Category: Legislators

Vouchers are stuck on a desk

2/12/2016

You've probably already heard the great news that the voucher bill is probably dead for the year. If you want more detail about how Representative Dunn (who is the poster boy politician for out-of-state organizations funded by billionaires who want to privatize public schools) dramatically teared up when he pulled his bill from consideration because he knew he did not have enough votes for it to pass, then click HERE to read the news.

Dunn, with tears in his eyes, claimed that anti-voucher people only called him about the money not about the kids. Um, we have to point out the elephant in the room: his campaign and lobbyists are getting paid big bucks, paying people to show up and speak about vouchers, giving away yellow scarves to anyone who will wear them. Meanwhile, parents and teachers (like us Momma Bears) were working for free to stop it. Money matters to who? This is for the kids.

Anyway, after Representative Dunn's crocodile tears, his quoting scripture, and his pull on people's heartstrings lamenting the poor kids in Memphis that he claims his vouchers would save (ironically, the same poor children he won't lift a finger to push for adequate funding for their starving public schools), he at last brought his 4 year-old voucher bill to the clerk's desk. (cue funeral dirge music)

From what we understand, the clerk's desk is a vast dark hole. Once a bill is placed upon it, only a vote from 50 Representatives can get it off the desk to be voted upon again with 24 hours notice. This is intriguing to us, this desk...
Does it become piled up with stuff people set upon it?
What happens if the clerk spills his coffee on it?
Can he pick the bill up and put it on another desk or does that take 50 votes, too?
Is the desk a big giant pile of stuck bills that stay stuck forever?
Or does he have a nice file cabinet to put these lame bills in?
What are the odds of bills stuck there ever getting out?

Perhaps the greatest question we have is...

Can we put the TNReady paper test on the clerk's desk, too? Please oh please???

Before you throw a celebration party, know that this bill is not dead yet. We are watching to make sure it stays lost in the pile and not horse traded for something else. Representative Dunn is pretty sneaky and so are the many lobbyists in Nashville whose job is to get vouchers in TN. (Remember how the bill was rushed through committee when key members were absent?) So, we're happy the bill is stuck, but we're still very skeptical. Even after you cut the head of the snake off, it can still bite you. And there is always next year, the money flowing into campaigns to elect pro-voucher legislators has already started.

Speaking of money. We have heard that if you compile all the money spent on pushing vouchers over the past 4 years in TN (including the salaries of the lobbyists [lobbyists make big bucks, and there are a bunch of them], campaign contributions to politicians, PR, etc.) the grand total would be over $8 million.

$8 million spent to "help" 5000 potential voucher kids in Memphis? We can't help but imagine if that $8 million went to the current public schools of those students to implement smaller class sizes, to put more support staff in the buildings working with the students, and to providing support services to address the crippling poverty these kids face every day and will still face if they attended private schools on vouchers. Now THAT would really make a difference. Such a shame, such a shame.

Alarming info about TNREADY testing bomb

11/22/2015

Tick-tick-tick... is your child READY? Because they are about to bomb a major high-stakes test called TNREADY. When we say, "bomb," we mean fail.

This year, the state of TN is spending more money than they've ever spent before on a brand new test. Well, it isn’t actually a new test, but more like a recycled test since TN leased the test questions from Utah’s old SAGE test. Anyway, they stuck these expensive questions from Utah in a confusing test platform created by a company in North Carolina, and are now rebranding it as homegrown in TN. This test is called TNREADY.

Teachers across Tennessee kept alerting Momma Bears to concerns about the new TNREADY test. They said TNREADY is intentionally confusing for students, way too advanced for each grade level by several years, they said their schools have been and will continue to be disrupted by the testing schedules and lack of adequate technology, the teachers worry that higher numbers of students are predicted to fail it, and they complained that TNREADY requires even more precious class time to prepare for and administer than previous tests.

