Chavez Education Conference March,20-21, 2009

César Chávez Education Conference
Renewing Hope: Building Capacity for Change,
Yes We Can!

We invite you to join our 2009 conference. Grounded in the core values of this great leader, the goal of the conference is to engage community leaders, educators, parents and students in critical discussion and reflection to promote educational reform efforts that work toward equity, democracy, academic excellence and social justice.

( Click on the colored title above the image to link to the full flier)

2009 Cesar Chavez Education Conference Program

Friday, March 20, 2009

3:00-4:30 pm Registration- Main Entrance Satellite Student Union

4:15-5:30 pm Opening Keynote Satellite Student Union
“Welcome to the Conference”
Dean Paul Beare, Kremen School of Education

Dr. Laura Alamillo
Presentation of 2009 Peacemaker Award
Mediator Mentors
Maple Creek Elementary School, Clovis Unified School District

Dr. Teresa Huerta
Introduction to Dr. Donaldo Macedo

Dr. Donaldo Macedo
Professor at UMASS-Boston
“The Poisoning of Racial & Ethnic Identities”
Discussing social tragedies, including attack on immigrants, ethic cleansing, cultural wars, hegemony, human sufferings, and intensified xenophobia in the United States, Macedo will explain why it is essential that we gain an understanding of how ideology underlies all social, cultural, and political discourse and actions. This lecture shows that it is imperative that we appreciate what it means to educate for critical citizenry in the proclaimed yet false post race world of the twenty-first century.


5:30-6:30 pm Panel Discussion Satellite Student Union
“A Pedagogy of Hope in the Context of California Education”
Moderator: Dr. Glenn DeVoogd, CSU-Fresno
Participants:
Jorge Aguilar, Associate Vice Chancellor UC Merced Center for Educational Partnerships & Associate Superintendent FUSD
Orquidea Largo, Associate Director UC Merced Center for Educational Partnerships
Dr. Barbara Flores, Professor CSU-San Bernardino
Yammilette Rodriguez, Regional Director/Central Valley, Latino Issues Forum
David Valladolid, President and CEO, Parent Institute for Quality Education

Saturday, March 21, 2009

8:00-9:00 am Registration- Main Entrance Satellite Student Union

9:00-10:00 am Welcome

Dr. Glenn DeVoogd
Introduction to Dr. Margaret Moustafa


Keynote Address Satellite Student Union
Margaret Moustafa, Professor at CSU-LA
“What We Know, and What We Need to Let the Obama Administration Know”


10:15-11:15 am Breakout Sessions LOCATION

Help Change District High-Stakes Testing Policies & Practices Peters 011
Horace B. Lucido, Educators & Parents Against Testing Abuse (EPATA)
Because of high-stakes testing, many districts have altered educational practices. This has had disastrous impacts on students, teachers and schools. We will mobilize an alliance of parents, educators and community members to make presentations to school boards to illuminate these problems and offer suggestions for improvement.

The Power of Talk: How Words Change Our Lives Peters 012
Dr. Gilberto Arriaza, CSU-East Bay & Dr. Rosemary C. Henze, Cal State San JoseMissing in leadership studies is an awareness of and capacity to use language as a tool for cultural and institutional change. We present two studies' findings and our just released book

Critical Reading Comprehension: Action Steps To Motivate Readers Peters 013
Glenn DeVoogd, CSU-Fresno
To motivate students, teachers need to make sure reading and writing are meaningful activities. In this workshop, we will describe how students can take action by reading and writing texts (even when using the anthology) that make a difference with their friends, in their classrooms, with their governments, and with people around the world.

Beyond Assimilation: Enhancing Mexican Immigrant Students’ School Peters 101
Empowerment through Transnational Understanding
Dr. Carmina Brittain, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies (CCIS), UC San Diego
This presentation addresses how by understanding the transnational experiences of Mexican immigrant students, US schools' staff and policies can be informed to promote school empowerment for this student population.

Chavez and Obama’s Agenda: We Feed Kids! Peters 103
Mark Salinas, Executive Director, Kids’ Breakfast Club
Child hunger rates are going up in and California is running out of money to feed school-aged kids. One California community is organizing with the goal to solve child hunger.

