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Poppa Bear:  Why the dumb tests???

3/27/2014

 
What would you do if you found out your high achieving honors student was spending time in English class learning how to remove grass stains from dirty laundry rather than reading classic literature? This Poppa Bear was disgusted, so he contacted Momma Bears and told us all about it... 
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Dear Momma Bears:

    I recently learned that my busy high schooler was forced to use class time to take an on-line test called Discovery Education Assessment (DEA). I had to hear this news from my child because the school did not send home any notice or information about the assessment. While driving home, I got an earful of frustration and complaints about a test already administered twice this year. Now for the third time, an entire class period was wasted on a meaningless assessment that apparently does nothing for the student. It does not affect their grades or prepare them for the ACT or SAT. 

    It was particularly disconcerting to hear my child complain about questions on how to clean laundry stains and Beyonce. After we got home and I took my blood pressure medicine, we had a long talk about what was going on in school. 

    My child has a full load of honors level classes, stays up late studying, and gets up early to be at school by 7:00am. In education, the time is short but the road is long--lots to learn and not enough time. Every minute spent on meaningless assessments is cheating our children out of the education they need to make it in this world. And it every minute spent on homework to make up for that class time cheats my wife and I out of time we could spend with our child. High school flies by, blink your eyes and it's gone. 

    So, what kind of test is so important to poach on precious high school class time? According to my irritated child, it's a bunch of stupid questions about some stupid articles on stupid things like how to remove grass stains, hybrid cars, water conservation tips as well as a smattering of literary excerpts. As an English major, it pains me to see such little regard given to literature where only excerpts are used and not the entire text. I am concerned as to who actually selected the passages contained therein and whether or not the author of the test was qualified to draft the questions. And given that my child is enrolled in an honors level English class, it leaves me bewildered as to why passages such as removing grass stains and Beyonce were used to assess my child's reading comprehension skills.  There was certainly little, if any, time spent testing the use of literary devices or probing the student's ability to think in the abstract. 

   To bring this full circle, I am disgusted by this waste of my child's instructional time. This test has nothing to do with furthering my child's education and only functions as an impediment to my child's education.  It leads me to suspect ulterior motives behind this test. Is someone conducting marketing research? Why else would they want to know if laundry instructions were easily understood by the reader? Let the marketing teams do their own testing on their own time and stop leaning on my children's teachers to proctor such non-productive tests.

                                                     Sincerely,

                                                    An Upset Poppa Bear


Momma Bears would like to thank Poppa Bear for bringing this assessment to our attention. After investigating Discovery Education, we found out he has good reason to be upset. DEA is yet another Pear$on product paid for by our tax dollars. Based on DEA results, students are pulled from class and placed in front of a computer screen for "remediation" of their weak areas. This on-line remediation is called RTI (Response To Intervention) which means more money for Pear$on and less time students spend with classroom teachers.

Poppa Bear is also right about DEA being of little value to students. According to one review, "High school course-specific assessments are also available, as well as a large bank of test items for creating customized district assessments. These are not diagnostic assessments. Reports show students performance in benchmark categories which are very general only covers the grade level of the student so it does not provide any out-of-grade testing. If schools want to use this to guide differentiated instruction, it would not be sufficient. Nor would it be sufficient to really help a classroom teacher. Teachers would/should already know their students' general strengths or weaknesses so the reports' summative information wouldn't be that helpful." 


The Discovery Education Assessment that this Poppa Bear was talking about:
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We sure wish that our leaders would TRUST TEACHERS to teach and evaluate students instead of mandating boring assessments and computerized interventions.

Danger: Inappropriate education website for kids

2/28/2014

 
Momma Bears received this info from a Mom:
My 11 year daughter informed me of a Common Core website that her class has to get on to read an article and take a quiz on afterwards. The assigned articles are harmless however the teacher allowed them to read other articles when they were done testing. She happened upon an article about a transgender boy winning homecoming queen. It explained that he was taking medicine to change his hormones without his parents knowing. I am in the process of talking to the school about this. My fear is that this will become mandatory and the articles tested on will be up to the teachers or worse the government. I try to keep my kids "kids" as long as possible. I am outraged at the whole idea of Common Core. It seems to take our children's childhood away. So much time frustration, testing, and stress. Not to mention the material they see that we as parents don't get the opportunity to read. Is this a slow indoctrination? The website is called: www.newsela.com and, by the way, this article that she read was under the kids section. Crazy huh?
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Momma Bears checked it out...  
Newsela is a website that has news articles for students grades 3-12.  Students can change the Lexile score of each article for different reading level.  It is all Common Core aligned, of course.  There are even quizzes for students to take about each article after they read it, and the score is sent to their teacher.  Students must create a username and password, or students may use their Google Apps for Education login information.  You don't have to register to view the articles (the first 4 are free), just to take the quizzes. 