So, some of our Momma Bears bloggers spent a precious Saturday taking the sample TNREADY tests and trying to get answers. Here is what we observed on the Sample TNREADY computerized tests:

Difficult to read passages: A tiny 4-inch scroll window to read long passages of text. This requires good mouse skills and eye tracking. (see pic below) Students with knowledge of how to expand the reading pane using the little tab in the middle, and collapse it again to get to the test questions, will fare better. This format isn't like any of the internet sites or reading apps that most children are accustomed to; they will need to be taught how to navigate those tools for the sole purpose of taking this test.
Tiny window for the test questions: It was barely large enough to show all the answer options, and not large enough to show the “RESET/UNDO” buttons at the bottom of the question unless the student scrolled lower. See the photo below to understand how students are supposed to write an entire essay response in a text box that is about 4" square. Typing, mind you, which elementary students aren't fluent in doing; their hands aren't even large enough to reach all the keys properly. So, they will be hunting and pecking letter keys to write an essay in a box the size of a cell phone screen.
Distracting numbers on ELA test: Bold paragraph numbers along the left margin of the text passages.
4 Quite distracting
5 if you're trying
6 to read something.
7 Isn't it?

Read 2 long passages on the left side. Then write a freaking essay in that tiny box on the right. Do your best!

Wasteful of time and mean: We wasted 5 whole minutes of our lives reading a long, dull passage, but there wasn't even a question about it. That was the little kid test too! Just plain mean to do that to elementary aged children. Will it be that way on the real test? We'll never know since the test questions are top-secret, even if we ask for them. Teachers aren't even allowed to see the tests, and if they do and talk about it, they could lose their jobs.
Technology issues: The mouse was jumpy and the cord got in the way. This was on a laptop computer that was 1-2 years old.

Cumbersome mouse gets in the way of the scratch paper

Slow internet: This was at a school that was fortunate to have more wireless routers and newer computers than other schools in the district. It took considerable time for each passage and question to load. Schools with lots of students testing are prone to overload the system and have slower test connections. As one principal rightly remarked, “It is wrong to hold teachers accountable for the little spinning wheel while students wait for the test to load.”

Waiting for the answer choices to load.

Number lock button: How many students know to unlock the number pad for the math test? It took one mom a few minutes to realize why her numbers weren’t working because her home laptop doesn't have a number keypad lock key like that laptop did. Some students might know this keyboard trick, but kids without this same type of computer in their homes or classrooms are at a disadvantage. Cross your fingers and hope the person before your child didn't push the button down.
Confusing format: The “Done” button doesn’t mean “done with the question”… it means done with the whole test, and it exits the entire test if you click it. You have to click “NEXT” to stay in the test and go to the next question. How many times did one tech-savvy Momma Bear accidentally exit this 6-question test? Three times. Three frustrating times. Grrrr... Now multiply that times a classroom of kids. We see why teachers are concerned.

What is that white circle icon?

Strange icon buttons at the top of the test: We never really did understand the purpose of the square button with the circle in it. It seemed to make portions of the screen black if you clicked it and then dragged on the arrows on the margins. One teacher told us it was to “isolate” text for students who had trouble focusing. But teachers aren’t allowed to do it for students, so the student, who has trouble focusing, must focus enough to click that icon, drag it himself to the passage, and must then know how to click the tiny little X at the top corner to exit that tool, otherwise, the child won’t be able to see the rest of the question. It sounds like more trouble than it is worth. How many kids will click that button accidentally or on purpose and struggle trying to figure out the test?

This is what happens when a student clicks the white circle. Teachers may not help students navigate or exit this feature.

"Highlight" instructions: (see pic below) The question clearly says “highlighted” but do you see any highlighted words in the picture below? Nope, they are underlined. True, the underlined parts turn yellow when you scroll over them, but semantics, people. Our kids deserve correctness on such an important test. Think literally like a child. Even worse, you HAD to scroll over it because in one text, the whole paragraph was underlined but when you scrolled over it, it was really three highlighted sections. How many 3rd-5th graders are going to count for all 5 spots to answer before clicking the "Next" button?

