LEAP sample questions blind side teachers, raise questions

Teachers are starting to get a glimpse of what awaits when the state transitions to common core standardized tests, and they don't like what they see.

 Educators felt blind sided when LEAP tests administered last week included essay questions being piloted for new exams, according to this story by WBRZ-TV reporter Chris Nakamoto.

As LFT President Steve Monaghan told the reporter (see video below) something is horribly wrong with a system that imposes these high-stakes tests on public school students, but pays for vouchers in schools that don't evaluate teachers based on test scores or grade the schools according to the test results.

Bigger shocks are in store. Most students will be required to take PARCC exams on computers. That will raise several problems.

Part of the state has no access to broad-band Internet, thanks to Gov. Jindal's refusal to accept federal funding to expand braodband service in Northeast Louisiana.That will make it difficult for students to log on to the test.

What's more, most schools rely on laptops for students, but those do not hold a charge long enough for the estimated three hours it will take to complete the test. Will extension cords and power strips be adequate?

Then there is the issue of preparing students to take a complete test - including all of their computations, because scratch paper won't be allowed - on the computer. Will the newness of the process alone result in a decline in scores?

Florida teachers file suit against flawed evaluation system

Louisiana is not the only state dealing with a governor determined to bring down public education. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott has implemented an education "reform" plan very similar to Louisiana's. And like here, there is now a lawsuit underway to undo the damage.

Unlike Louisiana, Florida's two largest teacher unions, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association, have merged into one powerful organization.

Seven accomplished Florida teachers have joined with their unions in a federal lawsuit charging that the state's new evaluation system—which is based on the standardized test scores of students or subjects they do not teach—violates their due process and equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

The teachers, who work in Alachua, Hernando and Escambia counties' public schools, brought suit in federal court against the Florida commissioner of education, the State Board of Education and the school boards of those three counties. The school systems have implemented high-stakes evaluations tied to the state's standardized student assessment, known as FCAT, in order to comply with SB 736.

 Under the law, teachers who are rated unsatisfactory for two consecutive years (or two out of three years in a row) are subject to termination or nonrenewal. Transfers, promotions and layoffs are based on the assigned performance rating. And, as of July 1, 2014, salaries will be based on the assigned performance rating as well.

"This lawsuit highlights the absurdity of the evaluation system that has come about as a result of SB 736," says Andy Ford, an AFT vice president and president of the Florida Education Association, an affiliate of the AFT and the NEA. The FEA and the NEA jointly filed the federal lawsuit this month. "Teachers in Florida are being evaluated using a formula designed to measure learning gains in the FCAT math and reading tests. But most teachers, including the seven in this lawsuit, don't teach those subjects in the grades the test is administered. One of the teachers bringing this suit is getting evaluated on the test scores of students who aren't even in her school."

SB 736, the Tampa Bay Times recently observed, has succeeded only in undermining public confidence in public schools. "The law anticipated using student performance on end-of-course subject exams to inform 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation. Such exams don't yet exist for the vast majority of classes students take," the paper said. "But rather than delay implementation until such measurement tools could be designed, the Legislature said school districts could substitute results from the FCAT, even for the teachers—be it art, Spanish or kindergarten—whose classes are never part of FCAT testing."

Report shows need to move away from test fixation

A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is yet another lesson from overseas demonstrating the need for a course correction in the United States—away from our obsession with a punitive accountability approach that uses high-stakes standardized tests as its centerpiece and towards a more supportive accountability approach that continuously improves teacher performance and student learning, AFT president Randi Weingarten says.

The report, Synergies for Better Learning: An International Perspective on Evaluation and Assessment, urges a balanced and holistic approach to evaluation, assessment and teacher improvement so that the overall emphasis is on efforts to help, not punish, teachers and to give students a great education. It recommends that teacher evaluations feed into professional development, ensure that underperformance is identified and adequately addressed, and ensure input from teachers and other stakeholders.

"It should give pause to those U.S. education leaders and so-called reformers who are fixated on high-stakes tests to the virtual exclusion of using multiple measures to inform instruction and improve teacher quality," Weingarten says.

"The report's recommendations echo what Vicki Phillips (of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and I said in a column in the April 11 New Republic. A high-quality teacher development and evaluation system requires elements that are designed to improve teacher practice and student learning, including matching high expectations with high levels of support, using evidence of teaching and student learning from multiple sources, providing constructive feedback to teachers, and aligning teacher development and evaluation to the Common Core State Standards."

Economists: Don't eliminate the state income tax

The Louisiana Budget Project - partner with LFT in Better Choices for a Better Louisiana - today cited a Nola.com editorial in which economists from three universities say it would be a mistake to eliminate Louisiana's income tax:

Economists from LSU, UNO and Tulane say eliminating the state's income tax "is simply not good public policy. It is irresponsible." Co-authoring a Nola.com editorial, Jim Richardson of LSU, Tim Ryan of UNO and Steven Sheffrin questioned the financial and economic wisdom of Gov. Jindal's claim that the state should eliminate the personal income tax irrespective of revenue offsets or expenditure cuts. The economists noted cutting the income tax likely won't create new jobs or improve Louisiana's business climate rankings in a meaningful way. They said the state's tax burden is already the second lowest in the nation, and any future attempts to raise revenues for public services would fall on businesses. The economists concluded by reminding readers Louisiana is currently in a structural deficit - where expenditures are greater than receipts - and eliminating income taxes, which supports almost 25 percent of the state budget, will make that deficit worse.