Exploring the Life of Cesar Chavez through Literature Peters 105
Dr. Rosie Arenas, California Reading & Literature Project, CSU-Fresno

A Critical Look at Our Past, Our Present, and Our Future Peters 106
Oscar Hernandez, Teacher- Reedley High School (Kings Canyon Unified School District)
Eli Negrete, Student- Reedley High School (Kings Canyon Unified School District)
Dr. Barbara Flores, CSU-San Bernardino
In this session participants will explore what happens when students are given the opportunity to critically think about our past, our current situations, and our future. Topics will include the Mexican/U.S. War, a critical view of the Jimenez Family's persuit of the "American Dream," in the book the Circuit and finally a critical look at student activism and the 2004 student walkouts.

California Voices: Youth using Media to Connect to Their Community Peters Auditorium 191
Eric Burns, Veronica Cortes & Maricel Hernandez, Center for Multicultural CooperationThe Center for Multicultural Cooperation’s California Voices initiative is a service-learning program that trains young people how to use digital media to express their public voice and preserve the legacy of community and cultural elders. See some of the youth-produced stories and hear students describe how the digital storytelling experience connects them with their culture and their community.

11:30am-12:30 pm Breakout Sessions LOCATION

Semillas De Poder-“Seeds of Power” Peters 011
Dulce Maria Perez & Alfredo Celedón Luján (Teachers)
Jasmin Loya, Rafael Garcia, Alexis Herrera y Luis Lozoya Rodriguez (Students)
Monte del Sol Charter School, Santa Fe, New Mexico
“Si se Puede" has long been a northern New Mexico motto for not only las causas del movimiento but for individual accomplishments. Las semillas de poder have been planted en las tareas de las acequias, de la escuela, de la vida, and irrigated by el agua de nuestra historia.


Using Readily Available-But Often Overlooked-Data to Create Equity & Access Peters 012
Jorge Aguilar, Associate Vice Chancellor & Orquidea Largo, Associate Director
UC Merced Center for Educational Partnerships
UC Merced Center for Educational Partnerships has implemented a comprehensive program that brings together student, school, and parent-centered activities to increase college eligibility rates. This workshop focuses on looking at how data relates to creating student academic equity and access. Conference participants will learn how UC Merced uses data to drive student academic activities. Specifically, participants will learn how UC Merced has engaged the in research activities using a variety of data sets to identify whether school practices are both increasing student achievement on standardized tests and increasing access to rigorous college preparatory coursework for all students.

Why Have School? An Investigation with the Rouge Forum Peters 013
Dr. Rich Gibson, San Diego State University
Amber Goslee, San Diego elementary teacher
Beau Bennett, San Diego secondary teacher
This interactive workshop poses four questions: Why Have School? What are key things happening in schools today? What are key things happening in society? From this, what shall we do?

Ethical Decision-Making in Education Peters 101
Dr. Jacques Benninga, Bonner Center for Character Education, CSU-Fresno
We know that high functioning adults can advance their ethical decision-making and become more aware of the ethical implications of their actions. This session will introduce educators to such a program of ethical development.

Without Sin: The Writer’s Journey from Cause to Fiction Peters 102
David S. McCabe, Director of Teacher Education, Pasadena City College
Without Sin addresses a fundamental truth: Humanity is a race of immigrants. Through research and fiction, I have attempted to capture the human costs associated with the criminalization of immigration.

The Big Picture of Education Reform as We’ve Experienced Peters 103
Lorena Hayes, Donny Garcia & Robert Hayes, CSU-Fresno Graduate Students & High School Teachers
An analysis of our constant educational reform efforts is needed. Understanding the larger picture of what education reform has imposed on our citizenry. We will look at statistics from NCLB policies, the effects of standardized testing, and regain a grasp of a true fair pedagogy that lies somewhere between progressivism and traditionalism.

