Category: Data

Rebranding the TN Department of Education

8/18/2014

Remember the bid for a PR firm that that TN Parents wrote about in the spring? The TN Department of Education desperately sought the help of marketing professionals to fix their dreadful image. Well, obviously, a firm was hired and is working their makeover magic because there's a monumental difference in the propaganda coming out of the TN DOE lately.

First, check out the TN DOE website makeover:

BEFORE:
(website screenshot from March 2014)

The old website had an overcast, almost foreboding, grayish blah color scheme. Kevin Huffman's name and Governor Haslam's picture were both prominently displayed at the top of every page. Photos on the page included important people posing with other important people. Like the other government pages, the watermark at the top and bottom of the webpage showed mountains, which could imply the federal Race to the Top program that everyone hates, or it could be interpreted to mean that East Tennessee is more important than the flat land in the western part of the state. Take your pick.

AFTER:
(screenshot from August 2014)

As you can see, the new website has lots of changes. There are large pops of happy colors and candid pictures of cute kids. There's a tab for "community". Gone are the banners with Kevin Huffman's name and Governor Haslam's smirk on every single subpage because maybe that expensive PR firm realized that people's blood pressure skyrocketed every time they saw it. Or maybe, just maybe, this is a foreshadowing that Kevin Huffman may not be around much longer? Momma Bears can only hope! Also missing from the new webpage are the smoggy mountain images. We guess we are not racing to the top anymore now that the entire $500 million prize we won is spent?

It is kinda funny how the new website says, "We've redesigned and reorganized our site from the ground up with you in mind." Gee, thanks, for keeping me in mind, when in all honesty, we are sure that the only thing on your mind was: "How On Earth Do We QUICK Fix This Awful Image Problem That Governor Haslam and His Appointed Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, Have Created Before Election Time in November So That The Governor Gets Re-elected And We All Keep Our Jobs?"

And, of course, this dishonest image is still on both websites:

Because that is the ONLY thing that the Governor has to cling to. TCAP scores this year were flatter than a puddle of water on Tennessee asphalt in August. There is no miracle, not from Common Core, not from this new RTI2 mandate, not from the awful teacher evaluation rubrics or TVAAS system, and most certainly not from giving a chunk of our poorest public schools to charters through the ASD because those schools are lower than ever.

TCAP scores weren't even released in time for student's final report cards in the spring because they had to adjust the cut scores, take out the non-common core questions to boost scores, and figure out a way for this new PR firm to triage the massive outrage and somehow put a positive spin on the dismal results.

Here is why that claim of "Largest Growth on 2013 NAEP" is not truthful:
The Governor and Huffman keep saying it everywhere they go, and probably even mutter it in their sleep, but they neglect to mention one ginormous fact: TN passed a new law the year before the 2013 NAEP test which drastically changed the pool of students eligible to be tested for NAEP. This new law prohibited 3rd graders in Tennessee from being promoted to 4th grade if they were not proficient. So, for the first time in TN history, 3rd graders were not socially promoted to 4th grade. The low-scoring students were left behind in 3rd grade! Voila! Don't let the non-proficient kids in to 4th grade to take the test and you magically lift the whole state's average score compared to other states in the nation!
(A note about NAEP tests in case you don't know: the NAEP is given every 2 years to randomly selected 4th and 8th graders in every state in the nation. It is required by the Federal Government to get our federal tax dollars for our schools. Click HERE and HERE to read more about the NAEP and how is manipulated to suit politicians).

Next, NEW Emails from TNDOE:
I Heart You soooooooo much!!!

Subscribers to the TNDOE weekly emails noticed a big difference in the weekly emails, too. Prior emails were cold, factual, and condescending. The paragraphs were blocky and had the attitude of "Do This New Policy Or Else".

The new email sent to subscribers last week had hearts, smiles, friendships, relationships, unicorns, and rainbows. (Okay, so not the last 2, but we're not exaggerating about the difference being night and day.) Here's an excerpt from the new email:

See? They are not meany-pants dictator bullies... They are a "team" wearing cute matching shirts and holding signs of love! (Bonus points to those who can pick out the former Teach For America overpaid staff).

