Category: Refusing Tests

Know your testing rights, parents

2/16/2016

Parents in some districts who are refusing the TNReady test for their child are being told that their child must sit and stare at the test during the entire testing time. That's a very long time to expect students to sit quietly, and it is also wrong. Your district is violating what the TN Department of Education (TDOE) has declared in its own testing documentation.

The TDOE clearly states that students may read a book or do an alternate activity not related to the subject being tested. Here, we'll copy that part for you:

If you are being told that your child must sit and stare, click HERE to download the official document from the TDOE (specifically see p.3 #10). Send that document to your child's teacher, principal, district testing coordinator, school board members, Superintendent, etc. Tell them you expect your child to be able to "read or do other quiet activities not related to the content area being tested."

This method has worked like a charm for parents so far. In fact, we are reading social media posts from parents in Hamilton County who report that one school has over 140 students opting-out! Students at that school whose parents refused the testing will be moved to another room to do another activity instead of test.

Hamilton County has some strong principals who are opposed to the TNReady testing use. In fact, the Hamilton County Principals's Association passed a Resolution stating that Part I of TNReady should be eliminated this school year and also that the scores from this year's testing should not be used for student grades, teacher evaluations, or accountability purposes. Go, Hamilton County Principals! We hope other districts read this and take action, too!

WOW! TN Students Taking Action Against Testing!

1/5/2016

Some students in Tennessee are fed up with testing. They aren't just complaining about it to their friends wishing grown-ups would fix the problem... these students came up with a powerful plan and are taking action!

We found out about these students when someone forwarded their email to Momma Bears. The students sent this email to their teachers and to teachers at other schools:

Dear Teacher:
            As you may have noticed, the quantity and duration of standardized tests have increased astronomically in recent years. We feel that these tests take away from instructional time, waste valuable resources, constrict our curricula, and still fail to provide an accurate measure of progress that would justify the losses they incur. My peers and I have decided to try and change standardized testing policy by creating and supporting a bill to limit the damaging effects of standardized testing. We request that you help us achieve this.
            Attached to this email are a number of relevant documents. First, we have letters for parents and students to help educate them on the situation. Many parents have no idea how all-encompassing testing has become and many students are unaware of what they can do to fix it. Please copy these letters and distribute them to your students. We have written both English and Spanish versions of these letters to ensure that they reach as many people as possible.
            Second, we are providing surveys for teachers, parents, and students. In order to effect any sort of change, we need as much support as possible. Please have your students complete the surveys and bring them home to their parents to fill out. You can send the compiled information from your school to White Station High School either by email or school mail.
            We are also sending petitions to the state representatives of Tennessee asking them to reduce standardized testing. If you think standardized testing is going too far, please add your signature to the petition. Since a more personal approach carries emotional weight, we will also send a contact list for local and state representatives so that you and your students can inform them of your concerns.
            It may seem a bit far-fetched for a group of high school students to try and change government policy, but we are organized, we are prepared, we are united, and we are willing to do everything in our power to reduce standardized testing and reclaim our education.

Sincerely,

Shelby County Students

Pretty brilliant letter, huh? Knowing that there is a large Hispanic population that needs this info, they even translated it into Spanish! They wrote petitions, too, and put them on the internet so they are easily shareable on ipetitions. These kids are serious!

Perhaps these teenagers see the uncanny resemblance to their lives and the teen-fiction movies that have become Box-office hits like Divergent and Hunger Games? They know they are more than a test result.

These students attend White Station High School, a top-ranked public optional school in Memphis. It is an outstanding school. During enrollment season, parents have camped outside the district office to make sure their child gets a spot at this school. The teachers at White Station are known to be outstanding and supportive. In fact, it appears that these students were taught how to advocate in their Civics class through something called "Project Citizen."

Here are the links to their well-reseached and well-thought-out information:

Letter to parents urging action and support to opt-out
Spanish letter to parents urging action and support to opt-out
Petition supporting the OPT-OUT of testing in Tennessee
Petition for a Moratorium against testing
Thorough Spreadsheet of important people to contact including elected officials and media
Their overwhelming district and state testing calendar for Shelby County
Bless these kids! They even know that the state-run Achievement School District is a dismal failure and they wrote a petition against it!
A petition against the time-consuming MAP testing they were forced to take
A parent survey to collect public perception on testing
A student survey to collect student feedback on testing
Signature page for people to print and manually collect signatures

Not only did these students come up with all these documents, they met with elected officials. They want to go to Nashville to speak before Education committees. And they are reaching out to other students across the state!

Momma Bears are inspired by the bold advocacy and determination of this next generation of leaders. Please, help us share this across the state so their spark ignites fires in other students, parents, teachers, and elected officials. These Tennessee students have powerful knowledge of how government works, and they know their voices are powerful if they use them.

Students are going to change the world. They aren't just the future, they are the present.