No "highlights" in this passage. They are underlined, not highlighted.

Couldn't pick the answers we wanted to: This question below was impossible to answer because of the screen size. It wouldn’t let you drag and drop this answer choice to the 2nd slot because it wasn’t on the visible part of the screen. Yes, we could have put it in the 5th slot and then scrolled up and moved it, but then again, we’re tech-savvy and all from years of playing Tetris and packing diaper bags. Could a 9 year-old child figure this out easily?

Students should drag choices from the box at the bottom and put them in number order. Except it won't work.

Couldn't drag and drop this last box's sentence up to the empty #2 slot because it was not shown on the screen. Savvy students might be able to figure out how to move #5 back down, then scroll up, and then re-arrange. But what a hassle!

What the heck did we do? Ever seen a three-tiered fraction? Well, we somehow made one on the 3rd-5th grade test. Not sure how that happened.

Not sure how we got our fraction answer to look like that on the 3rd-5th grade sample test.

Multiple Choice Fakes: So, the TDOE claims that TNREADY is way better than the A,B,C,D multiple choice TCAP tests were. But the whole test is filled with the same concept of pick one of 4 choices! (see pic below)

Multiple choice. Pick A, B, C, or D without actually using letters.

Questions for younger grades were way too difficult. Seriously, these multi-step word problems were like what we remember seeing on the high school ACT college entrance exams. Except, this was for 3rd-5th grade children!

WHY???
We question the real reason for this test. Is it to test what children learned in a grade level? Or could it be testing children’s grit, frustration levels, and perseverance? Are they trying to make kids cry? Will the student give up or keep testing? Are these online assessments collecting data points to assess character traits? That’s crazy to consider… but then you read this paper from the Federal Department of Education, and you get a sick feeling in your stomach. These are children, for goodness sake! OUR children. It is not okay to screw with their heads. It is not okay to frustrate them with a test that is too difficult for them. It is not okay to label them as failing due to a stinking test that nobody is allowed to see. Crushing their spirits with mind-numbing, developmentally inappropriate tests and robbing them of the joy of learning is abusive.

Even worse, the cut scores of these tests are set in secret AFTER the tests are administered. The cut scores are set so that a certain percentage of students will be in the bottom failing tier no matter what. No matter what, kids will fail, even if they all magically answer nearly all of the questions correctly. What is that percentage for Tennessee? We're willing to bet there's already a number in some ogliarch's head of how many advanced, proficient, and failing kids there will be on the TNREADY. Don't believe us? Tennessee did it last year with the TCAP writing test when they only allowed 100 students to have "perfect scores" on their tests. TN Commissioner of Education, Candice McQueen, is already predicting that scores for TNREADY will fall across the board.

You know which students will be in that bottom failing percentage category? Sadly, it is the poorest, most vulnerable students in the state... the ones that don't have parents who can afford tutors... whose parents don't understand this confusing Common Core math to help their children... students in communities with high crime, high poverty, and instability... students who speak little or no English... students with learning disabilities... students who are hungry because they didn't get breakfast that morning or dinner the night before... Those students will fail, their schools will be labeled as "failing," and will be handed over to charter school vultures to profit from. It is a vicious cycle of failure leading to the pocketbooks of those at the top of the food chain. These tests serve a purpose. Once you understand that, it makes you furious to see how students, teachers, principals, districts, and the media play right into their hands like pawns.

All of this testing madness begs the question…

What are we gonna do about it?

The TDOE says parents can’t do anything. Every child (except their own that are in private schools) must take TNREADY. Districts that allow parents to opt-out/refuse are at risk of losing desperately needed funding from the state. The state sent out this official memo to districts to bully parents. It says parents may homeschool or choose private school if they don’t want their children taking state mandated tests. So, there are your options: homeschool or private school. Is that okay with you? A group of APPOINTED people are saying this, by the way… The TN Board of Education, all appointed by the Governor… The Commissioner of Education, Candice McQueen, appointed by Governor Haslam… even the Governor’s family won’t put their kids in public schools. Why is it okay for the rest of us "commoners" then?

