Prediction: State Test Score Release Will Result in Accountabaloney.
State mandated standardized test scores and the resultant school grade calculations are due out any day now. There will be some tears, some cheers and, usually, a whole lot of spin.
Same story, every summer.
Rather than wait around and pour over the data, we will be enjoying summer vacation with our families. If you choose to spend part of your summer fretting over school grades, students test scores or other accountabaloney, here are a few articles to direct your investigation:
What Do School Grades Really Tell You?
“Any straight A student can tell you their final grade did not always reflect the quality of the course. Likewise, school grades may only reflect the test scores, not the quality of the education provided. In fact, parents of children in “A” schools, or in “A” districts, should be questioning whether their school focuses too much on testing and forgets the whole child. Parents need to start recognizing Florida’s A-F School grade system for what it really is: a reflection of a test focused system that has gone too far.”
What is the impact of “testing season” on our schools?
“Have our children had their educations disrupted, their schools turned into test-preparation factories, merely so our state can celebrate a few points improvement on a national standardized test?
Or has standardized testing been given “squatter’s rights” on our children’s school year to encourage the expansion of public funding to private, “school choice” options?”
Why are there “B schools” on Florida’s list of 300 Lowest Performing Schools?
“If your child’s school finds itself on the Lowest 300 list and loses programing (such as art, music or PE), please let your concerns be know. Likewise, if your Lowest 300 school does not have a librarian or an adequate library, please ask why. Finally, please ask how a system can simultaneously celebrate B rated schools and declare them low performing because that is accountabaloney.”
“It is clear that students from different counties could have identical performance in the classroom and identical EOC scores, yet have varying GPA’s. In other words: in some districts the stakes are even higher for these EOC exams. When students are competing statewide for college admissions, Bright Futures scholarships or any other scholarship, we shouldn’t have such a discrepancy. This is high stakes testing accountabaloney at its finest and is not fair to Florida’s public school students.”
The special case of Algebra 1, the highest stakes assessment of all:
“We believe, in a standards based system, tests could be written to assess essential Algebra knowledge without making students cry.”
https://accountabaloney.com/index.php/2016/05/12/what-is-the-goal-of-the-algebra-1-eoc/
“The high stakes attached to the Algebra 1 EOC (and the rest of Florida’s state mandated assessments) are real, they lack common sense and, unless they are addressed, Florida will never have a valid accountability system.”
https://accountabaloney.com/index.php/2016/02/04/algebra-1-eoc-ridiculously-high-stakes/
Remember, this will be the first season of school grades under our new Commissioner of Education, Richard Corcoran. Will his department focus on celebrating success or highlight the “failures?” Either way, we suspect, there will be the familiar smell of accountabaloney.
We suggest you spend time with your children and grandchildren. Celebrate their real successes and unique abilities. Calling out the accountabaloney can wait (it isn’t going anywhere soon!).
Happy Summer!