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By Julianna Krueger Dauble. 

This statement was delivered to the Renton School District Board of Education on Wednesday, January 28. (see details here.)

Public Education Stakeholders,

Are we willing to stand by while 2/3 of our children fail a state mandated test?

Are our children so similar to business commodities like electrical sockets that we must standardize them by looking to profiteering systems aimed to ‘reform’ schools?

Do we need a standardized test that harms students self-esteem to more clearly draw the lines of poverty?

I am an accomplished educator; the Renton School Board named me Outstanding Elementary Educator of the Year in 2011 and I work in many leadership roles for curriculum development and implementing best strategies in classrooms. I devotedly and passionately teach kids to fluently read, critically think, problem solve, creatively process information and empathize. I cultivate students’ abilities and desire to ASK big questions, not just answer them. I teach students to value the purposes for deeply learning academic content because I want my kids to love these things like I do. I truly enjoy math and reading and writing and science and health and social studies and art. I live for making these subjects come to life for my kids. I build confidence in my students, so that they have hope for a brilliant future.

When I imagine myself administering the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), I picture my students struggling and failing. And not because they are academically weak – but because test designers have created a test meant to yield this failure. This failure will undo the confidence I have strived to build in them. Instead of acknowledging and nurturing kids on their own path of learning we are punishing them because they fail to learn fast enough; yet it is the system’s failure we are ignoring.

I am also a mom of a 4th and 6th grader in Renton schools. My own two kids are curious and confident learners and they work hard because they’ve been raised to feel success and joy in learning all kinds of things. A standardized test is not a piece of data that I would ever use as a parent to rate the effectiveness of their school or their teacher. I will do all I can as a parent to ensure they do not lose their confidence as scholars due to an unfair test. They will be opting out of SBA because that is a legal right parents have and the choice their father and I have made.

More than ever students are expected to excel at everything at unprecedented levels: rigorous academics, athletics and citizenship are intense pressures. Kids today are almost constantly on screens, rarely express themselves creatively and have less time for meaningful relationships than a generation ago. It is the pressure to be crammed full of content for high stakes testing that is abuse for many of our kids. We know students are cheating more than ever and do not have time to synthesize the breadth of information high stakes testing demands them to regurgitate. Research shows clearly that young people need downtime to process, more unstructured play and more creativity in their lives. They need project-based learning facilitated by flexible teachers with ample resources and time to creatively individualize instruction.

The highest performing countries in the world laugh at America for our ridiculous overuse of metrics to define students and reduce achievement to a single number. They recognize that we are stifling joyful learning, systematically, as our culture falsely believes that bad teachers are the problem with education and that a standardized test will measure students’ achievement objectively. Yes, taxpayers must know that their money is well spent and that schools are innovative and excellent. But high stakes testing is damaging what once was good because the test alone dictates how we spend our 180 days each school year.

Teachers constantly use data to drive instruction. Kids do not come standardized, nor should they, and the individual data a teacher gathers on a child is in the context of the relationship, the child’s readiness level and many classroom factors. The teacher who knows each and every student and the precise moment in which to intervene as they tackle a multi-step algorithm; the educator who can sense from a child’s posture the exact tone to use to engage them on a difficult task; when a student needs you to believe in them and spend that extra moment to provide specific positive feedback so they will try harder next time vs. when to be quiet and let them lead and take a risk; using the weekly quiz that shows exactly which skill is not quite mastered and guides the teacher to plan a lesson and find new materials to try to teach another way; these are teacher behaviors relying on relevant data to help kids learn.

We do NOT need standardized tests to measure achievement. A one-day snapshot of a child’s performance is not indicative of authentic learning. Students may show mastery on a standard one day and not the next. This is human. The student who comes to school hungry or sad or is distracted by friendship issues on SBA day? Failure. The child who can’t type as fast or as accurately as his peers? Fail. The kids who can’t read a screen as well as a piece of paper because they forgot their glasses or have tired eyes? Failure. The anxiety ridden children who literally pull their hair out because of the pressure to perform? Fail. The students who don’t care about a test their teacher hasn’t created and which doesn’t mean anything to them because it isn’t connected to anything they care about? Failures.