To find out more about refusing TNReady and other standardized tests in Tennessee,
please visit our website:
http://www.mommabears.org/choose-to-refuse-testing.html

There is even have a special website for students:
http://www.mommabears.org/for-students.html

READY to do something about TNReady?!? For Frustrated Parents and Students:

12/6/2015

The anxiety in Tennessee is reaching a feverous pitch. The undercurrents are sweltering at the dinner table as our children tell us about yet another day of standardized testing or practice testing at school. When talking to other parents, we find out they are upset over all the excessive standardized testing, too. When will this testing madness stop?

The fact is, everyone in TN knows at least one child, if not more, that has been negatively affected by the testing:
…a child who used to love school, but now dreads it because of testing,
…a child who complains of headaches and/or stomach aches because of testing,
…a child who vomited because of the standardized testing.
It is incredibly sad and totally unnecessary.

The fact is, everyone in TN knows at least one teacher, if not more:
…a teacher who quit due to the toxic testing, common core, and not being able to do what she knows is best for students,
...a teacher who is evaluated on Math and English test scores even though they teach subjects like Music, Art, PE, Library, Sports, Science, Social Studies, Mechanics, etc.,
...a teacher who has taught gifted students at the top of the spectrum, but there is little or no room to show growth from last year's perfect or very high scores, so their teacher's evaluation score is low,
...a teacher who teaches SPED students who are meeting milestones and learning life skills, but will likely never reach the impossible proficient benchmarks, so the teacher receives a low evaluation score,
...a teacher of ESL students that don't yet understand our language but are forced to take the same tests as everyone else,
… a teacher whose evaluation score plummeted from 5 to 1, even though she hasn't changed the way she's devotedly taught her students between the years
...every teacher who is forbidden from ever seeing the test questions or answers,
…for the teachers who couldn't help but peek at some of the standardized test questions and had serious doubts about the appropriateness and the correct answers but couldn’t say anything without losing their jobs.

The fact is, everyone knows of at least one family, if not more, in Tennessee:
… who is now homeschooling due to testing and common core,
… who is sacrificing to pay for private school to escape the testing and common core,
… who is seriously considering the above 2 options.

This madness is absurd, and it must stop.

Bless the ones who will step up and say, "No more!!!"

Bless the Knoxville school board members who adopted a Resolution against using TNReady data on teacher evaluations and are asking the state to remove TNReady data from teacher evaluations. They know it is wrong. Bless the other districts who are also adopting the Resolution, too. (Click HERE to see the original Resolution and share it with your school board members).

Bless the teachers who are speaking to parents and elected officials (while praying they aren’t committing career suicide by speaking up) about the harmful policies, excessive tests, and common core. Speaking up is certainly not how one advances on the career ladder or gains job security. So, bless them for risking their careers.

Bless the parents who are saying "not with my children" and refusing to allow their child to take the tests. They do it to protect their children, but also in quiet defiance of a testing system they know is toxic for every child.

Something must be done.

We Momma Bears really don’t want to be the ringleaders. We don’t. We’re not in this for fame or glory, we’re in it for our kids. We’re anonymous for a reason to protect our kids and our sources. Maybe someday you’ll know who we are. Maybe you have already met us and didn’t know it. Maybe you’ll never know who we are. Honestly, if you ever met one of us, we are some of the meekest, mildest, helpful, servant-hearted people who volunteer in our schools and communities. You’d probably never guess that we are rabble rousers. We don’t want to be famous, and we aren’t making a penny at this advocacy, but something is compelling us to keep fighting these injustices. So we research, we blog, we share information. Because something must be done. So, we’re doing it.

As Dr. Seuss so eloquently wrote, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, its not.”

Which brings us to this... Because we are being bombarded, literally, with messages from parents and teachers like this one from a parent:

"So how do we opt out? I'm certain that I want my children to NOT take this test. Now I need to know how I can do it."

and this one from a school board member in TN:

"Good morning momma bears! I am so HAPPY that I found your blog. I am a mother of three daughters that attend a wonderful public elementary school in XXXXXX, TN. I taught for five years before starting my family. Then I decided two years ago to use my classroom experience as a guiding voice on my local school board.
I have become enraged with TNReady! The developmentally inappropriate standards and the resulting high stakes testing that is purposefully setting my daughter up for failure is abusive. I couldn't agree with your most recent post more!
I have asked my superintendent to procure a meeting with Commissioner McQueen. Crickets. No contact from her office. I have made passionate pleas to the other members of my school board to consider further action. My superintendent is appealing to elected officials to have teacher tenure returned to the local decision process (for the teachers in my district this would eliminate the pressure of the test scores impacting their tenure-we could honestly tell them to not worry about test scores).
While I knew this was an important step, I am actually more focused on putting a stop to the TNReady test. The MIST practice test was awful enough for my daughter, and I do not want the (public school) students of Tennessee to suffer anymore!
My superintendent is a fighter and luckily is remarkable supportive in these efforts. Our school system would like to ask the state to grant us a waiver to take another test (preferably the Aspire tests which are aligned with the ACT, because we view the ACT as a fixed test that actually provides real results for our students).
If Comissioner McQueen's own children are not subjected to TNReady, how dare she push this on my child! I could rant for days. I want to simply say that your post made my day. I have been asked to attend a meeting for our district where state education officials are soliciting feedback and I plan on letting it rip. I just wrote a teacher in our system last week, and described my passion in terms of a "momma grizzly bear". I had no idea that you other momma bears had formed a league. I truly see this as one of the most important issues I have ever battled, but I am willingly ready to fight!"

