Delaware Smarter Balanced Participation Rate At 60% For 2020-2021 Test

The results are in and only 60% of Delaware students took the Smarter Balanced Assessment for grades 3rd-8th for the 2020-2021 school year.

Yes, we can blame Covid for this. And the fact that most students were either hybrid or remote for the last school year. But it is still something to celebrate. It massively skews the data for the entire assessment and renders it meaningless. Which, let’s face it, has always been manipulated for purposes that really have nothing to do with education. It is a numbers and money game. Used for punitive rather than informative. It has never been a true barometer of student regression or achievement.

Yes, the Delaware Department of Education WILL use the data to show Covid caused regression for students. But anyone could tell you that. We didn’t need to spend millions of dollars to administer a test to tell us that. But the DOE will tell you it is needed and blah blah blah.

Thank you to all the students and parents who opted out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment this year. It is definitely a cause for celebration!!!

The Money Grab For Teacher Lesson Plans

I’ve been hearing about situations where administrators are actually making money off teachers lesson plans in Delaware schools. This is going to become a huge topic in the coming months and years.

Who owns the rights to teachers lesson plans? Is it intellectual property? Many of the answers depend on the contracts school districts have with teachers in their union contracts. I’ve heard tales of administrators trying to work around that. They “demand” teachers digitally upload all their lesson plans. Can they do this? Can they “demand” teachers sign away their rights? I don’t have the answers to this. But if it is a violation of union contracts it is time the local unions and DSEA get involved big time.

The frightening part is rumors administrators are selling this material for profit. I would think that would be a huge ethical quagmire. What kind of administrators would have this kind of power? Those who are in charge of curriculum for starters. Principals and other district folks. Superintendents.

Are these weaselly administrators putting this profit back into the district or are they making personal profit? Have they set up shell companies for back-door funding?

I’m just introducing the topic and I’m hoping teachers quickly band together to find out what the hell is going on cause this is some shady shit for sure. If I were a teacher you deserve to ask what happens with your lesson plans when you “share” it with your district or school. What might be “gold” to greedy administrators is something you have worked on your entire teaching career. Is it right for others to profit off your hard work?