Bilingualism and the English Learner Peters 105
Ismael Munoz, Teacher, Bellevue Elementary School, Atwater, CA
This presentation will share results from an action research project concerning bilingualism and language attitudes in English Learners (ELs). Specifically, attendees will understand how using students' primary language can empower ELs to achieve academically. Teachers of ELs will learn teaching strategies that support EL students in the classroom.

Technology: The Medium of Change Peters 106
Jean Brletic, English Learner Academic Coach-Kings Canyon Unified School District
This session will focus on two trends shaping the future--the increasing prominence of technology in our world and the growing English learner population in our schools. Participants will learn how technology can be used as a medium for teachers to make input comprehensible and ways that technology can enable students to craft their own learning and share their voices.


California Voices: Youth using Media to Connect to Their Community Peters Auditorium 191
Eric Burns, Veronica Cortes & Maricel Hernandez, Center for Multicultural CooperationThe Center for Multicultural Cooperation’s California Voices initiative is a service-learning program that trains young people how to use digital media to express their public voice and preserve the legacy of community and cultural elders. See some of the youth-produced stories and hear students describe how the digital storytelling experience connects them with their culture and their community.

12:45- 1:30 pm Panel Discussion /LUNCH Satellite Student Union
“Educational Equity Issues: Sharing Perspectives”

*FREE LUNCH FOR ALL CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS

Click on title "2009 Cesar Chavez Education Conference Program" above for link to campus map

Does what is best for kids = What is best for test scores? by Rog Lucido

CITIES GRAPPLE WITH LOW GRAD RATES….STRENGTH OF SCIENCE… TEACHERS: FUSD HOPES TO BOOST TEST - These headlines have grabbed readers' attention over the past few weeks. As a subtitle to the first- according to a study by America's Promise Alliance, Fresno graduated only 57.4% in 2004. To the second, despite the District claim for students to be scientifically literate, FUSD has eliminated its district science and social science coordinator positions — this was not reported in the Bee nor in Board minutes. To the third, boosting test scores does not mean boosting learning. Rather it condemns students to a narrowed curriculum and low-level thinking skills. In the best of all worlds, students want to learn, teachers want to teach, administrators want to support. Districts strive to provide the necessary resources. How is it that the good intentions and noble dreams of so many become corrupted?
All children do not begin school with equal advantages. Some come healthy and prepared to be successful. Others enter hobbled by limited or even negative experiences: poor nutrition, language skills and vocabulary. Some come from families just struggling to make ends meet. Some wake up each morning wondering if they can walk to and from school without encountering gang entanglements. Learning takes a back seat to survival. According to researcher Robert Marzano, over 80% of the variance in student academic success is determined by outside of school experiences. Only ten to twenty percent of their success is impacted by what is done in the classroom. So how are we taking advantage of this precious classroom time?
Student brains are wired for learning. The brain is a pattern seeker. In short, it wants to know. Parents want their children to love learning. Teachers want them to be lifelong learners. How do our current school policies and practices undermine this? They place the quest for higher test scores above the real goal of education: the development of our children into knowledgeable, responsible, productive adults. The role of parents has been redefined. They are now pressured to prepare their children to be tested while teachers are required to narrow their focus to what will be on the math and Language Arts tests. And worst of all, students see learning as a score and themselves as a proficiency level.
Testing companies, psychological organizations, state and national educational offices declare that the only valid conclusions about what students know and can do must come from multiple sources of evidence- the very types that are found in healthy classrooms like: projects, presentations, reports, experiments, classroom designed assessments, assignments, portfolios, discussions. Many are operating under the illusion that high test scores mean high learning. They don't. There is no corroborating evidence. But, there is significant evidence, most notably the recent study High-Stakes Accountability and the Dropout Crisis that high-stakes tests increase the drop out rate and reduce graduations.

There is nothing in California or NCLB testing requirements that says that you must have additional district testing. We do. Nothing that says that lessons must be scripted so that it is read line by line rather than thoughtfully taught. We do. Nothing that says that lessons must be paced using a chart which directs by minute, hour and day regardless of the rate at which each child learns. We do. No evidence that says that teacher coaches should be hired to attempt to improve student score production. We do. Nothing that says eliminate and/or reduce support for, non-essential, untested, subjects such as science and social studies. We do.