Another big change to the emails is that they are now being sent through Mailchimp, which is an email service that allows the sender to track opens, clicks on links, reports, etc. The TNDOE loves, loves, loves data so they are probably in data heaven.

Save the best for last, a special LETTER:
U R MY BFF 4EVR! <3, Bill XOXOXO

Tennessee teachers were shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you! - last week to receive personalized emails from the Governor himself. These letters were addressed to their first names, which left some wondering if they are now considered friends with the Governor. Bill (we can call him by his first name now, right?) wrote about the way he traveled across the state and had 12 secret meetings with pre-screened teachers and how he listened, oh how he listened, and he just loves teachers and wishes he could pay them more but he has to take care of corporations first. Okay, so Bill didn't blatantly say that in the letter, but if you read between the lines and know the recent news, it is what our friend, Bill, really meant.

We bet someone from that fancy new PR firm wrote the letter anyway. Bill doesn't write letters. He certainly won't respond to any of ours. Of course, he has staff that sends out blanket responses because Bill does not have the time to correspond with commoners unless you are pre-screened and agree with Bill's views.

Not all teachers were fooled by the use of mail-merge fields or by the use of their school email address to try to gain their vote for Bill in November. Other candidates for Governor certainly don't have the luxury, ability, or staffpower to send personalized blanket emails to teachers using their school email addresses, but Bill does. (Click HERE if you want to see one of those blanket letters Bill sent to a TN teacher)

So, what has changed within the TNDOE?
Nothing. Zip. Zero.

The same people are still doing the same jobs at the TNDOE and they have the same intentions of forcing Common Core on our children, requiring high-stakes tests on our children, punishing and firing our children's teachers based on our children's test results, and crushing our children's public schools to expand more charter schools in TN so their friends can make big bucks.

The difference is that our tax dollars are now being spent on the best Public Relations Firm our tax money can buy with the goal of fixing the horrible image of the TNDOE, Commissioner Kevin Huffman (for as long as Bill keeps him around as a puppet), and the person who just happens to be up for re-election in November: Bill.

Lipstick on a pig, anyone?

Coming up in the next Momma Bear blog:
HIDE & SEEK - THE TNDOE hides Common Core
See how the new PR firm has removed the toxic name from TNDOE's vocabulary to fool people

Oops. We Changed Our Minds.

4/28/2014

We Momma Bears recently had a chance to climb out of our caves and do some reading in the bright, spring sun. We finally had a chance to read through all those SCORE emails about Common Core--and we are here to announce that we have officially changed our minds:

We now believe that our children will only reach the highest levels of self-actualization if they are exposed to the wonders of these miraculous standards. You may be thinking "What the heck? Seriously? Am I being punked? Is it the end of the world as we know it?" but please hear us out....

Here is our ever-so-insightful reasoning:

1) We have on good authority that Common Core standards are so potent that they will counteract any and all of the negative affects that child poverty may have on learning. Your student didn't sleep last night because he/she was too hungry? Don't worry! Teach them to decompose a number and all will be well.

2) We now understand that the best way to teach a child grit and tenacity--character traits developed by CCSS--is by throwing them into the proverbial pool because they will teach themselves to swim! No typing courses required in the state of Tennessee? No problem. After countless hours of testing on computers, they will eventually train themselves to tearfully hunt and peck their way to a 3-sentence paragraph in kindergarten before they can even read! And they will have developed grit and tenacity. And all will be well... unless they score poorly on the test... because if they score basic or below, they'll sadly finish kindergarten designated one or two years behind grade level. So, the big question is: When will pre-k testing start to better quantify that all kids should learn at the same pace? Better yet, can you start testing them as toddlers? Surely there is a way to rate a toddler's grit and tenacity based on their tantrums.

3) Common Core is going to close the learning gap! Even though the standards were raised and the gap might be wider, inspirational rubrics will overcome closing grade level performance. But, not to worry... your failing scores will put you in the bottom 5% of performing schools and your school can be closed, leaving you all sorts of charter school choices (who all do the same scripted Common Core lessons, give lots of tests, and are staffed by cheap, unqualified, temporary teachers with no experience so it really doesn't matter which one you pick... or which one picks you, because the charter schools can legally kick out the kids they don't want and there is nothing you can do about it).

