The Public Education Department of New Mexico did not meet its deadlines for developing End Of Course exams, an exit exam for graduating seniots and a standardized measure of teacher efficacy. Albuquerque Public Schools were pressured to administer the tests, even though it was announced that it would be impossible to reproduce all of the exams for all grade levels in time for the testing deadline window.
Once again, teachers and students bear the bront of the chaos.
PARCC testing finally ends tomorrow, after students have been completing it since March 2nd. We had been told that Ebd of Course Exams would start on Monday April 27th. Senior finals start on May 4th, graduation is on May 15th, and underclass final exams end on May 21st wih a makeup day for all exams on May 22nd: the last day of the school year for APS students (school starts on August 6 for teachers and August 13th for students).
There is a problem with End Of Course Exams, however: they were not created by the Public Education Department of New Mexico in a timely manner. After much back and forth, and the possibility of the test being cancelled this year, PED rolled out thousands of tests yesterday for the district to distribute.
Albuquerque Journal generated a story in which it was stated that, "It's unclear whether most APS students will be taking the required End of Course exams this year due to a delay in the state making the tests available to districts," The deadline to initiate End of Course exams is April 27th, and the state usually makes the tests available by the end of March. The Public Education Department made the tests available on Tuesday afternoon, but that is three weeks later than their initial deadline.
Secretary of Education, Hanna Skandera, stated that the delay was caused by an increase from 29 tests taken last year to 61 tests this year.
One thing that the Journal said that is inaccurate reporting is that "Many teachers give final exams as well as the End of Course Exams." State law requires all teachers in all subjects to administer a written final exam that is not a standardized tests. The only teachers who do not also give End of Course exams are those in electives courses where EOCs are not yet generated.
As a response, The Albuquerque Teachers Federation president, Ellen Bernstein, sent the following letter to all Albuquerque Public School faculty and staff. Although it is intended to be printed in the Albuquerque Journal, it is doubtful that her letter will ever be printed by this highly conservative newspaper. Her letter states the following and needs to be widely shared:
Tardy Tests
Earlier this week, APS announced that it would be unable to administer the Public Education Department (PED) created End of Course Exams (EOCs) in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. The PED failed to create the EOCs in a timely manner, making it impossible for districts like APS to reproduce all of the exams for each grade level in time for the testing period.
Teachers and students in elementary, middle, and high schools were ready to shift their work away from testing and focus on real instruction. The PED wasn't about to let that happen. It delivered thousands of copies of the test to APS. It seems that the PED will move any mountain to ensure that our students are over-tested--even when the tests are not ready on time.
According to Secretary Skandera, tests like the EOCs are necessary because they hold teachers accountable. As an educator, I find it infuriating that Skandera believes the EOCs should be used to hold us accountable even though she can't meet her own deadlines in developing the tests.
It appears that Secretary Skandera's brand of accountability is a one-way street.
If she is held to the same "standards" to which she holds her teachers, she would have to admit that her failures go far beyond the EOC debacle. She would have to face the fact that she is an "ineffective" leader, and that under her direction, the "D" in PED stands for Dysfunction.
Educators are not surprised. We know Secretary Skandera is not qualified for the job because she is not an educator. If she were, she would understand that, in education, deadlines matter.
If a teacher fails to prepare materials, ready the classroom, develop lesson plans, or submit grades for report cards on time, students' learning needs go unmet--real consequences.
If a teacher fails to meet the numerous and ever-increasing federal, state, and district requirements in a timely fashion, they could lose their job and their license--real consequences.
When Secretary Skandera and the PED fail at doing their job, there should be consequences.
My guess is that Secretary Skandera is probably thinking, "Come on, Ellen. You shouldn't hold me accountable for one test." Well, Secretary Skandera, you are finally feeling what it's like to be an educator.
We are held accountable for tests we didn't create and for situations we cannot control: poor test taking conditions, missing accommodations for special needs students, and test questions that do not measure what is being taught in the classroom. Teachers are held accountable for it all.
The reality is, every teacher knows that real accountability isn't about a test. It's about reaching every student and meeting their educational needs. With all the time teachers and students spend on testing, this keeps getting harder and harder.
Yes, Secretary Skandera failed to create the EOCs in a timely manner, but that is not of ultimate importance. What is important is that Skandera's over-testing agenda is robbing our students of precious learning time and experiences. For that, Skandera must be held accountable.
When there are so many standardized tests for the PED to both create and keep track of, instead of recognizing that there is an inherent flaw in the amount of tests that students are receiving, other measures like changing the school day schedule so that students are on campus longer and have shortened breaks, will be implemented to accommodate the testing schedule. Surely, I am not the only person who sees something incredibly wrong with these actions...but perhaps logic is something that has no place within the public education system.