Michigan, Virginia, Arizona and Minnesota are at various stages of legislation to opt out of NCLB. Here in the valley, Lincoln school district has opted out of NCLB saying, "We want to do a better job than we've been able to do and we want to do that by being flexible." FUSD school board or Superintendent has not even made a proclamation regarding the negative impact of high-stakes testing on its students and staff. Joining the chorus of many, a Texas superintendent, Michael Stevens, says, " Could we not reallocate the billions of dollars spent each year spent on testing and allow our wonderful educators to make learning fun, exciting and relevant. Children might actually learn!"

Good Things Never Die

One day last week I took my three kids to the park during a beautiful morning. The energy with which they moved, and the creative thinking they displayed while playing “make-believe”, left me in a state of both thanks and joy. Children seem to develop such a clear sense of the world when left to their own devices. It also got me thinking about all of the other parents that were there. Were they filled with the same feelings of joy, guardianship, and hope for their children as I was for mine? I mean, what do parents really want for their kids? I can safely project that the answer would be to be happy, to learn and contribute to society, and have a heart to love others. And you know what else? I just want them to be regular. Regular people who live a life that is their own; one that has self-directed goals that give them the desire to make the world a better place.

Yes, yes. I know. They also have to be “competitive” in the global market place. It reminds me of a commercial where all the children are running around in suits, leading their busy CEO lives. Ah, the excitable rush of the marketplace---and with baby bottle in hand! While I believe that we must mediate that reality of the world to our children, there is an underlying sickness that wells up within me which screams that something is inherently wrong with this picture. I see the results of this “world” every day in my classroom. As the last five or so years have passed, the effects of monotonous, fill-in-the blank lessons pushed by curriculum companies tied to the testing regimen required by No Child Left Behind, have left me with students who frequently cannot explain their thinking. I have children who have lost the desire to KNOW, to LEARN for learning’s sake, and to CREATE. Parents are somewhat aware of this, yet are so confounded in their own minutia that they have no time to battle the corporate forces that impress such unscientifically supported methods of instruction.

I have students whose parents work extremely hard to give them an adequate place to live. Those parents also work very long hours and are very tired upon returning home from their jobs, and quite frankly have very little left in the tank. Many times, both parents work so the children are left at home to take care of themselves. Homework is often rushed to be completed and then left unchecked, so kids can wildly scamper for the video game console, this generation’s new “baby-sitter”. I know parents don’t want this to be the reality, but it IS the reality. The fact is, parents are working harder and longer, and most have salaries that are either barely keeping pace with inflation or sliding behind it. But are they really out of touch with their kids’ school lives, or are they just plain worn out?

The point here is that our strained economy, and the effort it takes to maintain the family structure within it, are negatively affecting the input of parents into the development of our educational system. Many are unhappy, but feel powerless in many instances over control being taken out of their hands by corporate interests. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg has developed a system of grading schools from A-F, depending mainly on their standardized test scores. Many well-known academically successful schools received low grades, but parents haven’t been fooled by all of the hype. Many parents were “astonished” by the results and have stated that the program is, “part and parcel of the way students are treated--constantly barraging them with narrow, deadening tests and demoralizing them with meaningless scores” (NY times). Some also have said, “Get out! Are you sure they haven’t made a mistake?”, when referring to the grades a highly popular school received. One even said that the “methodology was confusing, problematic and flawed...it doesn’t mean anything.” And the letters continue to pour in.

England has similar issues. In a Cambridge University report, children are “stressed” and find high stakes tests to be “scary”. Parents were also anxious “about the current educational and social contexts” and were found to have more “pessimism about the world in which today’s children are growing up.” In a new poll by the Partnership for the 21st Century Skills, 88% of the people believed that our children are “ill-equipped in critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills”---all of which have been suffocated by the overemphasis on test taking. According to Linda Darling-Hammond, out of Stanford University, some of the most successful countries teach and assess their children using hands-on, oral, and real-world problem solving situations. The innate spirit and curiosity of those children have been inspired to their maximum.