4) Your child is disabled? Learning English as a second language? Well, finally your child will be tested and be instructed just like all of their peers! No more accommodations for the weaklings! Sink or swim. Hey, it is a dog eat dog world. Kids that can't cut it will be called "factionless" and left to live outside the 4 pillars of our society (just like in the novel & movie, Divergent).

5) Please bring us even more CCSS! Please tell us you haven't forgotten Science and Social Studies! We need some new and harder ways to learn these subjects too. Because right now nobody cares about the untested subjects. Testing can return a focus on the entire educational experience (if tied to teacher evaluations, of course). Everything needs an aligned to a test! Be sure to include art, music, and physical education! Can you please figure out a way to test recess? We bet the government can even figure out some method to test how our kids eat lunch and then use their scores to fire cafeteria workers. Oh, and don't forget Sex Ed! Make it as graphic as possible, we don't even care how young the kids are when they learn it.

6) We want brand new untrained teachers to teach it. We know it is tough trying to squeeze that budget tighter each year and still pay the executive salaries & benefits for the administration at the top of the food chain. Get rid of all those hard-working, stay-in-the-profession-forever types. Who needs them? Bring us the Teach for America robot drones. Five weeks of training is more than enough to prepare new college grads without education degrees how to be the excellent teachers that children deserve. Never mind their classroom management is the pits. Kids will overcome with grit and tenacity. Those Teach for America drones are climbing their career ladders, bless their hearts, and we are happy to let our kids be stepping stones for them as they aspire to greatness as future charter school operators with unlimited salaries, or as well-paid administrators in the TN Department of Education or U.S.Department of Education making decisions for lots and lots of children because a mere 2 year stint as a classroom teacher magically qualifies them for that.

7) Please, give our kids the PARCC test AND the SBAC test. Yes, let's do BOTH of the new Common Core tests in our state! Arne Duncan will be so happy with us that he will wet his pants!!! We know we don't have the money for all this expensive testing, but do it anyway. It will be worth it. Also, force our school systems to buy lots of new Microsoft computers and software for these tests. We'll afford it somehow. You must force these national common standards on our offspring and future generations. Cram it down our throats with expensive advertising through TV commercials and radio ads paid for with our own tax dollars. Would it be too blatant to plan for a Superbowl commercial? You're right, maybe that is too over-the-top. Here's a money-maker idea, advertise to our kids in the tests! Put brand name products in the test questions, we don't mind if you market to our kids because they are future customers in the global economy. Our kids need to know what brand of shoes, beverages, or toys to beg us for.

8) Please spy on our kids through the Common Core tests, benchmark assessments, and surveys. Sneak them in while they are on the computer so parents won't know and it is a big, happy surprise to parents if they find out. Track how frustrated our kids get with questions that are obviously trick questions. Count how many clicks they make with the mouse before they give up. Use the laptop camera and video them to look at their facial expressions. Don't be sneaky about it, go ahead and just blatantly ask our kids personal questions about their lives. Heck, ask them personal questions about OUR lives. We parents just love to spit our milk out at the dinner table when our kids tell us how they were asked non-educational questions that day at school like: who lives with us, how many bedrooms our house has, if our child has a TV or computer in their bedroom, if our child is bullied because of their sexuality, if they have used cigarettes or drugs, if they drink alcohol, and so forth. No question is off-limits when you label it "data." And even though some Americans may say those questions are a violation of privacy or that it is "nunya beeswax," we know that it really means that the government loves us.