Okay, so back to the million dollar question…

WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT???

You can try refusing/opting-out. You will be told you can’t. Yes, that’s bull-poo-poo. They are your children and the Constitution is on your side. Even so, you'll be told you can't.

You can tell your child not to take the test. This method puts the burden on your child to refuse. Will they obey their parent... or obey their teacher? We don’t like this option, but it is better than nothing. This year, refusing the test shouldn’t hurt student report cards because the TDOE won’t even have the scores back to the districts in time for final report cards (NOTE: the test scores will still hurt teacher evaluation scores). The TNREADY scores are supposed to be sent to districts in October. That’s way into the next school year! How helpful is that to parents and teachers? Not at all.

Okay, so that’s one option. The other, for those of you that have the means, is to withdraw your child to homeschool during the testing windows. If you don’t want to go that extreme, you could schedule annual doctor appointments, dentist checkups, etc to get excused absences. The monstrous problem with that is that the TNREADY testing windows are ghastly long… Nearly 2 whole months of testing! We’re not kidding. Click HERE to see the testing windows for TNREADY set by the TDOE are:
February 8 - March 4 for Part I of TNREADY
April 18 - May 13 for Part II of TNREADY
April 25-May 6 for the Science TCAP (given on paper)

We don’t like that option, either. Missing school isn’t what is best for students. Parents in other states have the right to Opt-Out, but Tennessee does not (It's a long story involving expensive lobbyists paid for by the testing companies and generous campaign contributions to politicians...grrrr!). Other states have massive Opt-Out movements over tests just like the TNREADY. Other states are demanding change in testing by opting-out/refusing the tests. In fact, over half-a-million students opted out of state mandated tests last year in the U.S.A. So you can see that this high-stakes testing problem isn't isolated to Tennessee.

Alas, it looks like our hands are tied, parents. There's nothing we can do. Better just shut up and pretend this isn't happening, right? Sorry, Governor Haslam, today is not your lucky day. Even though our hands are tied, our voices are not. And parents, your voice is your strongest weapon to protect your child. You must use it. You need to call, email, visit, and royally bug the stew out of your elected officials until this mess goes away. Do the pestering politely, of course. But they need to know that voting parents are very concerned about this. Legislative session starts in January. The time to act is now.

Here’s a list of folks to contact:

school board members for your district
Superintendent for your district
Elected House Representative click HERE to find yours
Elected Senator click HERE to find yours
Governor Haslam! (gets most of the blame for this because he appointed the people who are making these awful mandates!)
TN State Board of Education (appointed by the Governor) click click HERE to contact them

Contact those important people

Lest you think this is an over-reacting Momma Bear rant, we give you this alarming fact:

We were told that 70 teachers in one district recently took the practice 3rd grade Social Studies test (you have to have a password to access that practice test). These were excellent teachers with over 50 of them being Level 5 teachers (the highest rating a teacher can get). Of these 70 excellent, college-educated teachers, how many of them PASSED the 3rd grade Social Studies practice test?

Take a wild guess.

ONE.

One single teacher passed the 3rd grade Social Studies practice test out of 70. One! If adults can't pass it, third grade children don’t stand a chance!

If that isn’t a huge red warning flag to you, then you must be squeezing your eyes shut and plugging your ears.

Still in doubt? Go to this link and see the sample TNREADY questions for yourself. Start with the 3rd-5th grade questions for English or Math. Or if you’re really fearless, attempt an older grade level’s test questions. There are only 6 sample questions for each, you have time to do six measly elementary questions, right? You’re smart enough to read this far in our blog, so you can surely answer half-a-dozen elementary standardized test questions...

Go on, try it. We’ll wait right here and hum the Jeopardy theme song while you do it. Take your time...