Why is this not the case in the U.S. ? Who decides what and how our kids learn? Will the “marketplace” determine what is best for them? Surely, the cancer that is high stakes testing is no solution. Increases in dropouts and violence among our frustrated youths have proven that. Parents need to get involved and stand up for their children to ensure their natural gifts are developed correctly. It isn’t hard. Think of protecting your most valuable possession, and then multiply that feeling times ten thousand. I say to parents: love your children, and then see that love spirate into real learning and curiosity; meet with others who feel the same and share ideas and concerns; be impactful and an inspiration to others. As a parent who wants to see his children just “be regular”, I left the park that day with a sigh and this thought in mind:

“Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And good things never die.”---Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption.

Learning From the Past

Education today is certainly not what it was years ago. Although some would argue that it may be worse, there are many elements that, in fact, are much better. The days of the one-room school house are gone and the times of children dropping out in the primary grades to work for their family’s survival are no longer existent. Teachers right now are better prepared than they have ever been. Future teachers must have four year college degree, along with 1-2 extra years in a credential program. They are trained to use high level technology in the classrooms, when school sites have it, and it is allowed. They are required to take the RICA and CSET tests, one which tests knowledge of how to teach reading, while the other demands an overall mastery of all curricular areas for multiple subject instructors. Even then, young teachers must go through two years of BTSA, a beginning support program that guides them under the tutelage of an experienced teacher. How is it, then, that corporate interests continually barrage the education community with statements that teachers are not prepared and are not doing a good job? If anything the bright, new, energetic future of teaching in America has been thrown under a bus called NCLB. This has stymied creativity in lesson planning and has forced children to learn in a box that allows very little original thought and insight.

The No Child Left Behind act, a federal law that is up for reauthorization, has been rife with both tangible and intangible damage to our student population. In a research report done by the University of Chicago, named “Left Behind By Design”, the authors strongly state that the NCLB law has forced schools to focus on the nearly proficient, or “bubble” kids. As a result, the most gifted and most poverty stricken students have shown a significant drop in overall achievement since NCLB’s inception. The law’s original intent was to assure that ALL students receive equal treatment, but with the over-reliance on standardized test scores, high quality, meaningful lessons have been squelched in favor of test prep and drill and kill lessons. Thus, many children have been left in the lurch. The National Research Council, in their report “Lessons Learned About Testing” states that “test scores are not perfect measures: they must be considered with other sources of information when making important decisions about individuals and schools”. Yet, so many administrators, business folk, and politicians have failed to realize this basic flaw.

Many teachers have experienced the negative impacts of NCLB in the classroom. Children being physically sick and depressed because of the stress of continual assessments being used to gauge how they will “perform” on the California STAR, is one of the most common observations. Also, the continual droning focus on math and reading, with little else, has drained the spark of learning from many students. Some schools have either cut back, or completely eliminated recess to increase instructional time. This has resulted in higher levels of student aggression and discipline at even the lowest grade levels. It does not take a brain surgeon to point to the fact that these are children, not robots. Children have physical and emotional needs that must be met through the social processes of play .

One current draft of the NCLB reauthorization states that teachers will be judged and paid by test score results. If this passes, the afore mentioned unhealthy elements will be significantly increased. With so much evidence showing that test scores prove very little about what students know and are able to do, how can so much weight be put on them? The National Academy of Sciences has warned against using scores as the only measure of achievement. Varying types of assessments, including portfolios and performance tests must be considered. The integrity of the teaching profession will be compromised, and its duty to help all children learn will be cast into continuous speculation over what a teacher’s real motivation is.

The education of the past teaches us that human beings should be recognized as universal learners with a passion for discovery. Contact your local representatives, superintendents, and school boards to demand a change in policy. Multiple sources of evidence must be used to determine student mastery, and the funding for the research and creation of multitiered assessments which demonstrate a student’s complete knowledge must be guaranteed. Sometimes common sense is just what we need.