9) Be sure to keep track of our children's personal information in a giant database. Transfer and store it on "clouds" because clouds sound safe and happy (like that bonus land in Super Mario where Mario can't get killed, he just jumps around getting coins). Internet safety doesn't worry parents one bit. We don't mind that our bank accounts were hacked through Target and that nothing is ever truly secure on the internet. Hackers wouldn't want innocent kids social security numbers, would they? Why would future employers or colleges or marketing companies want our children's information, anyway? Well, we're positive the government and these corporations that have lucrative contracts with the government will keep our children's personal information safe because they love us and our kids. Besides, if there is a security breach, we'll never know. Ignorance is bliss. Share our kids information with whoever you want without parental consent. We Momma Bears have read the Race to the Top Application to the Federal Government, so we know companies contracted with government are already legally tracking our kids all the way from their "cradle to career." The FERPA law protects the government and those businesses and makes it all perfectly legal to do it without parents even knowing about it. So, go right ahead and stalk our kids. Parents won't think it is creepy. We know you love us.

Please make all of this as hard as possible on everyone. Keep pushing all of these awful reforms on our children despite the many parents and teachers who are freaking out and complaining...
...because if you do, the wheels will continue to come off.

And Momma Bears can continue to get electorate buy-in that TN Governor Haslam's education policies are rotten and based on greed. More immersion in our children's classrooms will convince more voters that Haslam and his appointed Commissioner of Education, Kevin Huffman, both need to go. More complaints from parents, teachers, and students will open more eyes, and we can get people to the voting booths in November to get the politicians who have voted against our children and our public schools out of office. It could be the best thing politicians & reformers have done for our state. Truly.

A Creepy test --- PARCC

2/26/2014

Someone sent this video to Momma Bears and it freaked us out. We transcribed the video for you below.

Feb. 5, 2014 - Dr. Peg Luksik explains how Common Core testing can embed questions that result in behavior change without protest from the children. Poughkeepsie, New York

Question from a Mom in the audience:
"I'm trying to understand because I thought that PARCC and the Smarter Balance, with both, it sounds like as the student is taking it, the test will actually modify itself to how the student is doing? And when the test results comes back, that would be to the benefit of the student? So why is it then that the teachers don't like it if it is self-paced? Wouldn't you think that would be wonderful?"

Dr. Peg Luksik's response (as transcribed by a fast-typing Momma Bear):

"The problem isn't that it is self-paced, the problem is that the test is open to manipulation."

So if I wanted to look like the students are doing poorly, I can adapt it to make the test harder. If I wanted to make it look like the students are doing well, it can be adapted to make the test easier. And you, as parents, or taxpayers, or policy-setters, will never know which way the test was adapted because it is an internal mechanism so it is not a valid assessment, and that is the fundamental problem with it. The test is being manipulated as the test is being taken. In other cases, when you're not in math but some of the other areas, history or where it is more philosophy-driven, you have to comply before you can move on. So the child is put in the position of: "you must agree."

"I don't agree with the global warming." (giving an example) But you have to because the test won't let you move on unless you comply.

So the test-makers can make the test adaptive: we can make it easier... we can make it harder... or we can make it so that we force compliance. You can't take the next step unless you comply with whatever is being taught or presented in the test. So even if you don't agree with it, you are gonna have to write it, you're gonna have to say so.

Perhaps an example that is older will help you... I have a long history in this movement. This is not the first time that the federal government has attempted to take over education. So in the 1990s, it was called "Outcome based education" and then called "School to Work." I was one of the leading national opponents then, too. I got involved because a woman showed me a test. It was given in Pennsylvania and was called the Educational Quality Assessment (EQA). It was originally given back in the 70's and early 80's. The test said "Citizenship" so parents thought they were testing things like George Washington and the Declaration of Independence... but when you looked at the internal documents of the test, which I did, it said "we're not testing objective knowledge," it said "we are testing and SCORING for the child's threshold for behavior change without protest" and that was in the test!

A sample question said: "There's a group called Midnight Marauders and they went out at midnight and did vandalism. I, the child, would join the group IF..."
... "my best friend was in the group."
... "my mother wouldn't find out."
There was no place to say they would NOT join the group. They had to say they would join the group.

Another sample question was, "Your parents just found out that they are moving to outer Mongolia, how much time would you spend on each of the following:"
..."being upset"
..."crying"
..."arguing"
So, how adaptable are you to change?