I admit that I do cry for the kids who know they will fail and emotionally suffer because of a standard being out of reach. For those kids, WE are the failures for making them endure something that damages their psyche. WE are failing by not providing the time and resources and flexibility they need to develop fully as human beings. My kids are so much more than test scores; but when the biggest policy decisions about their school are based on one day test scores, then the system has failed.

Diane Ravitch said: “Sometimes, the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine on standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds.”

External accountability is a need acknowledged by many people, understandably. But standardized testing has not been shown to improve achievements. Humans are not standardized.

Students cannot realize their full potential at school when we have cut counselors, nurses, art, music, extra curricular activities, behavior support, classroom aides, science materials, field trips, and most of all cut sacred TIME for teachers to plan innovative instruction. With No Child Left Behind teachers have been assigned more duties for student data collection, we must fulfill new evaluation rubric requirements, we are handed still more tests that are not aligned with curriculum or student’s developmental needs and are riddled with errors, we have additional certification requirements that take time away from classroom work, we are expected to perform new leadership duties, we must navigate new technology without training or working equipment, we have to teach to pacing guides that are often impossible to follow, we somehow complete report cards thoughtfully even though they do not match new standards and the new tests, and we still must learn what the new standards even mean without any time to do so thoughtfully; and all this with a lack of high-quality aligned curricular materials while our students come to school needier than ever. This is not just a workload issue. This is literally driving teachers out of the profession.

This reality is unconscionable and I cannot remain silent.
I ask others to stand up with me for children and our future.

Thereby,

I object to the latest iteration of No Child Left Behind’s failed policy called the Smarter Balanced Assessment which goes against my professional conscience.

I object to the inhumane test environment imposed upon us by people who believe schools should be run like businesses and students treated like commodities. SBA will rank and sort children so labels of failure may allow takeover of public schools by privatizers in the name of ‘accountability’.

I object to the undemocratic process of adopting SBA and Common Core State Standards whereby educators and parents were not consulted. We are not being asked about what we believe is the ultimate purpose of education nor on the need for new tests and standards.

I object to treating students like guinea pigs in an experiment that has not produced any real learning gains but will increase drop-out rates, decrease motivation and continue to increase chances of suicide among teenagers for the incredible pressure they are put under to master content a mile wide and an inch deep.
I object to how computers are monopolized for weeks at a time for the sake of testing young children; tech Levy voters believed their dollars would be spent on learning not standardized testing. Further, private student data is often commercially available to private companies; yet school districts and especially parents are unaware of how a student’s data profile is being used.
I object to the use of Pearson’s set “cut-scores” predicting ⅔ of kids will fail. Such ‘failure’ will discourage incredibly hark-working students and teachers which may diminish their classroom innovation in coming school years.

I object to the lack of trust in classroom experts which has been replaced by faith in test publishers devoid of teaching experience and who deny a child’s uniqueness.

I object to the time stolen as SBA becomes the main goal of my reading, writing and math instruction, thus eliminating project based learning, health, social studies, the arts, physical education, music and social/emotional lessons.

I object to the fact that SBA will force more kids to drop out which will increase poverty; by failing this test students will lose faith in their individuality, self-worth and higher education or career prospects. Confidence is key to perseverance.
I object to the use of SBA or any standardized test that directly correlates to family income. Students of color, English learners, and those with low socio-economic status are disproportionately harmed by standardized testing and yet testing continues to increase in the name of closing the achievement gap. This is ludicrous.

I object to the lack of transparency on SBA test items and scoring mechanisms; that teachers and parents are not permitted to view the test or the answers their students write is insulting to the people who know a child best. Teacher assessment data and report cards are now being disregarded by accountability ‘experts’ who seek to label students for their own purposes.

I object to forcing young children to sit through hours of bubble tests when they don’t even understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. This is inhumane.

I object to expecting young children to “work independently” for hours while their teacher is forced to test other students one-on-one – test after test after test.

I object to children who are just learning to speak, read, and write in English being forced to take standardized tests using English academic language and culturally biased language. This too is inhumane.

I object to forcing children with special needs to take standardized grade level tests when they have already proven to be 1 ½ to 2 years behind typical peers via a formal evaluation using standardized tests.