Brutal, huh? Did the test questions load quickly for you or did you get the spinny time wheel like we did? Were you baffled by the MIST testing layout and multi-step questions? Are you wondering how young children with little or no keyboard training, who have trouble opening a milk carton without spilling milk, are expected to navigate a keyboard and mouse just like a doctoral student? Remember, teachers’ jobs are on the line for this test. Your child’s test scores are a major part of their job evaluation scores. The stakes are high, and your children feel it. Better hope they are tnREADY.

We've heard from many teachers who said students were upset or cried during the practice tests in class. Teachers told us that their SPED students tended to lose hope and give up during the tests, so they just randomly click through the questions to get finished. Teachers confided to us that some of their brightest, most advanced students have tears running down their faces when they try to complete test questions covering material they haven't been taught yet. Students complain of stomachaches and headaches. Students have barfed on tests before. If that happens, don't fret, because there's a handy-dandy testing procedure to follow to save the test.

Parents, we must speak up. You know too much now. You know this is wrong. This testing obsession is harmful to children and wasteful of their time.

Share the sample test questions with your legislators and school board members. Show them this blog. Ask them to just try a few questions, and tell them to remember when they or their own children were 8 years old. Better yet, ask them to proctor a test or try to take the real test.

Okay, Momma Bears, Poppa Bears, GrannieBears, and GrampaBears, here is YOUR homework:

Contact that bright red list of important people we gave you up above in this blog. Make some noise! Be louder than the TNREADY radio advertisements that the Governor’s fake parent group is broadcasting in districts where citizens are speaking against the testing. Be bolder than their fancy billboards, more compassionate than their overpaid lobbyists, and more convincing than their slick colored pamphlets. We can do this!

TNREADY or NOT... HERE WE COME!!!

Update:

We heard from parents of SPED children who were extremely concerned about how the new TNReady test will affect them. So, we reached out to some of our most voracious Momma Bears, the SPED advocates and we have a new blog for you.

Update 11/24/15: Momma Bears wrote a blog for parents of SPED students with IEPs. Click HERE to read it.

Hide & Seek: TNDOE hides Common Core

8/19/2014

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Our last Momma Bear blog focused on the external makeover of the TNDOE: website, email, and Bill's staff's letter to teachers. However, there was one huge difference that deserved its own blog. Did you catch it? Take a look at their new website, again, in the previous blog and see if you can tell what is missing:

Do you notice anything "common"?
Bingo!!! All references to Common Core have been removed!

You'll see plenty of the word, "CORE," because of TNCORE. They can't really eliminate "TNCORE" because they have a whole different website devoted to it with its own logo and all. Obviously, the TNCORE website hasn't gotten a makeover yet because Bill's picture is still at the top along with Kevin Huffman's name just like on the old website:

But notice that even this TNCORE website doesn't even mention the word, "common," on its main page. You have to play hide & seek with your mouse to find the actual words, "Common Core," anywhere at all on the subpages. There is also no ketchup-mustard-onion-swirl Common Core logo:

Does that mean we aren't doing Common Core in Tennessee???
Oh, don't we wish! Unfortunately, there are lots of people making lots of money on this Common Core gravy train, so it is still chugging along the tracks full-steam ahead whether parents and teachers like the direction the train is heading or not.

Here is what the TNDOE has sneakily done, they have renamed the Common Core standards to:

 "Tennessee State Standards" 

Teachers told us that this renaming quietly happened over the past year. Teachers and Common Core coaches have been told to call it by the new name from now on and not to use the words, "Common Core" to avoid controversy or conflict. The name is toxic.

We are not stupid. Taking "common" out doesn't make it any less "common". It doesn't change the developmentally inappropriateness of the standards one bit.

Wait, can they do that???
Now, everyone knows that Tennessee didn't write these standards. Even so, our state is branding them as their very own, which any English teacher can tell you is plagarism. Some would even consider it "stealing," "theft," or "lying" to take someone else's property and put your name on something you didn't write. Whatever you call it, it is undeniably sneaky and underhanded. If the owners of the Common Core don't object to it, (and why would they? they just want the standards implemented no matter what it takes) Tennessee can do it.

