Shepherd Elem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://shepherd-elementary.org/school-life/program_ibp.aspx

For example, during the 4 or 5 weeks a year that DC-BAS/ DC-CAS tests are adminstered, there are no "specials" -- no art, music, PE, or foreign language -- because those teachers are proctoring exams.

DC-BAS should not require any proctors. And the DC-CAS testing is not more than 2 weeks in the a.m. A reasonable test plan should not result in students missing their specials for 4 - 5 weeks.

[Anonymous]

"DC-BAS should not require any proctors. And the DC-CAS testing is not more than 2 weeks in the a.m. A reasonable test plan should not result in students missing their specials for 4 - 5 weeks. "

Spoken like someone who has never been in DCPS. The BAS and the CAS throw the specials schedule off for 4-5 weeks a year. It ruins the specials schedule for every child in the school. It's one of the many reasons why we're moving out of DCPS for middle school.

[Anonymous]

Not in the schools where I have worked. But each school develops its own test plan.

But I agree that the testing is nonsense. Please share your views with Rhee, Fenty, Duncan, and Obama.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"DC-BAS should not require any proctors. And the DC-CAS testing is not more than 2 weeks in the a.m. A reasonable test plan should not result in students missing their specials for 4 - 5 weeks. "

Spoken like someone who has never been in DCPS. The BAS and the CAS throw the specials schedule off for 4-5 weeks a year. It ruins the specials schedule for every child in the school. It's one of the many reasons why we're moving out of DCPS for middle school.

This is not true for our DCPS elementary school.

[Anonymous]

Here is a question, if the testing doesn't mess up the specials schedule, do your teachers still get their mandated planning period?

And schools that have parents raise money to pay for extra classroom assistance please do let us know if the parent paid help helps cover the testing gap.

Sure, I'd love to gripe to Rhee, but then our principal would get sacked. I like our principal and though I hate the fact my kids lose their special during testing, I do respect the fact that teachers deserve to have their planning period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a question, if the testing doesn't mess up the specials schedule, do your teachers still get their mandated planning period?

And schools that have parents raise money to pay for extra classroom assistance please do let us know if the parent paid help helps cover the testing gap.

Sure, I'd love to gripe to Rhee, but then our principal would get sacked. I like our principal and though I hate the fact my kids lose their special during testing, I do respect the fact that teachers deserve to have their planning period.

You need to ask your principal and/or LSRT that question. Every school handles testing differently. In my school last year, teachers lost some planning periods due to testing, and the special schedule was adjusted. But students did not miss specials for 4-5 weeks.

But the basic issue is that all students lose rich instruction due to standardized testing that politicians and newspaper editors demand. This is a big-picture issue that needs to be addressed by parents like yourself who obviously care about their children's education. You need to let our leaders know that testing does not promote high-quality education. I believe it diminishes it. But I can't make that argument, because I'm an educator. Parents need to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a question, if the testing doesn't mess up the specials schedule, do your teachers still get their mandated planning period?

And schools that have parents raise money to pay for extra classroom assistance please do let us know if the parent paid help helps cover the testing gap.

Sure, I'd love to gripe to Rhee, but then our principal would get sacked. I like our principal and though I hate the fact my kids lose their special during testing, I do respect the fact that teachers deserve to have their planning period.

You need to ask your principal and/or LSRT that question. Every school handles testing differently. In my school last year, teachers lost some planning periods due to testing, and the special schedule was adjusted. But students did not miss specials for 4-5 weeks.

But the basic issue is that all students lose rich instruction due to standardized testing that politicians and newspaper editors demand. This is a big-picture issue that needs to be addressed by parents like yourself who obviously care about their children's education. You need to let our leaders know that testing does not promote high-quality education. I believe it diminishes it. But I can't make that argument, because I'm an educator. Parents need to do that.

What objective metrics would you suggest to measure student acquisition of knowledge and school performance other than standardized testing? What do you use in your classroom as an objective measurement?

[Anonymous]

Frequent teacher-made and/or textbook-generated quizzes and tests, performance evaluations, projects, essays, portfolios, interactive notebooks, reading inventories, spelling inventories, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frequent teacher-made and/or textbook-generated quizzes and tests, performance evaluations, projects, essays, portfolios, interactive notebooks, reading inventories, spelling inventories, etc.

And these are all strictly objective?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frequent teacher-made and/or textbook-generated quizzes and tests, performance evaluations, projects,

And these are all strictly objective?

Of course not. So what's your point?

[Anonymous]

If you are opposed to standardized testing as a method of measuring student achievement, and acquisition of knowledge, and of general overall school performance, then what do you propose in its place?

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are opposed to standardized testing as a method of measuring student achievement, and acquisition of knowledge, and of general overall school performance, then what do you propose in its place?

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

I propose the "my child" standard.

As a parent, I can assess the quality of my child's educational opportunities from his curriculum, reading selections, assignments, email from his teachers, and conversations about what he is learning. I don't need a standardized test to indicate that his school is providing excellent academic opportunities. A worthy goal would be for public schools to provide the same quality he is getting to every public school student.

As for this obsession with achievement and performance, I recommend that you read A Hope in the Unseen, by Ron Suskind. Take a look at how we shortchange even our highest achieving students by focussing on achievement rather than quality of educational opportunity.