and this alarming message from a Mom who knows this test is set up to fail students, and her child isn't dumb:

"My child is in honors algebra. They took they practice TNReady. They said there were perhaps 4-5 questions out of 30 on TNReady that they felt okay about. The highest scorer in their honors class got less than 1/2 the test items correct."

and quite a few messages from SPED teachers concerned about the TNReady and the new SPED testing mandates. {NOTE: We’re working on a blog about that, too. Just hold your horses, though. That stuff is confusing, and every district is handling it differently, so we’re trying our best to get accurate info so we can publish it for our eager readers.}

Everyone wants to know:

“WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP THIS???”

We have the answer, but it isn’t easy.

You’ll have to visit our brand new website pages to find out.

We put it all there for you, in black and white with neat graphics. If you’re a list-lover, you’ll like the step-by-step bulleted lists. If you have a student who wants to be a leader, there’s a page for them. We know you have questions, and we've tried to provide answers.

Go to our website and learn. Take action.

You have more power than you realize, parents and teachers. Be a Momma Bear. Ready, Set, GO!!! Get TN out of TNReady already!!!!!!

Click HERE to visit our website and find out

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.

Mc Queen's children too Blessed to be TN READY

5/21/2015

Tennessee Ready?

TCAP scores are coming in and we're hearing lots of good reports. But are Tennessee's school children up for the challenge of the new Tennessee Ready tests next year?

State Education Commissioner, Candice McQueen showed up this week in Shelby County pledging to personally meet with ten thousand teachers across the state. It was all part of a campaign to win public appeal for next year's "new and improved" TCAP tests called Tennessee Ready. Along with the Tennessee Ready Tour, McQueen has been nailing the inboxes of Tennessee teachers with emails all week long. And she has recently released a video message (see below) that pounds in the praises for Tennessee Ready standards and standardized tests.

The video begins with McQueen thanking and congratulating Tennessee teachers for all their dedication and hard work this year. Then, she tells those hard working teachers that she hopes they will spend their summer break "re-charging and re-energizing their efforts." No relaxation for teachers this summer, they have to prepare for the "new possibilities" next year.

We have a pretty good idea of what kind of possibilities this longtime common core cheerleader has in mind.

Although, McQueen carefully avoids "common core" in her message, she doesn't fool us. She describes Tennessee Ready using terms like "high standards" and "real world skills." She goes on to say that the new reading, writing, and math tests are "designed to assess what is currently being taught in Tennessee’s classrooms." Yeah, we know what that means---common core assessments. And if plays out like New York, we can expect a huge revolt from parents who are opting their kids out of what they call unfair, political, common core assessments.

Teachers, we're wishing you a happy summer! Thank you for your incredible work this year. Listen in as Commissioner McQueen shares a closing message and some important updates about preparing for next year.
Posted by Tennessee Department of Education on Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Hey, it's Throwback Thursday

Speaking of common core assessments, we thought Throwback Thursday would be a good time to bring up McQueen's past comments on the topic. She might be a big fan of Tennessee Ready but not too long ago, she was quite adamant that her own children and their classmates at Lipscomb Academy would not be subjected to common core or the assessments that go along with it.

A few years ago, McQueen left her position in the college of Education at Lipcomb University to head up Lipscomb Academy, a small private school in Nashville located on the college's campus. When she was named senior vice president, immediately, her fellow parents at the school began to express skepticism of her leadership. Concerns were raised that McQueen, who was deeply entrenched in the money making of common core, would sell out Lipscomb Academy.

McQueen assured parents in a letter that common core would not infiltrate the hallowed halls of Lipscomb Academy. She dismissed any claims of hypocrisy by clarifying that private school students are to be treated differently than public school kids. Evidently, she feels that those children who attend private school are just too blessed to be stressed over common core. "One of the blessings of being in the private schools sector is the opportunity to explore all possibilities within the community and culture in which you find yourself and to thoughtfully choose what fits your vision."

An excerpt of McQueen's letter is below:

"First, the Common Core State Standards have not been adopted by Lipscomb Academy. While the standards have been adopted by the state of Tennessee along with 44 other states, private schools have the freedom to determine if they will use all, some or none of the CCSS. To date, Lipscomb Academy administrators have not adopted the standards...Second, I have also not been in any discussions about formal adoption of the CCSS at Lipscomb Academy. Currently, Lipscomb Academy draws from a variety of quality national and state standards selected by the school leadership and faculty to set a vision for what content, instruction and curriculum will be used at each grade level. This has proven to be effective; thus, I don’t anticipate any changes to this process now or in the future. As is current practice, all standards available will be reviewed at set intervals by leadership and faculty to determine the direction of Lipscomb Academy."