Sure enough, that article is right there in the KIDS section if you scroll to the bottom:

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And here's another one you might not want your 3rd grade child reading:
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And, if that's not bad enough, this article bashes parents:
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The NewsELA website tells children to:
  • Read closely.  
  • Think critically.  
  • Be worldly.
There are plenty of articles about global warming, some about legalizing marijuana, a few others about gay rights, and lots of articles praising President Obama.  Momma Bears do not believe issues such as these are appropriate for elementary or middle school children.  

How does Newsela choose the articles?
Their website says: "Our editorial team chooses articles that are timely (often breaking news), worldly (we balance domestic US stories with international coverage), and substantial (you won’t find Justin Beiber and his pet monkey in Newsela). We are very deliberate in distributing alignment of articles across a range of Common Core standards."

Did you catch that last sentence???  They are "VERY DELIBERATE in DISTRIBUTING alignment of articles across a range of COMMON CORE standards."  Gee, ya think???

And if distributing isn't enough, they QUIZ the kids after they've read it to reinforce the biased, inappropriate material they just read.   
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So, who is funding this "educational courseware" that is "transforming the way learners access the world through words" and is, of course, aligned with common core? 
 
Go ahead, we'll give you 1 guess...

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Bingo!  Bill Gates 
Newela "won" a $100,000 Literary Coursework Challenge grant.  "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is investing $6 million in web-based courseware to support students in mastering the Common Core State Standards for literacy at the 4th–8th grade levels." 
(Click HERE to visit the Bill & Melinda Gates website that proudly shows how they're throwing their money at common core, including this company.)  Bill Gates isn't the only source of revenue, there are lots of sugar-daddy foundations wanting a piece of this profitable pie.  

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Momma bears kept digging and turned up this dirt...
Newsela's founder, Matthew Gross, "led the development of EngageNY.org, a web application providing teachers and administrators with resources for implementation of Common Core state standards and teacher and principal evaluations."  Congratulations, Matthew Gross, for the worst and most perverted implementation of Common Core in the entire nation!  Parents are furious to learn that the www.engageny.org website (a website you developed for the NY Education Department with tax dollars, and which your commissioner John King bragged about for all the high traffic it was getting) contained horribly inappropriate links for students to "quizzes" to find out if they are a "slut," "a se*y b***h," "a freak," or "losers."  Who knows how many children innocently clicked on those links and were asked questions we won't even print here.  You'll have to click on the link to read them yourself.  (That would explain the insanely high website traffic on the State of NY's website.)  


WHO IS PROTECTING OUR KIDS???  

Certainly not these profit-seeking creeps.


NOTE:  Please don't write Momma Bears about gay bashing, global warming, or Obama.  We actually are quite open-minded people with friends who are gay.  We respect that.  As parents, our choice is how we shelter our kids and introduce adult concepts.  We don't want our young children exposed to those topics about sexuality at school, especially not in elementary school.  These internet-based educational websites are circumventing parents, and THAT is what we have the biggest issue with.  

What can you do about it, Momma Bears & Daddy Bears?

  1. Ask your children's teachers if they use the Newsela website.  If so, send a polite note to them saying your child is not permitted to use it.  
  2. Talk to your school board members to tell them of this inappropriate "educational tool" and make sure it isn't being used in your district.
  3. Contact your legislators.  Forward them this blog if you want.  Tell them you sure don't like this common core crap.  But don't use the word "crap" (even though it is the truth).
  4. Ask your kids what they are doing in school.  We're sure this isn't the only biased "educational tool" out there.  School districts are pinching pennies to make ends meet, so free or cheap "tools" like Newsela are awfully tempting, especially when everything is required to be aligned with the common core corporate standards.
  5. Be vigilant.  Always watching.  Pay attention to what your kids are being exposed to.  Don't trust that they're safe just because they are at school or that a teacher is monitoring these online websites.  
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Time to use your PARENT 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 if you live in Tennessee:

HOUSE EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEE PHONE & EMAIL:
Harry Brooks 615-741-6879 rep.harry.brooks@capitol.tn.gov 
John DeBerry 615-741-2239 rep.john.deberry@captiol.tn.gov 
John Forgety 615-741-1725 rep.john.forgety@capitol.tn.gov 
Roger Kane 615-741-4110 rep.roger.kane@capitol.tn.gov 
Harold Love 615-741-3831 rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov 
Debra Moody 615-741-3774 rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov 
Joe Pitts 615-741-4575 rep.joe.pitts@capitol.tn.gov 
Dawn White 615-741-6849 rep.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov

FULL HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
rep.harry.brooks@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.john.forgety@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.raumesh.akbari@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.kevin.brooks@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.jim.coley@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.john.deberry@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.bill.dunn@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.roger.kane@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.ron.lollar@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.harold.love@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.debra.moody@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.joe.pitts@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.dawn.white@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov 
rep.ryan.williams@capitol.tn.gov 

SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE EMAIL:
sen.dolores.gresham@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.reginald.tate@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.steven.dickerson@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.charlotte.burks@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.stacey.campfield@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.rusty.crowe@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.joey.hensley@capitol.tn.gov 
sen.brian.kelsey@capitol.tn.gov 

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

A Papa Bear Speaks Up:  Engineer Dad Explains Concerns for 7th grade Common Core Math

2/15/2014

 
On Facebook these days, talking about our children’s homework has become sport. We wonder who is writing the common core curriculum and how they come up with some of the content? Everyone is comparing notes. Generally we see our teachers and school integrating common core with as much creativity as they can while still keeping some school academic traditions that the students look forward to each year that might not be on the “to-do” test list for common core. Seems more and more though, if it is not on the test, it gets dropped from the lessons. But, who can argue with higher standards? We are optimistic. But, up till now we have taken a wait and see position on whether common core is as good as they say.

We are not political. We are just reasonable. As a family we are probably a typical public school family with kids who excel in the system. Generally grades are good. Every now and then we see some 100% in TCAP categories. We diligently communicate with our teachers and we are very strict about completing homework and trying our best. Sounds like the model family any teacher would want? My wife and I are both public school graduates who are college educated. I have a chemical engineering degree. Math is my thing. And I enjoy helping my children with math homework. But, this week revealed to me a disturbing trend in math curriculum - vocabulary.

My son had been struggling. So we took on this week’s lesson with a little more hands-on approach and were puzzled with what we saw. On the math vocabulary list were “Constant of Variation” Defined as: a constant ratio in a direct variation AND “Direct Variation” Defined as: the relationship between two variable quantities that have a constant ratio.
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"When two variable quantities have a constant ratio, their relationship is called a direct variation or a direct proportion.  The constant ratio is called the constant of variation."  (Page 405 Common Core math 7th grade textbook published by Pearson).

This is absolute mush.  Made up for the sake of introducing words into math.
I have had plenty of math in my time, and have never heard of a "constant of variation" or "direct variation" in either engineering school or in my work as an engineer.

The text's authors have attempted to string together some meaningful math words to try to define a simple concept of proportion. The concepts of proportions, and functions and relationships are very vital in understanding algebra, but I think if I was a student I would be lost in the mush.  I thought maybe I'm out of touch, but you can't even find these phrases defined in Wolframalpha. Is this what is meant by “common core aligned”? To integrate made-up words so we believe them to be true? Guess Wolframalpha is not aligned?

A big part of the problem, if I understand the issue, is that this common core initiative is pushing all this standardized mush onto the teachers and taking away all autonomy and creative skills the teachers bring to the class with their diverse students. Somehow the belief is that if we integrate language arts into math, we will somehow strengthen our language skills? Nice idea. But, not with made-up words. I wonder if I would have become an engineer if language arts were a part of my K-12 math education?

So here is my attempt to verbalize and over-explain in the common core style of math written expression:

“If you were to graph the creative flexibility afforded our highly educated and maximally qualified teachers over time with common core, you would find that both the first derivative of the function and, most alarmingly, the second derivative of the function, are negative. There is no point of inflection as the function approaches infinity (i.e., increasingly decreasing teacher autonomy, with no turnaround in sight.)”

Look at the actual list of vocabulary (in picture above). Some words are viable. But, don’t make up stuff just to make us think we are going deeper or to give our kids an excuse to write in math class. 

If this what we have signed on to with Common Core, I now understand why so many parents are asking for its repeal. Parents who are really paying attention lose trust in the idea common core is better. I understand this curriculum has not been field tested. So it makes perfect sense to let teachers field test by plucking out the good curriculum content from this mush we have been given in the Pearson textbook and leave the made-up definitions out of mathematics.

-submitted by a concerned Papa Bear in Tennessee


Some other articles about Common Core:
  • Why kids are struggling with Common Core Math:  
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/09/why-young-kids-are-struggling-with-common-core-math/
  • Sandra Stotsky: Common Core's math standards don't add up: http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20140118/Opinion/140129877 
  • Journalist & Parent: Common Core Math Leaves Me Stumped:  http://truthinamericaneducation.com/common-core-state-standards/journalist-parent-common-core-math-leaves-stumped/ 
  • Common Core: 3 * 4 = 11 is Okay (Youtube video):  
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW0VxxoCrNo&feature=youtube




3/10/14 UPDATE:  Momma Bears has received many comments on this blog since we posted it.  Some are from teachers who say this IS Common Core and some comments are from teachers who say it is NOT Common Core.  Some teachers say they've never heard of these terms, some say they have them printed in their textbooks but don't teach them, others say they use them all the time.  One teacher claims that this topic does not appear in Common Core standards until high school, so being in a 7th grade textbook, it was probably published before Common Core and is, therefore, not aligned with Common Core.  One thing is for certain: there is a lot of confusion regarding Common Core and confusing math terms.

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    Momma Bears

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