The TNDOE thinks that by not using the toxic name people won't be so upset. Think again. It is even more infuriating to know they are blatantly trying to trick us, isn't it?

So, what can we do about it, Momma Bears?
Our elected officials need to hear from parents and teachers. Contact your State Representative and Senator and politely tell them you don't want Common Core in Tennessee no matter what they call it or how they sugar-coat it with fancy marketing.

Click HERE to find your legislators and send them a quick email, make a few quick phone calls, or even handwrite some letters (We've heard that snail-mail letters are the best at getting their attention). You could even make an appointment to meet with your legislators when they are in town and bring your kids along!

The Legislative Session in TN doesn't start until January, so we're stuck with the Tennessee State Standards (aka Common Core) until then. Now is a crucial time to contact legislators because November is prime time: Elections.

Our elected officials need to hear from you, parents. Most legislators' children are grown or in private schools; they are out of touch with what is really going on in public schools. They get biased information from highly-paid lobbyists who work for organizations funded by corporations that profit from Common Core and other lucrative reforms like charter schools. It is up to you, parents, to use your voice to advocate for your children and their education.

And, for pete's sake, be sure to vote in November!!!
There are candidates running for Governor against Bill in November. He scared away many candidates with his massive campaign warchest, but there are some underdogs still in the game. Their chances are slim since they are all waaaaaay outspent by corporate millionaire Bill... but it could happen! If every informed parent in TN voted and/or if every teacher in TN voted, it is entirely possible Bill could be defeated. Two of Bill's candidates are opposed to Common Core and the federal takeover of our public education system. Here are links to more info about them:

Shaun Crowell, Constitution Party
Isa Infante, Green Party

Remember:

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Time to Roar Even LOUDER!

3/15/2014

As you contact state senators and ask them to support the House's overwhelming vote to delay further implementation of CCSS and PARCC for 2 more years, be sure to reach out to legislators about other bills that are coming before the legislature this week.

Tennesseans Reclaiming Educational Excellence (TREE) has a short post about the voucher, for-profit charter, and state-charter authorizer bills that will be voted on this coming Monday and Tuesday. If passed, these bills will further deplete our schools of resources, make profit more important than our children, and remove a locally elected school board's power to determine which publicly funded, private schools can be approved by a district. (It is not surprising that Education Commissioner Huffman is also supporting these bills.)

Please click on this TREE link and fill out the very short electronic form that will send emails out to legislators, letting them know that you oppose these bills.

Stop the Tennessee Testing Madness also has a legislative alert on the the following bills. Parental Notification of Testing (SB 2404), Reimbursement for Common Core Tests (SB 2057), Testing Opt-Out (SB 2221), Parental Review of Materials/Opt Out (SB 2559).

Please click on this Stop the Tennessee Testing Madness LINK and follow the instructions to contact committees about your SUPPORT of these bills.

Momma Bears appreciates all of these parent advocacy groups keeping up with what is going on in Nashville at our General Assembly. Show your support Momma Bears and ROAR! You are making a difference.

Thanks to the Union City, TN Momma Bear who sent us this image.

Silencing our voices

2/28/2014

A post from one of our smartest Momma Bears:

A bill has been introduced in the TN legislature that would allow city councils/commissions to remove funds for lobbying from school district budgets. (HB 2293/SB 2525). This would set a dangerous precedent because it would allow a municipal-level, elected body to dictate how another municipal-level, elected body uses its money. If some councils/commissions decide to exercise this veto authority, they would effectively silence our voices in the halls of the legislature because these lobbyists represent our elected school boards who, in turn, represent us--the voters. And once our voices have been silenced, the lobbyists from wealthy groups intent on destroying public education will have free reign in the halls of Legislative Plaza.