Based on the results of the EQA, districts were given curriculum packets to modify their curriculum so that the children would do better on the EQA the next time. So they were using the test to get a threshold for behavior and then adapting.

Now that was a paper and pencil test, so to say that it was easy to track is a gross overstatement of the level of difficulty that it was to get the information, but compared to a computer adaptive test... much easier.

And when we were fighting Outcome Based Education, I was in every state but Hawaii. And in one state I was reading the Assessments, it was a Reading Assessment, and it was a story about a child who found a wallet and there was money in the wallet, and what do you do with the money. I'm sitting in the Department of Education, reading it in front of the other Secretary, because they didn't want me to make a copy and take it anywhere, which was fine, and the question was to the child:

"If you found a wallet with money in it, would you take it?"

(pause) Do you read better if you say "yes"? or do you read better if you say "no"?

Or were they testing a child's honesty on a State assessment with their name on it that was computerized? Because, with paper and pencil, I could find it.

What if they put that in a computer test? and if they don't give the right answer, I can change the computer to move them in the next direction.

So, the computer adaptive testing is REALLY dangerous for our children. Because the State can manipulate achievement data by making the test harder if they want, or easier if they want, but you won't know... you'll just get "proficient" results.

Or they can use the test to test for, and then influence, what your child thinks and how your child thinks about a variety of topics. And, again, parents thought that was a Reading test. They didn't know that "honesty" was being tested on a paper and pencil State Assessment with their child's name on it that is now part of their record.

And no child would think to say (raising hand), "Is that a Reading question?" Children just answer the questions in front of them because they're KIDS. They just take the test. THAT is what they are using the test for. Computer Adaptive makes that so much easier, and, therefore, so much more dangerous.
(end transcription, emphasis added by Momma Bears)

The PARCC test will be a State mandated test for Tennessee students in 2014-15. Some unlucky students will get to take the "pilot" PARCC this spring. No, they aren't flying an airplane... it means those students gets to be unpaid guinea pigs for the testing company (Pearson). Parents probably won't be asked permission for their children to take the trial test, so unless they ask, parents won't even know their child is being given this pilot PARCC test. Their children will miss precious class time to take a test that doesn't count for anything (except to help Pearson profit).

Will the PARCC have questions about honesty or character?
We don't know. We will never know. Parents and teachers are never allowed to see the questions. Test security is tougher than Fort Knox. In fact, a teacher in Memphis was fired last year because a high school student snapped a picture of a test question and put it on facebook. So, unless children mention the strange test questions to their parents, we have no clue. That's how Momma Bears found out about the awful Climate Surveys in TN (which, thanks to parents raising heck, have been stopped this year until parents give written consent. Go, Momma Bears!!!) And that's how parents in New York found out that the PARCC included questions with name brand products embedded in them.

Why does the government want to know this stuff about my child?
Admit it, you think Momma Bears are a little cuckoo for thinking that the government is spying on your children's brains and wanting to know their character traits. It does sound like something you'd see in a sci-fi movie. But you cannot argue with official government documents. We didn't write it, the government did. So, we give you facts. This document published by the U.S. Department of Education says:

"What will it take to shift educational priorities to promote not only content knowledge, but also grit, tenacity, and perseverance? This is an important and exciting time to stop, take stock, and prepare to move forward. New and emerging trends in research, policy, programs, and technology are providing unprecedented opportunities... new research programs are exploring ways to promote these factors. Several private foundations have recently initiated programs to push the frontiers of theory, measurement, and practice around these and related factors, particularly for at-risk and vulnerable students. In national policy, there is increasing attention on 21st-century competencies (which encompass a range of noncognitive factors, including grit), and persistence is now part of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.(page V)

Take the time to read that government document from the U.S. Department of Education. It is super-creepy!
p.39 has a Character Report Card
p.44 has pictures of the student sensors (facial cameras, pressure monitors, wrist straps, etc.)

And also take time to read the TN Race to the Top Application, Appendix C
(It is also an official government document, but it was written by consultants paid for by Bill Gates). It, too, will freak you out majorly to learn that they are compiling a 360 degree view on every child in public schools in TN, and they will share that information with the Federal Government and 3rd parties.