McQueen also gave assurances that Lipscomb Academy students would not be subjected to any of those public school tests such as PARCC or TCAP. Instead, McQueen's letter (excerpt below) promised that Lipscomb Academy students would continue to be assessed using ERB tests.

[S]ome of you have voiced concerns that the academy will adopt the PARCC test that will soon replace the current Tennessee standardized test or TCAP. Lipscomb Academy uses the ERB test, not the TCAP, and there are no plans to replace the ERB test with PARCC.

Comparing the Assessments: PARCC, Tennessee Ready & ERB

So, if private school kids don't have to be TN Ready, what kind of assessments do they take? And how do those assessments compare with the common core tests that will be given to public school children next year?

Take a look below at sample questions at the private school ERB test compared with PARCC and Tennessee Ready. We just pulled some questions at random but you can click the links and see the full sample tests.

Sample 5th Grade Math Question from the PARCC Assessment: 
NOTE: Grades 3-5: No calculators allowed, except for students with an approved calculator accommodation

Tennessee Ready Sample Math Question:
NOTE: TNReady will ask students to solve multi-step problems, many without using a calculator, to show what they know.

Sample Question from the ERB Level 4-6 Mathematics Demonstration Test:
NOTE: Calculators are allowed on one section of the multiple-choice achievement tests.

Testing the TDOE Bullies

4/20/2015

The testing season is upon us. This month, Tennessee Students in grades 3-8 will take the TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program). Parents have been well-aware of this for months. Homework is now all TCAP practice. Field trip participation and carnival rewards are based on participation in test prep. Classroom walls are either covered with plain paper or stripped bare to prepare for the TCAP, which makes the schools look more like prisons. Schools are even hosting TCAP pep rallies. There is little doubt the stakes are high and the anxiety is higher. It is just “All About that Test”.

Read the entire beautiful REFUSAL LETTER HERE. It might give some Momma and Papa bears some ideas about how to get their kids out of testing. Use it. Share it. Go for it!

Around the country the Opt -Out movement is growing. Dr. Mark Naison, a professor at Fordham University, compiled an excellent list on reasons why parents are rebelling over these tests:

There are too many tests.
The tests are too long.
The tests are poorly designed and poorly written.
The tests are surrounded by a level of secrecy usually reserved for a nuclear arsenal.
The tests are never returned to students and teachers to inform instruction.
The tests are used to rate teachers, schools and whole school districts, purposes for which they were never intended.
The tests are made by profit making companies who give huge contributions to legislators and perks to policy making bodies.
The tests are used to justify the implementation of a National Curriculum- the Common Core- whose advocates claim it is neither national or a curriculum.
The tests are incredibly expensive and take money away from the arts, counseling, and libraries.
The tests are discriminatory in the manner they are applied to Special Needs and ELL Students.
The high stakes attached to the tests have forced schools in high poverty districts to use recess and gym for test prep.
The tests have been used as an excuse for closing thousands of schools and firing tens of thousands of teachers, many of them teachers of color.

Tennessee is no exception. Parents are asking how they can get their child out of testing. Today UnitedOptOut.com posted a TN refusal letter. It might help Tennessee parents who wish to refuse the tests for their children.

On the UnitedOptOut website, there is also a link to a Letter to Directors of Schools in Tennessee Regarding Opt Out/Refusal that Momma Bears think is an attempt to bully parents and take away parental rights. Your kids are data points to them. The Refusal letter is interesting. It cites TN code - TCA 49-2-211(a) states that, “Every LEA shall develop a policy setting forth the rights of parents and students as guidelines for teachers and principals with respect to the administration of surveys, analyses or evaluations of students.” Section (b)(1) of this law states that, “[t]he policy shall enable a parent or legal guardian to opt their student out of participating in a survey, analysis, or evaluation.” (Note that there are no definitions of “survey,” “analysis,” or “evaluation” in this statute.)

Momma Bears would love to see this stand up as lawful. What else could TCAP be besides an evaluation? Teachers don’t ever see the answers. There is nothing diagnostic to help a child improve upon what they do not know. These tests are used to “evaluate teachers and schools” in order to manipulate government policy. So we’d say they ARE a definitely an evaluation.

Momma Bears also loves the use of the Attorney General's opinion that claimed former Commissioner Huffman was within the law to waive the TCAP for grades. “While state law requires that TCAP scores make up 15%-25% of a child’s final semester grades, our former Commissioner of Education waived this requirement in 2014. Despite TCA 49-1-201(d)(1), this was allowed. The Attorney General opinion dated July 2, 2014 stated that “the requirements of Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-617…can be waived; they are not statutory requirements related to “federal and state student assessment and accountability” under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-1-201(d)(1)(J).”

