LWV New Mexico Focuses on Strategies for Academic Success

by Meredith Machen, LWV New Mexico

nm2Meredith Machen, President of the New Mexico League, has just won The New Mexican 10 Who Made a Difference award for 2015.  She sends us their LWVNM positions and strategies to support public education.

This could not be more timely.  Here in Florida, we are working on a similar statement.  It is easier to criticize the many shortcomings of current education policy than it is to formulate workable strategies, but New Mexico has set a high standard.  They address many current problems in constructive ways.

The LWV-Florida is compiling strategies from other state leagues as well.  Send us yours.

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Massachusetts: Charter Lawsuit Will Not Fix the Achievement Gap

Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library

Some Massachusetts students compete with the best other countries can offer  In order to understand why I turned to a Watchdog.org article in which a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Education described its system.  Then, I dug some more.

Massachusetts adopted high standards in 1993.  They resisted much of Florida’s accountability system, but students do test annually.  It is how Massachusetts does and does not use test scores that is interesting.  The demographics of the state’s population are also telling.  The lawsuit is pointless.  Get to know more about Massachusetts….

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U.S. DOE: Testing Action Plan

hat-157980_1280The Fact Sheet on federal plans to reform the over emphasis on testing was released yesterday.  The approach to school and teacher accountability has shifted from a strong emphasis on annual state assessments to one that uses multiple measures in ‘innovative’ ways.  The principles for testing are those one would expect:  tests should be worth taking, high quality, time limited, fair, transparent, one of multiple measures, and tied to improvement of learning.

Reading closely, it is apparent that annual testing remains for reading, writing, science and math.  The use of test scores to evaluate the achievement of students in diverse groups and to determine which schools need additional support remains.  There are, however, cracks in the system.

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President Obama Calls for a Cap on Testing, or does he?

dmbtestIs there hope that the testing craze may have peaked?  Finally, a reputable study has reported that tests are overwhelming public schools.  Teachers, students and parents have been saying so for several years.  Their voices have reached the top.  Today, the Council on Great City Schools released its preliminary report of a survey of testing practices.  President Obama also says there is too much testing.  Read the fine print.  What is really being said?

Here are some findings from the Great City Schools report:

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LWVF Press Release: School Accountability System Broken

LWV_OpenLogoThe Florida League of Women Voters released a statement today detailing the constant revisions to the school accountability system from 2011-2015.  Over and over, the legislature and the Department of Education have tried and failed to get it right.  It is more than a problem with a test.  School grades, teacher evaluations, scoring of exams, and student passing rates all are constantly changed.  It reminds me of the expression: ‘You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.  It is time to change direction if we want to improve our educational system.

Read the statementIt is Time to Focus on Teaching, Not Testing.  Send it everywhere.

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Call Timeout on Testing

dmbtestPaula Dockery makes the case that it is time to learn from out mistakes.  Dockery is a syndicated columnist who served sixteen years as a Republican legislator from Lakeland.  She joined the Board of Directors of the Florida League of Women Voters in 2014.

In her step by step recital of how Florida got into the crisis over testing and accountability, it is clear that the Florida legislature and the Department of Education need to stop and reconsider.  Read Paula Dockery’s piece here.  Make your voices heard in the legislature even if Senate and House Education Chairs wish you would not.

Florida District Superintendents Lose Confidence in Accountability System

Senator Montford, CEO of FADSS

Senator Montford, CEO of FADSS

In a statement issued today, the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) issued a strong statement opposing the testing and accountability system.  Citing the recently released validity study acknowledgment that the Florida Standards Assessment “did not meet the normal rigor and standardization expected of a high stakes program like the FSA”, FADSS issued the following recommendations:

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