What if I don't want my child to take the PARCC, SBAC, State Mandated tests, or District tests?
Currently, there is no "Opt-out" law in TN. There is a proposed bill sponsored by the very awesome Knoxville Representative Gloria Johnson (she is also a teacher). If that bill passes the Legislature and becomes Law, parents would have the right to make the decision for their child (Ummm... so the government owns our kids, and parents have to get legal permission to prevent them from taking a test that could be harmful??? Momma Bears disagree with that!). The Pearson testing company sure doesn't want Rep. Johnson's Opt-Out bill to pass, and their 8 well-paid lobbyists are pushing hard to prevent it from passing. Now a half-a-billion dollar fiscal note has been added to the bill, because if students don't take the test, the federal government won't be happy and will want the $500 million back from the Race to the Top grant (which is really our tax dollars in the first place!) Crazy. Our kids in TN have a half-a-billion-dollar testing bounty over their heads. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

Use the magic word:
If you want to "opt-out" of testing for your child, be sure to use the word "REFUSE" instead. It seems to work for parents who have used it in TN. If you use the word, "opt-out," you'll be told the Attorney General says you cannot legally opt-out (which is true because TN does not have an Opt-out law. Yet.). Crazy, huh? Refuse is the magic word.

What if I keep my child home on testing days?
Some parents do that and it works. However, the testing windows to administer state mandated tests last a few weeks because there aren't enough computers to test every child at once. Testing must be done in shifts and this takes a long time. Plus, there are make-up test days following the test window weeks. That's a LOT of unexcused absences for a student.
Note: We're not saying you should lie and say your child is sick those days, because lying is dishonest, but your child could possibly be reported for truancy for having that unexcused absences. Crazy, huh?
Another negative: the State mandates that the test count as 15%-25% of the child's grade on his/her final report card. So, depending on your district, your child will be given a zero averaged in with his other grades. In most districts, this means 10% of their English grade will be counted as a zero, and 10% of their math grade will be a zero, averaged in with their semester grades.

Some parents in other states have had success with this method of "opting out":
Withdraw your child from school the day of testing. After the testing window is complete, re-enroll them in school. This method is a big hassle both for the parent and for the school personnel. And you'll need to figure out childcare arrangements since they won't be at school. But it prevents the test from being given to your child, prevents the zero being a part of his/her final grade, and means you won't be reported to DHS for truancy or unexcused absences.

Time to use your Superhero power:
Call and/or email legislators as soon as possible and let them know that you support these bills:

Testing Opt-Out (HB1841/SB2221): “This bill permits parents to opt their children out of participation in high-stakes testing.”
Repeal Common Core (HB 2332/SB 2405) This bill would Repeal Common Core Standards in TN!!!
Postpone Common Core (HB 1825 /SB 1985) requires the state board of education and the department of education to postpone any further implementation of Common Core State Standards beyond those standards implemented as of June 30, 2013, until further implementation is approved by the general assembly.

We will even put their email addresses here to make it easy for you:

HOUSE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE PHONE & EMAIL:
Harry Brooks 615-741-6879 [email protected]
John DeBerry 615-741-2239 [email protected]
John Forgety 615-741-1725 [email protected]
Roger Kane 615-741-4110 [email protected]
Harold Love 615-741-3831 [email protected]
Debra Moody 615-741-3774 [email protected]
Joe Pitts 615-741-4575 [email protected]
Dawn White 615-741-6849 [email protected]

FULL HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Contacting your elected officials from your own District is a SUPERHERO power, too!
Click here to find YOUR Legislators: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/

Not sure you have the guts to contact legislators?
They won't bite, we promise. The TN Parent website has some great tips on how to do it effectively. Click HERE to visit the TN Parents Take Action website

Not with my kids, you don't!!!

1/28/2014

Some parents in Tennessee were SHOCKED to hear what their 5th grade children were asked at school. And it wasn't asked by another student. It was asked by the STATE of TENNESSEE!