The ending to the letter says, "Because it appears that I have the legal right to opt my child out of the TCAP evaluation, and the law requiring the use of TCAP scores in grades seems to be subjectively disposable, my child’s TCAP scores (or lack thereof) will not be factored into his/her grades. In summary, I respectfully request that you respond, in writing, confirming that you will abide by my expectations set forth in this letter. You may contact me in writing if you have any questions. ” Smart! Get it in writing. It is a good idea to keep detailed notes and written evidence. You never know when it might come in handy in court. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but if the TDOE keeps bullying parents, we may just have to file a lawsuit.

Not to change the subject, but some good things happened today in Nashville!
Today at the Tennessee Legislature, Representative Matthew Hill added a surprise amendment to a bill that would make Opting-Out legal. This amendment caused the folks at the Governor's astroturf organization, Tennesseans For Student Success, to royally freak out (since their well-funded jobs exist to save Common Core and testing). It was a beautiful amendment that Representative Hill did, simply stating "parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in an LEA may opt the student out of participating in all state mandated assessments." Unfortunately, Representative Hill withdrew it because it didn't fit with the caption bill it was attached to, but it did give him the opportunity to speak to the other legislators about Opting Out. There may be another bill coming up that is a better fit and might not be declared unconstitutional to attach it to, but with only two or three days left in the session, it probably will not happen until January. 2-4-6-8, who do we appreciate? Representative Matthew Hill!!!

Also on that bill, some amendments were attached by Representative Spivey that set in motion the death of Common Core. The bill passed the House 97 to 0 and is scheduled to be in the Senate tomorrow. Is it a smoke-and-mirrors attempt at keeping the Common Core? Perhaps. Time will tell. The language is pretty clear that the new standards will be created in a clear and transparent manner, and that the former standards (which are Common Core) will be rescinded. The Senate has been pretty much in love with all things that harm public education, so we'll see how the vote tomorrow goes.

Okay, now, back to the testing issue...
Refusing testing is a civil protest. And our lawmakers really need to understand that this is what happens when a government service, managed by the democratic process around tax dollars, is held captive by testing, sold off to privatization, and is manipulated by lobbyists and foundations un-elected by the citizens of this country. Public school is a public good, for the public. This manipulation through testing has ZERO to do with our children or education experts. It must stop. Opt-out and/or refusing is our only choice to show this bad policy must stop. For our kids.

"Parents are getting more and more angry and disobedient. Public officials are really trying to bully them, and never expected this much pushback." - Dr. Sandra Stotsky

What can little ol' me do about the big ol' tests?

4/29/2014

Parents, are you frustrated, concerned, or feeling helpless over your child having to take high stakes standardized tests? Does your heart break for your child because your he/she has anxiety, stress, trouble sleeping, strange stomach aches, headaches, or even vomiting around TCAP time?

You are not alone.
And your child isn't the only one.

Standardized testing never used to be this way when we were growing up, did it?
We took the test and then went to out to play at recess and our school day went on as normal. There was no pressure or repercussions if you missed questions. No big deal. The teachers simply said that they wanted to see all you had learned and to do your best. There were no TCAP pep rallies, TCAP songs, TCAP t-shirts, pajama days, candy given as bribes on testing days, or videos made by desperate teachers to inspire kids to Zap the TCAP. Kids took the tests. Life went on.

That changed a few years ago in TN. Big time.
Test scores were put on a pedestal. The test scores of your children now prove the worth of their teacher. Student test scores are a huge percentage of every teacher's evaluation rating in TN, varying by district. Yes, we know it isn't fair. Yes, we know that some teachers don't even teach subjects that are on the standardized test--subjects like music, art, PE, library, electives, etc.. These teachers are unfairly forced to use the school's overall English or Math score for their percentage. Yes, and we know the teachers are incredibly stressed about it, too.

The other big change that happened a few years ago is that it became mandatory in TN that the TCAP count as 15%-25% of each child's report card grade. Yes, we know it isn't fair. Yes, we know teachers and parents never even get to see the tests or the questions on it. Yes, we know these companies are making a fortune selling these tests to our state with our tax dollars. No, we don't know if the TCAP test questions are legitimately fair or even if the answers are correct. We've heard rumors from teachers that even they can't figure out some of the answers because the questions and answer choices are so confusing, but nobody can prove it because nobody is allowed to see the test. In fact, teachers must sign an agreement to not discuss the tests. Teachers have told us Momma Bears that they have been forbidden by their administrators to post any comments relating to the TCAP or PARCC test on Facebook or social media. Things have gotten so bad that even students are told they aren't supposed to talk about the test questions, not even to their parents. (You don't tell kids not to tell their parents. That is WRONG. Unless you're throwing us a surprise party. Then it is okay.)