I object to the misuse of precious revenue spent on SBA scoring, on practice tests, on required test materials, on contracts with test-prep corporations’ consultants and on staff time for training to teach to the test as well as training for administering the test. Funding has been cut for counselors, nurses, planning time for teachers, behavior support staff, playground supervision & equipment, libraries, field trips and safety plans and still we have increasing class sizes. Follow the money on who is profiting from SBA as it is not in the public’s best interest to give tax dollars to profit-makers who view children as voiceless consumers from which profits are earned.

I object to how financial backers for the corporate takeover of education are electing candidates who will support SBA by funding campaigns using billions of dollars earned on the backs of workers who live in poverty and whose children are harmed by this test.

I object to the SBA as it has been marketed; it is designed to prepare workers for a competitive global economy. Who can defend the social and environmental impacts of our current economic practices? Our path as a nation is focused on profits, not human rights or ecological sustainability. If the SBA was designed for perpetuating our exploitative economic practices, then many of us are morally obligated to renounce the test itself. Students have a right to an excellent public school education to learn to solve massive problems such as income inequity, not perpetuate them.

In conclusion, I believe students need to be prepared for whatever life path they choose; expecting every child to graduate high school with a nearly identical and narrow skill set is un-American and unacceptable. SBA is a critical tool used to ensure that schools are lockstep with a forcibly mandated, top-down education agenda that was not agreed upon by the most important constituents: parents, students and the classroom experts.
Therefore I professionally object to administering the SBA. Our students deserve better.

This being said, please select one of the options below. Thank you.

____ Ms. Dauble, Your concerns are noted and valued and you will be allowed to opt out of administering the SBA without any retribution.
OR
____ Ms. Dauble, Your concerns are noted and your professional conscience is being discounted. Administration requires you to administer the SBA despite your objections and the harm, outlined in the narrative, that children will experience.

Author

Anthony Cody

Anthony Cody worked in the high poverty schools of Oakland, California, for 24 years, 18 of them as a middle school science teacher. He was one of the organizers of the Save Our Schools March in Washington, DC in 2011 and he is a founding member of The Network for Public Education. A graduate of UC Berkeley and San Jose State University, he now lives in Mendocino County, California.

Comments

  1. Judy Taylor    

    Thank you for your honesty and expert educational opinion. This is a very worthy article and needs to be read by every parent. I agree with you 100%. I am disgusted with what the government has done to educating children. No longer can all children have the joy of learning. Today, a large percentage of students suffer because of the testing that labels them as successful learners or failures based on the testing designd by non educators. Children should be having fun learning and making lifelong memories of the fun activities that should be offered in school. Kindergarten students should be learning social/play skills as well as pre-reading/language/mathematical skills, but by no means should they be expected to do all the sit down, rigorous activities that the present day curriculum demands. I retired in January 2014 after 35+ years of educating children in the public school system. I am disappointed that parents are having to turn to alternate forms of educating their children because the system has/is failing their children. Our elected officials and citizens must step up and protect our children and grandchildren from the insanity testing and unrealistic expectations that are now taking place in public schools.

  2. Stephanie Mayo    

    All involved in creating the climate we now have in education, should be forced to read this. While reading, they should be locked in a room with a computer and afterwards be forced to take a test on it! In fact, they should use a computer they have never used, a program and tech tools they have only experienced once, in an environment where their bosses are wandering silently behind them making sure there are no irregularities and if they have a bad cold that day, or their mother just died a week ago, or their cat got hit by a car the night before……so be it. If they fail on that one day……they should be forced to wear a Star upon Thars with a big L on it that stands for LOSER!

  3. Jeff Nichols    

    Yay!!!!!

    You said it all.

    And you have joined the growing ranks of true education leaders.

    Thank you.

  4. Jam    

    Personally I think all the tests given leave NO room for actually teaching the necessary learning tools for kids to actually succeed.
    Also if everyone wants a separation of church and state and not having religion in the schools then the schools need to stop trying to teach ISLAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Stop teaching the big bang theory as well, it only confuses those that are religious, what ever your religion may be.
    Do not allow teachers to take field trips to any type of religious building. Teachers should stick to reading writing, history, government, how to write your leaders, Math, science, how to speak properly, write properly.
    I think this is appalling, Some teachers if have heard speaking don’t themselves know how to speak ! I guess they pick it up from their students, example:” I be doing that later” Instead of picking it they need to stop the students and make them say it properly.

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