A furious TN mother tells this story:
My 5th grader took the PARCC practice today. Then she said they logged out of the PARCC writing and opened up a survey that asked if they have ever done drugs. One question we all were puzzled with - and I keep thinking- maybe she remembered wrong... "Have you ever been bullied for being nonsexual?" She did not even know what that meant. It was awful.

Our mouths were wide open as she poured out these grave details at dinner. The kids were all laughing and giggling and the teachers had to keep redirecting them to the survey. One girl was so struck by this question she fell out of her seat and rolled on the floor with giggles. They did not know what it meant. They thought it was funny. Then the questions - did you smoke pot? Do any drugs? Drink? They were all giggling and wondering what would happen if they all answered yes.

My husband and I were horrified.

There were questions my child did not want to answer and tried to skip. But, the computer made them answer something before moving on. This is troubling to me as well.

So WHY were children asked these questions???
Well, the Tennessee Department of Education was awarded a discretionary grant from the U.S. Department of Education to "support district and school measurement of, and targeted programmatic interventions to improve, conditions for learning." (Note: Momma Bears have come to realize that a "Government Grant" ALWAYS has strings attached. It means they will do things that we wouldn't allow them to do without the grant money as bribery, like Racing to the Top, common core, and paying outrageous salaries to "consultants"). Tennessee is one of 11 states that were awarded this grant, but Tennessee is the only state that has developed its own survey to determine conditions for learning and that intend to "connect academic data to the conditions for learning data."

Anyway, this grant awarded by the US Department of Education (that's important to note, file that in the back of your head) paid for a slick website, some people to create invasive surveys to anonymously collect personal information about our children, and staff to run the program. Government wastefulness and invasion of privacy at its finest, ladies and gentlemen! (Click HERE to see the website for yourself)

What were those questions that had students giggling in embarrassment and parents blushing in horror?
Momma Bears found the surveys. There are 2 different surveys (Middle School & High School), each containing 88 personal questions. We couldn't really tell a difference between the 2 surveys, other than the title page.

Asked of 5th graders:
"During this school year, how often has anyone called you an insulting or bad name at school having to do with...
...your sexuality?"  (These are 10 year old children!!!)
...your religion?" (None of the government's business!)
...your weight or physical appearance?" (Are you trying to give the kids an inferiority complex?)
...how much money your family makes?"  (Again, none of your beeswax, government!)

"In the last 30 days, I...
...used or tried tobacco products"
...drank alcohol"
...drank five or more servings of alcohol in a row"
...used or tried maijuana"
...used or tried other drugs or substances to get high"

"I think that...
...students are sometimes distracted in class because they are drunk or high." (some children don't know what "high" means!)
...it makes me uncomfortable when other students bring drugs or alcohol to school or school-sponsored events." (really? well, let's just plant some ideas in their young minds!)

And, in case students don't know what these terms mean, they go ahead and educate them by including all sorts of examples at the top of the survey. If your child didn't know they could sniff products to get high, they sure know now... Thank you, government!

NOTE:  Not every school district in TN is giving these climate surveys (Click HERE to see if your county does) This climate survey is NOT a part of the common core PARCC testing. It just happened that this school gave both the climate survey as the same day as the common core writing assessment.

Click HERE to download the Middle School Climate Survey
Click HERE to download the High School Climate Survey

Did we mention that PARENTS WERE NOT NOTIFIED OR EVEN ASKED FOR CONSENT BEFORE THEIR CHILDREN WERE GIVEN THESE SURVEYS? Sorry, Momma Bears isn't yelling (although, we're pretty steaming mad over this!). That part in capital letters is very important. Because, you see, the State of TN and that school have broken a law.
(Note: The Mom above is unsure if she or her husband gave permission at the beginning of the year with all the registration forms they signed. If they did, they certainly did not understand the types of questions that would be asked of their child.)