This is overwhelming... What can an ordinary parent do about it?
Contrary to popular belief, ordinary parents are the most powerful forces on the planet. It is true. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they work together, especially when they are Momma or Poppa or Grandparent Bears! Being a SUPER MOM is really quite easy. Here are the easy-to-follow steps:

Steps to saving the world:

Put on your superhero uniform (cape & tights are optional) and harness the power of your words as a parent.
Take a deep breath and blow off some steam. Let your words flow like Spiderman's web from his hands. You can do this. Write down everything that bothers you and your children about these stupid tests. Use curse words if you feel so inclined. The point is to get it out of your system.
Take a break. Go hug your kids. Peek on them if they are asleep and smell their sweet, sleepy heads. Children are such a blessing, and they're only yours for such a short time before they're grown up. Cherish it.
After you've cooled your jets and your head is clear, sit back down and look at the verbal vomit you spewed. It is probably pretty offensive and you need to clean it up. So, put on your thinking cap and turn those words into magic. You can do it. First, delete the curse words. Then, take out at least half of the exclamation points. There's no need for paragraphs to be written in all capitalized letters. Whittle down your message into a sane, cohesive letter or email. You're going to send this to some people who CAN make a difference, so make it polite and polished. If there are red squiggly lines popping up under words you typed, make sure they are spelled correctly and/or are the correct use of the word. You'll sound much smarter if you fix those errors. The red squiggly line is your friend.
You can't just complain without offering a solution. So, in closing your correspondence, write what you want to see happen with regards to testing. Here are some options:
Eliminate it.
Don't tie it to teacher evaluations.
Don't tie it to student report cards.
Spend the testing money on more teachers instead of tests.
Allow parents to Refuse or Opt-Out of testing for their child without penalizing their child's grade or their teacher.
Get rid of Common Core.
Good idea: Let your letter stew for 24 hours just to make sure you included everything you wanted to say.
Optional: Show it to others to get their feedback.
Read it one more time. If you think to yourself, "It is perfect. I wouldn't change a thing!," then make a wish or say a prayer and then send it!
Wait. Who do you send it to? There are a bunch of important people who need to read it, so Momma Bears suggests sending it to them all. Here is how to find the important people:
Google your school district to find out your Superintendent and School Board member's email addresses. Send your masterpiece to them. They need to know that parents are not happy. (If you're lucky, they will reply to your email in a few days and will probably say it is the State's fault. See #11 for a big fat dose of irony.)
Legislators are very important people who make the laws that got us in to this testing mess. They definitely need to hear from real parents. Click HERE to find your TN legislators that live in your district. Be sure to tell them you are in their district; this matters a lot since they need your vote. (If you're lucky, they will respond to your email in a few days and probably say it is your local School Board's fault. LOL. Notice a big fat problem with finger pointing?)
Gosh, since you've put so much work into it, you might as well send it to all the legislators. It may take you awhile to copy & paste their email addresses, and you may want to do it in small batches (send to no more than 25 email addresses per email) so that your email service doesn't think you are spamming.
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/senate/members/
http://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/members/
The Governor needs to see your masterpiece, too. Who knows... It might be the key that melts his stone-cold heart. His email is: bill.haslam@tn.gov
Who else needs to hear it? Teachers? Principals? Newspapers will publish letters to the editor! Go for it!!!
These are YOUR kids you are advocating for. If EVERY parent spoke up, we could make a huge difference. Don't rely on someone else to do it for you. Don't rely on your elected officials or your school's PTA. YOUR voice is important... Use it!

Your school district won't tell you this, but you also have the right to refuse these tests for your children. They are YOUR children, not the government's. If you want to know more about it, or meet other parents who have bravely gone down this opting out route before you, here are some links to real parents in Tennessee and across the country: Stop the Tennessee Testing Madness website, Stop the TN Testing Madness Facebook page, Stop the TN Testing Madness Facebook group, United Opt Out Website (National group), United Opt Out Facebook group.

(Don't try this at home. Biting your computer is never a good idea)

Schools need VIGOR, not Rigor

3/6/2014

This world can be a cold, cruel place, but our children's classrooms shouldn't be. Schools should be a place of warmth, of joyful learning, and of respect for each unique child and their needs. Rigor is not a nice word, but reformers keep saying "rigor" as if it is. Which definition do you like best:

www.Dictionary.com: rig·or [rig-er] (noun)
1. strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people.
2. the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc.
3. severity of living conditions; hardship; austerity: the rigor of wartime existence.
4. a severe or harsh act, circumstance, etc.
5. scrupulous or inflexible accuracy or adherence: the logical rigor of mathematics.
World English Dictionary: rigor (ˈraɪɡɔː, ˈrɪɡə) — n
1. med a sudden feeling of chilliness, often accompanied by shivering: it sometimes precedes a fever
2. pathol rigidity of a muscle; muscular cramp
3. a state of rigidity assumed by some animals in reaction to sudden shock
4. the inertia assumed by some plants in conditions unfavourable to growth
Synonyms: 1. inflexibility, stringency. 4. cruelty.

