.  When she hears the same themes and problems, she takes action!

I encourage all my readers, no matter what side of the political fence you sit on, to check out Kim’s new blog, Delaware FIrst State.  In her pre-legislator days, Kim ran two different blogs, centered around Red Clay.  I am happy Kim is writing again as I didn’t get to see her first two go-arounds on the blogosphere.  I know Kim will touch on the issues that are important to all Delawareans!  Welcome back Kim!  Fellow Delaware bloggers, please add Kim to your blogroll.

Delaware PTA Issues Statement On Smarter Balanced Assessment Results

The Delaware PTA just unveiled a press release to their members on their views of the recently announced Smarter Balanced Assessment results.  These are questions everyone in this state should be asking, especially our legislators.  They voted this into state code, and as far as I’m concerned, they can vote it right out!

DELAWARE PTA

9/8/2015

On Wednesday September 4, 2015 the Delaware Department of Education released the overall results of the Smarter Balanced Assessments in Math and ELA English Language Arts). Overall, the proficiency rates are exactly where we expected they would be, especially for schools with a higher concentration of at risk populations.

 

We have long maintained that an assessment is only effective when weighed against its intended use and purpose. The true purpose of assessments should be to determine gaps in learning and ensure that the state is directing the appropriate resources to the students and schools that need it most. As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure that any assessments our children take serve this purpose and this purpose only. Testing outcomes used for any other purpose, have no value for parents, teachers or students. 

 

In the next two weeks, parents across the state will begin to receive their student’s SBAC assessment report. 

 

When looking at these scores, parents should be asking the following questions:

 

1. What does this score mean for my child at the classroom level? 

2. How is the state ensuring resources are making it directly into the classroom to help my child and other students? 

3. How is the state supporting districts and teachers in using this information to make instructional changes? 

4. How is your district using the SBAC scores? Are they using them as a single indicator of student success?

We always encourage open and ongoing communications between home and school. This is also a great opportunity to engage your district leadership, school board, as well as the Delaware Department of Education on exactly how and why this test will help your student. 

 

Look for additional PTA communications on how you can become involved and support our advocacy efforts to secure and protect your rights as parents; and ensure that assessment data is used to support, not punish our schools.  

[Read more on DPTA’s position on SBAC and HB50]

Delaware PTA Executive Committee

 

 

Pacman Fever Coming To Delaware…

I’m hearing rumors that Pacman is making a comeback in Delaware!  Some don’t like the return of Pacman but can’t confirm.  While it is always good to have different choices, some don’t know if this will be the Pacman of lore or the evil Pacman from the very bad Pixels movie that came out this summer.  We shall see what happens and if this return will come to fruition.  But be aware Pacman, the ghosts are on the move and are on the hunt!

Family Foundations Academy: Where Is The Investigative Audit? Are They Still On Probation?

Family Foundations Academy, a Delaware charter school in New Castle, DE, formally requested an end to their six-month probation.  But their investigative audit may come out at the same time.  Last December, Delawareans were treated to a month long ordeal surrounding Family Foundations Academy.  During the school’s charter renewal, allegations came out against the co-leaders of the school for financial mismanagement.  It was also revealed the State Auditor’s office was going to investigate the school’s finances. By the end of the month, Sean Moore and Dr. Tennell Brewington were out, and the board was radically changed in the first month of the year as members of EastSide Charter School took over.

The State Board renewed their charter but put FFA on formal review.  In March, the State Board put the school on probation for six months.  This will end later this month if the State Board agrees to it.  But in the meantime, while on probation, the school submitted and was approved for a major modification concerning the location of their elementary and middle schools.  And the Auditor’s report hasn’t even come out yet.  When can we expect this?  Given the timing for Academy of Dover’s similar situation, I would say sometime in the next month to month and a half.  It took the State Auditor’s office about ten months to complete their investigation on Academy of Dover, and that report came out on 6/24/15.  The State Auditor opened their investigation into FFA sometime in December, 2014, so we should expect the report this month or next month given the same trajectory.

Has FFA satisfied the terms of their probation?  That will be up to the State Board of Education to decide, but the school seems to think so if you read the below letter.  A frequent commenter on this blog raises a very serious question though about overall board membership at Delaware charter schools: Should board members reside in Delaware?  This is mandatory for traditional school boards since they go through the election process.  I would think it would be in our best interests to have the same for charter schools.