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) clearly states that parents must give WRITTEN consent BEFORE any surveys funded by the U.S. Department of Education are given to minor children:

The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232h; 34 CFR Part 98) applies to programs that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). PPRA is intended to protect the rights of parents and students in two ways:

It seeks to ensure that schools and contractors make instructional materials available for inspection by parents if those materials will be used in connection with an ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation in which their children participate; and

It seeks to ensure that schools and contractors obtain written parental consent before minor students are required to participate in any ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning:
1. Political affiliations;
2. Mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student and his/her family;
3. Sex behavior and attitudes;
4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior;
5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers; or
7. Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program).
Parents or students who believe their rights under PPRA may have been violated may file a complaint with ED by writing the Family Policy Compliance Office. Complaints must contain specific allegations of fact giving reasonable cause to believe that a violation of PPRA occurred.

For additional information or technical assistance, you may call (202) 260-3887 (voice). Individuals who use TDD may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339. Or you may contact us at the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920

(click HERE to visit the US Department of Education website where we found that law)

Okay, so some parents may be thinking... "What's the big deal? It is a rough world out there. Those kids will learn about illegal drugs and sex soon enough." Well, some parents have conservative values and we don't want our children exposed to these topics at this age or in this manner. Parents should be the ones doing the educating about those issues, not the government. Parents should be the ones to decide when that time is right for their child.

And some parents may be thinking... "What's the big deal? Those were anonymous surveys so they aren't really collecting personally identifiable data on my child." Someone is collecting that information to use for some purpose. And the time spent taking the 88 question survey is time that our kids could be learning. Anonymous or not, Momma Bears are suspicious of surveys given to our kids. Momma Bears has another personal Demographic Survey that we bet you didn't know about, and this one has each student's name directly tied to their answers:

THE PLAN PRE-TEST ASSESSMENT:
The PLAN PRE-TEST is given to 10th graders in TN to predict how they will do on the all-important ACT college entrance exam. These are definitely NOT anonymous. When students take this PLAN test, they are asked about an hour's worth of demographic questions. Parents aren't allowed to see those questions, but our children told us there are questions about: religious denomination, class schedule, address, GPA, Honors, if your parents are divorced, who do you live with, ethnicity/race, etc. Like the computerized climate surveys above, students could not skip questions they didn't want to answer. Not only are there personal questions, districts can also develop up to 30 local questions to add to the demographic survey part. (Click HERE to read more about the PLAN).

It is important to note that:

A business could never ask those questions of someone applying for a job.
Adults have more protections than students do.
The penalty for breaking the PPRA law is a slap on the wrist.

Where is this information going? Who knows. Is it safe? Nothing is safe these days. Even major retail stores, like Target, and major Banks can't keep personal information secure. In fact, click HERE to see some scary security violations with students' personal information recently here in Tennessee schools! Yes, prisoners had access to private student information.

GAGGLE:
Another thing Momma Bears needs to warn you about is something called "Gaggle." In some districts, students in TN are required to sign up for a Gaggle account. This sounds like a neat program for safe online learning, but it gets a bit suspicious when they won't allow parents to have their child's password to see what is going on. Even creepier, Gaggle has a "Human Monitoring Service." Its website says that Gaggle's HMS team has "uncovered bullying, drug use, threats of school violence, teen depression, suicidal intentions, and abusive domestic situations." So, strangers are snooping on our children's private information, but parents can't see it? Unless a formal Law Enforcement Request is made, HMS data will be released only to the district contacts, and not parents. (Click HERE to find out about Gaggle)

What can you do about it?
Be vigilant, Momma Bears! Send a letter to your child's teacher and principal stating your child is not to be given any surveys or sign up for any online learning programs without your written permission. Ask to see the survey or program before you give permission, and be sure to ask who has access to the information. Before you sign anything, read the fine print.

Momma Bears, protect your babies! It is a scary world out there!!!

Added 1/30/14:

Has your child been given an inappropriate survey without your consent? or required to join websites that parents are not allowed access to? If so, Momma Bears wants to hear from you. Please contact us privately through our website's contact form: http://www.mommabears.org/contact-us.html
A group of TN parents are considering a class action lawsuit.

UPDATE BLOG to this inappropriate Climate Survey blog:
http://www.mommabears.org/blog/update-inappropriate-climate-surveys-in-tn

Rebranding the TN Department of Education

Oops. We Changed Our Minds.

A Creepy test --- PARCC

Not with my kids, you don't!!!

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