EPATA Newsletter August '07

EPATA Newsletter

Hello, all! I hope your summer vacation has been restful. I am sending this email out to let you know that I appreciate all of your involvement in this group. It is your passion for children that lights the fire of our profession. I don't know if you read it, but the op-ed piece by Maria Salinas in today's Fresno Bee struck a chord with me. I sent her an email below and I encourage you all to do the same according to the REALITY of your work with ELL students.

We have been gathering at churches and/or stores to spread our message and it has been fruitful. However, we still need more venues (schools? church communities?) and volunteers to simply sit and talk to parents while handing out information. I messed up the URL for the NCLB packet by Elizabeth Yaeger. You can print this out directly, make copies, and pass them out:
http://oaklandea.org/front_page_docs/may_07/NCLB%20Jaeger.pdf

Please email me if you can help.

We will probably have a meeting near the end of August, although I will email you on that. NCLB reauthorization is being HIGHLY debated right now, although the national media won't touch it. George Miller wants "multiple measures", but I don't think he truly knows what that means. Margaret Spellings and the Business Roundtable supported Ed in '08 (a 60 million dollar campaign to "improve" schools) still want the testing measures and want to use them to judge YOUR performance in the classroom. We need to say that this is wrong. Go to Fairtest.org to get the latest on legislation. Your representatives are on break right now. Go see them. Have confidence in what you need to say about the law. It IS having an effect.

(Don't forget to read my letter and send one to her)

Thanks,
Joseph Lucido
EPATA
Educator Roundtable----->

Dear Ms. Salinas,

Thank you for writing your op-ed piece on education and the desires of the Hispanic community. While there are many good points to it, I am deeply concerned with your implied support of the "Ed in 08" campaign. This 60 million dollar campaign, financed primarily by billionaires Eli Broad and Bill Gates, has the intention of suggesting that schools be graded only by using test scores alone. It states that teachers will be paid according to their "ability" in the classroom. Their focus is not on learning improvement, but test score improvement, and these two items are FAR from being the same. This campaign is truly designed to fool the public into believing that test scores are what tell the truth about what students know and are able to do. To judge any professional or student by one measure alone shows a lack of knowledge about student learning
processes. These two "philanthropists" have one goal in mind: to push for an end to public education and to privatize it, sending billions of tax payer dollars to for-profit school systems who claim to do a "better job" but have no oversight or general proof of their effectiveness. Just look at the Reading First and student loan scandals. Many people, ESPECIALLY the poor and ethnic communities, were hit hard by these schemes that claimed to help financially or educationally, but have turned out to be poison to those on the receiving end of the stick. Reading First schools, have either declined or flatlined according to Stephen Krashen, an international expert on English Language Learners.

The Council of La Raza has been very foolish of its support for this campaign and NCLB. While the law itself claims to focus on the wellfare of poor and minority children, it does just the opposite. These children come from usually very poor areas that are forced to use scripted curriculum and have all but abolished enriching science, art, music, and social studies all in the name of drilling for tests. Within the school year, these kids are tested over and over and over to see where they would land on the state tests. Very little authentic learning is going on in many of these places because of the forces of
the law. Many students and many great teachers are absolutely burned out on the non-creative, smothering curriculum. La Raza, while well intentioned, appears to support ANYTHING that says it will focus on the Hispanic community without recognizing the disastrous consequences.

Truly, we need to re-research the NCLB law and make it an effective piece of legislation that works for all. A recent study out of the University of Chicago has shown that the students in the lowest percentiles have made horrifying drops
in their academic results as a consequence of this law's drill focus. There are many ways to decide how a child has mastered a standard, and these need to be looked at and incorporated into the law. Nebraska has done an excellent job of
this and should be a model for you to look at.

Below you will find a press release from selected civil rights groups AGAINST the NCLB test and punish policies that Ed in '08 (with its many Business Rountable partners) supports. Please notice (to name some) the involment of the Civil Rights Project, League of United Latin American Citizens, NAACP, National Association for Bilingual Education, and the National Coalition
of ESEA Title I Parents. La Raza is the only Hispanic rights group to support Ed in '08 as of now. Why is this? You might want to discover what their motives really are by following the money of that campaign as it unfolds. Our group was created to protect the innocent from the terrible damage of standardized testing. All students deserve the right to learn in a healthy atmosphere. Please email me for anymore questions.