If you are wondering why a school district/board might need lobbyists, look no further than what is happening with StudentsFirst (SF), a group founded by Michelle Rhee who also happens to be the ex-wife of Tennessee’s Education Commissioner, Kevin Huffman. The Sacramento.-based organization backs charter schools and vouchers and is funded by donations from extremely wealthy individuals, corporations, and foundations—including the Gates and Waltons. SF currently has an office in Nashville, along with 8 lobbyists.

There are other similar lobbying groups in TN, (who don't have you or your children's best interests at heart) including the following:

Tennessee Federation for Children: Supports charter schools and vouchers. 5 lobbyists.
TN Charter Center: Supports proliferation of charter schools. Employs 8 lobbyists.
Stand for Children: Supports charter schools and vouchers. Employs 2 lobbyists.
Beacon Center of TN: Supports vouchers. Employs 2 lobbyists.
Pearson, Inc.: Publishes Common Core materials and tests. Employs 1 lobbyist.
K12 Inc.: Runs K12 for-profit virtual charter school. Employs 5 lobbyists.

(Go to this link https://apps.tn.gov/ilobbysearch-app/search.htm to find documentation of these lobbyists.)

Why do local school boards need lobbyists?
School board members in TN are part-time positions and these representatives do not have the time to follow all of the bills that are going through the legislature. They need the help of lobbyists to help them keep track of bills that directly affect their schools and constituents. And just in case you are keeping score, here are the lobbyists school boards/districts use in our state:

Coalition of Large School Systems: Represents Shelby, Nashville, Hamilton, and Knox County school systems. Employs 2 lobbyists
Tennessee School Board Association: Represents all school boards who pay dues to it. Employs 1 lobbyist.
Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents: Represents interests of school board directors who pay dues to it. Employs 3 lobbyists.

Final score:
StudentsFirst & Company = 31 lobbyists!!!
School boards/districts = 6 at the most.

As you might suspect, StudentsFirst, Stand for Children, TN Charter Center, and other groups reportedly support these bills. They apparently have no problem suppressing the voices of our elected officials and, subsequently, our voices in the legislative process—especially when the views expressed by these officials run counter to their agendas.

(Note: All Momma Bears are volunteers. We are concerned parents who do this solely because we care deeply about public education.)

Please email or call the members of the Local Government Committee ASAP.
(This bill is up for a vote at 12:00 on Tuesday, March 4th.)

You can cut and paste the text of this letter into your email:

Dear Local Government Committee,

We urge you to vote against HB 2293 that would allow city commissions and councils to veto lobbying expenditures in school district budgets. This would set a dangerous precedent because it would allow a municipal-level, elected body to dictate how another municipal-level, elected body uses its money. And, if some councils/commissions decide to exercise this veto authority, they would effectively silence our voices in the halls of the legislature because these lobbyists represent our elected school boards who, in turn, represent us--the voters. This seems to be an effort by a group of well-moneyed special interest groups to silence the voices of elected officials and voters. We believe passage of this bill would further remove our government and education system from the will of the people and place it almost solely in the hands of the wealthy and powerful elite. Please hear our voices and vote against HB 2293.

Sincerely,

And you can cut and paste the following emails into your email:
Rep.matthew.hill@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.richard.floyd@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.dale.carr@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.vince.dean@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jeremy.durham@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jimmy.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.jeremy.faison@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.steve.hall@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.andy.holt@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.sherry.jones@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.antonio.parkinson@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.mike.sparks@capitol.tn.gov
Rep.mike.stewart@capitol.tn.gov

***UPDATE to this blog: Click HERE to see how many other lobbyists we forgot on this list!

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.

Paid Common Core Cheerleaders???

2/25/2014

Momma Bears just got an email from TN Parents and we agreed we need to share it with our followers:

Who is picking up the tab for the Common Core Cheerleaders?

The Common Core coaches in TN have all been summoned to the Capitol to support Common Core and the PARCC test.