None of these definitions sound pleasant, do they? In fact, if you, as an adult, had to attend a training course with any of the above descriptions, I bet you'd not wake up energized in the morning looking forward to learning, would you?

How about using the word, "VIGOR," instead?

www.Dictionary.com: vig·or [vig-er] noun
1.active strength or force.
2.healthy physical or mental energy or power; vitality.
3.energetic activity; energy; intensity: The economic recovery has given the country a new vigor.
4.force of healthy growth in any living matter or organism, as a plant.
5.active or effective force, especially legal validity.
World English Dictionary: vigour or ( US ) vigor (ˈvɪɡə) — n
1.exuberant and resilient strength of body or mind; vitality
2.substantial effective energy or force: the vigour of the tempest
3.forcefulness; intensity: the vigour of her complaints
4.the capacity for survival or strong healthy growth in a plant or animal: hybrid vigour
5.the most active period or stage of life, manhood, etc; prime

Those definitions are much, much better, aren't they?

Here are some better words we'd like to hear to describe our children's schools:

joy
enthusiasm
respect
creativity
flexibility
human
valuable
worthwhile

Standardized testing and common core don't align with any of those nice words. Common Core does not RESPECT our children, it respects the corporations who are making a money from selling their curriculum, their assessments, and their standardized tests.

Therein lies the problem: Corporations respect money, not children.
Just consider the words they use to refer to people:

"Human Capital"

It de-humanizes and corporatizes our children, their teachers, and their learning environments. So cold and unpersonal.

Don't believe us? Look what was just announced this week:

Bill Gates' Microsoft is partnering with the Pearson Publishing Giant to create a Common Core curriculum. (Click HERE to see the article about it). It will be for "a digital personalized learning environment that is 100 percent aligned to the new standards for college and career readiness."
And it is going to "reduce costs." How??? by removing the real, human teacher from the equation because, after all, it is much cheaper to buy a Microsoft computer program than to pay the salary & benefits of a professional teacher. (Of course, Bill Gates' children won't do this program... They attend the best private school money can buy in Seattle that has a low student:teacher ratio, rich and varied Arts programs, and plenty of hands-on learning opportunities). Another case of profiting from Other People's Children...

Momma Bears aren't happy about this destruction and depersonalization of our children's education... Be prepared to face OUR "Rigor" as we fight for "Vigor" in our children's schools.

A teacher sends a LOUD message. Parents hear it.

2/20/2014

A frustrated email from a teacher sent to the parents of his students:

Dear parents,

Unfortunately, and I mean unfortunately, I am going to have to give a MIST test for three hours to each of my 4 regular language arts classes this week. I say "unfortunately" because it is a lot of time that can be used for reading, instruction, and learning, and it means a changed and altered schedule for the entire week. MIST is a writing assessment in which my students will have to compare and contrast two nonfiction articles. The entire examination is computerized, for it will be all typed. None of my students are proficient at typing. Their scores will not determine a grade, average, or placement for next year. Right after this MIST test, my students will have to take another DEA (Discovery Education) test and a TCAP soon after that. Can you say "over testing"? However, despite my negative views, I have confidence in my kids and have assured my students that they will rise to the occasion as always, do their best, and help get me through the week.

While we're not on the computers, we are going to attempt to finish our "Arachne" questions and finish up our compare and contrast essays on "Arachne" and "The Stone." I have been so impressed with the beginning of those essays. Not often do most of my classes over exceed my expectations, but they have so far on this writing activity. They have started really well. It amazes me how much our writing has already improved since August. I am very happy with them.

We were supposed to begin reading The Clay Marble, a novel taking place during the civil war in Cambodia in the late 1970's, but because of the testing and interrupted schedule I don't think we'd finish it before spring break. I don't want to have an entire week off in the middle of a book. I'll keep you informed. Have a nice President's Day and week.

Mr. XXXXX

This teacher just plain ROCKS!!!
He's fed up with state and district testing. He just wants to teach.
Even more frustrating: a big chunk of his yearly evaluation score is based on the test results of his students that he doesn't have time to teach.
And even more frustrating that that: other teachers at his school are evaluated based on the test results of HIS students (even though those students may never be in that teacher's class) because some subjects are not tested with standardized tests.

You can thank these people for this asinine TVAAS evaluation system:

TN Board of Education (appointed by Gov. Haslam)
TN Commissioner Kevin Huffman (appointed by Gov. Haslam)
Governor Haslam (who sent his kids to private schools that didn't excessively test or rate teachers by test scores)
William Sanders (the statistician who came up with this awful system to rate agricultural growth and somehow it is now it is being used to abuse teachers)

Teachers in his district (Shelby County, TN) tell us that 2 to 3 months of the school year are spent on such testing, pre-testing, post-testing, and assessments. That's a LOT of time that could be spent teaching. A LOT. Add it up over a child's education, and that's several years devoted to filling in bubbles!!!