Thanks,
Joseph Lucido
Fifth Grade Science Lead
Educators and Parents Against Test Abuse Co-founder
Educator Roundtable


Forum on Educational Accountability
for immediate release Tuesday, August 7, 2007
CIVIL RIGHTS, DISABILITY ORGS. CALL FOR “MULTIPLE MEASURES”
IN “NO CHILD” OVERHAUL LEGISLATION;
FORUM ON EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY PRAISES GROUPS’ LETTER
AND REP. MILLER’S LEADERSHIP ON THIS ISSUE

Nearly two dozen major civil rights and disability advocacy groups today
called on Congress to include “multiple forms of assessment” and
“multiple measures or indicators of student progress” in legislation
currently being drafted to overhaul the controversial “No Child Left
Behind” (NCLB) federal education law. In a letter delivered to members
of the Senate and House education committees, the groups wrote, “If
education is to improve in the United States, schools must be assessed
in ways that produce high-quality learning and that create incentives to
keep students in school.”
Signers of the letter included the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), League of United Latin American
Citizens (LULAC), Learning Disabilities Association of America, National
Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), ASPIRA Association, NAACP
Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Alliance for Bilingual
Education, National Urban Alliance, Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC), Civil Rights Project, Asian American Legal Defense and Education
Fund, National Indian School Board Association and ACORN.
The groups’ letter continued, “A number of studies have found that an
exclusive emphasis on (primarily multiple-choice) standardized test
scores has narrowed the curriculum. An unintended consequence has been
to create incentives for schools to boost scores by keeping or pushing
low-scoring students out of school. Push-out incentives and the narrowed
curriculum are especially severe for special needs students, English
language learners, and students without strong family supports.”
Among the arguments made for including multiple measures:
* attention will be given to a comprehensive academic program and a more
complete array of learning outcomes;
* higher-order thinking and performance skills can be assessed;
* checks and balances will be added to ensure that emphasizing one
measure does not come at the expense of other important educational
goals; and
* schools will be encouraged to attend to the progress of students at
every point of the achievement spectrum, not just those near a test
cut-point labeled “proficient.”
The letter concluded, “A multiple measures approach that incorporates a
well-balanced set of indicators would support a shift toward holding
states and localities accountable for making the systemic changes that
improve student achievement. This is a necessary foundation for genuine
accountability.”
The Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA), a group formed to advance
the proposals made in the Joint Organizational Statement on NCLB (now
signed by 138 national education, civil rights, religious, disability,
parent, civic and labor organizations), praised the letter and cited a
recent National Press Club speech by House Education Chairman George
Miller as indicators of the wide support for making multiple measures of
achievement an important part of any federal education law.
“Clearly, there is an emerging consensus that judging our schools
largely on the basis of simple-minded reading and math tests undermines
educational quality and equity," said FEA Chair, Dr. Monty Neill.
Two of the Joint Statement's principles explicitly support the use of
multiple measures:
* “Provide a comprehensive picture of students' and schools' performance
by moving from an overwhelming reliance on standardized tests to using
multiple indicators of student achievement in addition to these tests.”
* “Help states develop assessment systems that include district and
school-based measures in order to provide better, more timely
information about student learning.”

The full list of organizations that have signed the letter: ACORN,
Advancement Project, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund,
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, ASPIRA Association, Civil Rights
Project, Council for Exceptional Children, Japanese American Citizens
League, Justice Matters, League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC), Learning Disabilities Association of America, National Alliance
of Black School Educators (NABSE), National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), NAACP Legal Defense & Educational
Fund, Inc., National Association for Asian Pacific American Education,
National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE), National
Association for the Education and Advancement of Cambodian, Laotian, and
Vietnamese Americans (NAFEA), National Coalition of ESEA Title I
Parents, National Council on Educating Black Children, National
Federation of Filipino American Associations, National Indian Education
Association, National Indian School Board Association, National Pacific
Islander Educator Network (NPIEN), National Urban Alliance for Effective
Education (NUA).