These Common Core coaches (who all received a very nice bump in salary and job title) will be absent from their teaching jobs with their students during the school day to be in Nashville. How many days? We are not sure. We do know that substitute teachers have been booked to cover their classrooms. We are unable to find out who is paying for the cost of the substitutes, but we have a feeling that it is our tax dollars footing the bill.

Like the atmosphere of the Senate Common Core hearings in September, seats will be reserved in the committee chambers for these Common Core Coaches. Ordinary citizens will be stuck in the remaining seats on the back rows or watching the committee broadcast on the screens in the hallway.

It is important to note that the jobs and big salaries of these cheerleaders, as those of the corporately-funded and well-paid SCORE organization, and the Chamber of Commerce businesses who stand to profit from Common Core (like Ingram) all depend upon Common Core and PARCC happening in TN. They are there for the money.

It is also important to note that the parents and teachers stuck in the hallways and/or those who couldn't get a paid day off from work to be there but are watching online, are very much against Common Core and PARCC. They are fighting for the children.

Just keep that in mind, Legislators, when you see all those glossy stickers across their chests from SCORE and hear their cheers of "rigor." They do not cheer for our children.

from: http://www.tnparents.com/2/post/2014/02/paid-common-core-cheerleaders.html

Last year, some of us Momma Bears attended the 2 days of Senate Education Committee hearings about Common Core. It was a wild story (you can read about it HERE if you'd like). We Momma Bears felt so out of place, having never been to anything political like that before. We learned a lot and we sure saw a whole lot of generously paid Common Core cheerleaders wearing those "glossy stickers" (TN Parents got those words from our Momma Bear blog!) Anyway, that trip was before our blog really took off and before we'd recruited more Momma Bears.
(Can you believe our last week's blog post got 245,000 hits over the past 5 days? and 20,000 likes on facebook?? We're thrilled! Thanks for reading and sharing, everyone!)

One of our Momma Bear teacher friends has some friends who were hired as Common Core Coaches. They told her that they make at least $10,000 more per year, plus travel expenses. And they also told her that "coaches who attend training and express "unsavory" remarks about CCSS are quickly asked to leave, essentially "fired" from the position - no stipend."

WARNING: MOMMA BEAR RANT:
GRRRRRR!!!! That is NOT the kind of atmosphere we want for our children's teachers. We want teachers who are leaders, not followers! We want teachers who are unafraid to speak up to do what is right for our children. This Common Core garbage is being forced on our children because of MONEY. We must get it out of our schools!!! They are picking on the wrong Mommas here in Tennessee!!!!

We gotta do something about this, Momma Bears!
Now, we know most of us are well past the acceptable age to wear any type of cheerleader attire, but it is time for Momma Bears to take action and root for our children:

Please 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.”
Funding for State-Mandated Tests (HB1826/SB1986): This bill requires that the state pay for any future state-mandated tests. This is important because many districts and schools are having problems finding the funds to pay for Common Core/PARCC testing.
1-year Waiver of PARCC High-Stakes for Teachers (HB2043/SB2122): This bill, “…prohibits use of results from the first year of student assessments based on common core standards to be used for teacher evaluations or for promotion, retention, termination, compensation, tenure or other teacher employment decisions.”
1-year Waiver of PARCC High-Stakes for Districts (HB 1975/SB 2102): This bill prohibits the use of scores on the PARCC/Common Core testing to evaluate districts during the 2014-2015 school year.
Reimbursement for Common Core Tests (HB 2290/SB 2057): This bill requires the state of TN to reimburse school districts for any costs related to purchasing and implementing Common Core testing (PARCC) and standards.
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.

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

Vouchers are stuck on a desk

Alarming info about TNREADY testing bomb

Update:

Momma Bears unofficial survey:

Hide & Seek: TNDOE hides Common Core

Time to Roar Even LOUDER!

Silencing our voices

A Creepy test --- PARCC

Paid Common Core Cheerleaders???

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