Cha-ching!!!!
In Tennessee, money spent with Pearson, the creator of these tests, has TRIPLED since 2010 when Tennessee "won" a Race to the Top grant. Since then, class sizes have increased and support staff in the school buildings has been cut to afford these testing materials. (Click HERE to watch a very enlightening presentation about it)

YOU FAILED... but we hit the JACKPOT!!!
What happens if a child fails a test, such as Discovery Education (DEA)? Like a slot machine that hits jackpot in Tunica, that child is labeled as needing "intervention". (Note: this isn't the kind of intervention that Dr. Phil used to do on his show, not at all). Intervention means that the student who failed Pearson's test, now gets to sit in front of a Pearson computer program for hours each week instead of being taught by a live teacher.

Infuriating as it is, parents are not notified this is happening. They have no idea that their child is pulled from class to sit in front of a computer for hours each week instead of being in class when the teacher is teaching everyone else. HELLO??? That child will be even farther behind if he misses class time! Even more maddening (yes, it gets worse), there have been some cases where smart children have failed the confusing Discovery test, but the teacher cannot trump the computer results so these smart children are forced to do remedial computer programs until the next scheduled assessment block rolls around.

MADDENING THINGS:

Some materials on these tests haven't been taught to students, yet. One 3rd grade teacher said that 19 of 32 test questions on Discovery Assessment probe she was forced to give students mid-year were on material they had not even covered yet. DUH! Of course they are going to fail it if they haven't been taught it, yet! (Note: this teacher is following the TN Department of Education's pacing guide for the Common Core standards, so her students are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing)
Parents aren't told their children are being given these tests and surveys. Honestly, tests can be a good thing. Parents support teacher-generated tests that fairly assess what was taught that week or semester (like chapter tests, weekly spelling tests, math fact tests, etc.). Of course, parents know some testing is necessary, but at what point does it become excessive and abusive? What if a doctor kept giving x-rays to healthy bones every few weeks? Either you or your insurance company would question it and put a stop to it. When parents aren't told these tests and surveys are being given and when the teachers cannot tell parents that these tests are excessive and wrong (because they might get in big trouble from administration and lose their jobs), parents should be worried. Very worried.
Nobody gets to see the test questions on the TCAP or PARCC, not even the teachers. How do we know what questions the students got wrong? How do we know there aren't errors on the tests? How do we know the questions aren't biased? or have inappropriate content like these Pearson PARCC questions did last year in NY? Momma Bears say: "If you're giving it to my kid, I have a right to see it. Period."
Even if teachers know a student has mastered a subject, the student is still required to do the computerized intervention. The teacher's opinion from working with that child every day is trumped by the score generated by a computer program. (Note: this is a school/district based decision, so it may be different in your child's school)
Surveys and demographic questions have been attached to these computerized assessments without parents knowing about it (Click HERE to read our blogs about the demographic info students are asked without parental consent or knowledge)
Pearson acquired a major ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder) company last year. So, guess who profits from diagnosing kids with ADHD because they can't sit still and focus on Pearson's tests? Yep. (Click HERE to read it yourself)

So, what can YOU do about all these maddening things?

Consider running for Governor. Seriously, we need a pro-public school Governor in TN... Someone who realizes that our public schools are invaluable... Someone who realizes our children's teachers are priceless and deserve to be respected for their hard work and dedication... Someone who respects the rights of parents and puts our children above profit... Someone who doesn't act like Pearson's lobbyists are hot Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders selling Girl Scout cookies every time they show up at the capitol with Pearson products to sell in TN. (No offense to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders or to the Girl Scouts, both are awesome organizations.)
Contact your legislators. Seriously, they DO listen. Tell them how your children are affected by all this testing. Here's a great website with Tennessee legislator's email addresses and even some tips on how to get your voice heard. It works.
Say "not with my child!" and refuse testing for your children. www.unitedoptout.com has a great guide for each State on how to refuse testing for your children with sample letters and even has a Get-Tough guide if your principals or district give you the run-around. If you are in Tennessee, www.stoptntesting.com is a terrific website for parents (and their facebook group is pretty awesome, too).

Here is what one Dad sent to his child's school this week:

"It's not as professional and polished as I would have liked, but it will work. If the school had TOLD parents that there was a writing assessment being given I would not opted my child out the day before testing. 2/3 of her class will have already taken this test by the end of school today. It doesn't count for anything, not a grade, not a teacher or school assessment, but it does count in my child's mind. She wants to do well.
This was NOT on the school testing calendar! I wonder why they didn't want parents to know?" - Dad in Franklin County, TN

Parents:
It is going to take YOU speaking up to make it better...
...Teachers can't do it.
...Principals can't to it.
...Administrators can't do it.
They all want and need to keep their jobs to provide for their families. Parents, your voice is important! Make it count for your kids!!!