The Broken Heart

A heart is a terrible thing to waste...



The world to me is always an amazing place. I am frequently intrigued by the emotional reactions that the public has to the realities of horror. The latest insanity has been the Michael Vick case where it has been alleged that his property was used for dog fighting. Vick and his cohorts have been accused of, “knowingly sponsoring and exhibiting an animal fighting venture.” (AP) When these animals are not prepared or aggressive enough to fight, they are often disposed of. The report states that dogs were “killed by hanging, drowning and/or slamming at least one dog’s body to the ground.” Can you imagine the reality of actually seeing that happen? To watch a dog suffer in pain and to physically see its life ended in such a grisly manner? And thus what has happened almost immediately: PETA and the ASPCA held demonstrations demanding for the immediate firing of Michael Vick from the Atlanta Falcons for his involvement. They organized to show their outrage.

Another situation that I have seen the public grow in strong levels of discontent over the last few years is the Iraq war. So far, the United States has lost 3636 soldiers and has acquired 26,558 casualties since the invasion. Outside of the extreme sadness of death, the injuries sustained by some of the soldiers include lost limbs, eyesight, and brain damage from severe head injuries. Whether its been Fox, CNN, MSNBC, or CBS, the pictures of destruction and mayhem have been graphic and disturbing. Many times, these images make imprints on the brain that last forever. Although some may disagree with her plight, Cindy Sheehan began a crusade to end the war because of the death of her son in Iraq and her belief that the war was started under false pretenses. She has felt the pain and seen the results of the carnage as a parent. Her anguish has been mirrored by countless others who have experienced the same. Thus, she and many others have marched around the country, demanding justice from the government and congress. The ultimate results of her efforts will not be known for some time, but the dialogue has at least initiated in congress to pull out of Iraq.

One might ask, then, what do these situations have to do with each other? The answer defines much of who we are as humans. It is our nature that when we physically see or hear of extremely painful situations, our gut instinct is to protect that which is valuable to us from it. Whether it be our children at war or our precious animals who are often defenseless, the notion that they could be “next” is real because the pictures, sounds, and graphics have proven the danger to us in the media. The question is posed then: WHY HAVE WE NOT, AS A SOCIETY, RALLIED TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM AN UNJUST EDUCATION LAW? I propose that the main reason is that not enough parents have SEEN the pain, HEARD the cries of their children, and FELT the hopelessness that many teachers have felt since the inception of the No Child Left Behind education law. If they saw their child sobbing the day of the “big” exam, or crushed because they were labeled as “basic” on some bar graph hanging for all to see, or knew their school could be closed, the masses of folks would be out in droves.

Human thinking and emotion is often silent during times of distress. It is kept in the dark because of embarrassment, shame, worry, and fear. Students worry about being “smart” enough or not being a good addition to the classroom because they haven’t performed well on a standardized test. A study out of Chicago shows that NCLB has literally failed to work for students in the lowest performing ranges. They have actually done much worse. Many of these kids come from the poorest areas where parents have been incarcerated or on drugs, maybe even have died as a result of violence. This AFFECTS children negatively. At any given time, up to 5% of all kids 9-17 struggle with depression (National Institute of Health). These children often have failure in school, and the pressure to be “proficient” scoring on a bubble test over, and over, and over, and over can only add to the problem. In the teen years, these types of students are more prone to truancy, substance abuse, and suicide.

So, WHERE ARE THE PARENTS MARCHING? How do we MAKE VISIBLE the anguish of our children and teachers? How do we get the message out that NCLB is KILLING our kids’ minds? Must we wait until they have suffered an entire 12 years of poorly researched assessment and forced curriculum such that they turn out unable to think with reason and have a desire for life long learning? Talent and joy have been purged from many classrooms and will continue to be unless the pain is VISIBLE. Teachers need to share their agony and report their students’ feelings to school sites and congressmen. They need to reach out to parents and let go of their fear. Parents will protect what is valuable if they know the danger. Which is worse: To eliminate NCLB and start over, or to bury the future of the child that died of a broken heart?