Louisiana's current budget deficit is $1.3 billion, and Jindal's attempt to close the gap by cutting budgets for public services drew a second day of public outcry during the House Appropriations Committee meeting on Wednesday. Among other concerns, lawmakers received warnings that budget cuts could cause rural hospitals, domestic violence shelters and food banks to close. Even the Louisiana Nursing Home Association criticized the governor's proposal, saying it would take $183 million out of a trust fund established to help pay nursing homes to care for Medicaid patients

Enough is Enough: Rally at the capitol on April 30!

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers is joining with a large coalition of organizations to rally at the state capitol on April 30 in opposition to the Jindal administration’s policies.

This true grass-roots movement began in central Louisiana last month, when more than 500 people held a candle light vigil to protest the closing of Huey P. Long Hospital in Pineville. Rallies have sprung up across the state since then.

As the movement grew, so did its objectives and interests. The movement now represents broad-based discontent with the direction the state has taken. It has become a coalition interested in preserving what our forefathers knew as the common good – a belief that a decent society educates its young, protects its weak, heals its sick and provides a dignified retirement for those who spent their lives in service to the people. In recent years, all these have become victims of the Jindal administration.

Organizations that have committed to work on and participate in this event include the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators, the Louisiana Association of Retired State Employees, the East Baton Rouge NAACP, AFSCME, several Central Trades and Labor Councils, Earl K. Long Medical Center employees, Equality Louisiana, Louisiana Movement, the East Baton Rouge Democratic Executive Committee, and the list continues to grow every day.

A Web site for the event is under construction, and literature is being developed to promote the event.

LFT president rails against DOE’s $128 million administrative budget

As the House Appropriations Committee began its study of the state’s $24.7 billion general fund budget on Tuesday, LFT President Steve Monaghan asked members to closely monitor the Department of Educaiton’s $128 million administrative budget.

Monaghan, the only representative of a teacher organization to address the committee, said that many aspects of the department’s budget are problematic. As an example, he cited a “lack of transparency” in the way the department hires highly paid administrators.

“Once upon a time we at least know who was being hired to do what,” Monaghan said. “Now it seems that we discover those things without any rhyme or reason.”

Monaghan noted that funding for public schools through the Minimum Foundation Program has been frozen for the past five years, even as the department brought in minimally qualified administrators at high salaries.

“The department’s priorities seem to be more ideological than instructional,” he said.

Monaghan’s complaint echoed published reports that top hires at the department are being brought in to sell the administration’s privatization and voucher plans at the expense of traditional public schools.

“There was a time when research drove decisions,” Monaghan told the committee. “It doesn’t seem that research is driving decisions now.”

“I bring a message from the classroom that conditions are getting much worse,” Monaghan told lawmakers. “Please be watchdogs and help us with this fight.”

To view Monaghan's testimony, please click here. His testimony begins at about the 2:17:52 mark.

Making it up as they go along

Superintendent of Education John White is all a-twitter about the “Classroom Support Toolbox” touted in this article by Advocate reporter Will Sentell, but there is actually less here than meets the eye.

About all that is really new – aside from the public relations campaign designed to put a smiley face on the widely despised COMPASS evaluation system – is a series of videos intended to show best practices to teachers.

There is also the announcement that the State Department will train some 2,000 teachers to be experts in the details of the tool box, and to help their colleagues understand the new common core standards.

All of which just reinforces the impression that this department is making it up as they go along.

But while the department’s details are all squishy, tentative and subject to tweaking, the effects on teachers are concrete. New Web sites and self-help videos do nothing to help teachers who have already been observed and are well n the way to having their evaluations set in stone.

So here’s a suggestion for lawmakers preparing for the session that begins on April 8: Set all of this year’s evaluations aside. Use the experience as an example of what happens when radical changes are imposed without adequate forethought, preparation or transparency.

Go back to the drawing board. Work with real teachers to develop an evaluation system that is accurate and fair, and that truly reflects the value that teachers bring to their classrooms.

Field test it well, and work out the problems before it becomes the rule by which teachers live. That would go a long way toward rebuilding faith and trust in the legislature and in the Department of Education.

Panel rejects John White's special ed plan

Following what has become the standard playbook for the State Department of Education, Superintendent John White today surprised a committee with sweeping changes to the state’s special education program.

But the Special Education Advisory Panel refused to play patsy, and rejected White’s proposed special education funding formula on an 8-2 vote.

White told the panel that his plan for the $313 million spent each year on children with disabilities will not have a major impact on overall funding levels for school systems. It would, however, radically change the funding structure for special education programs.

Instead of allocating the same amount of money for all children identified for special services, White said, his plan would base funding on three categories into which children could be placed.

In addition, state funds to schools would be adjusted depending on the academic achievement of students, based on academic improvement targets.

A final adjustment of funding would be based on where a special needs child is educated, such as a residential facility, at home or in a hospital.

Panel members objected to the scope of the superintendent’s plan, saying that they did not receive proper notification of the changes and did not have time to study the proposal. Questions were raised about how White’s plan would be implemented, and whether or not it meets requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Members wanted to know why stakeholders were given no opportunity to play a role in developing White’s new policy.

Instead of approving White’s plan, the panel voted to create a task force to study the proposed changes and how they would affect school systems.

The vote may set up a conflict at the next meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The state department expected BESE to approve his plan this spring and send it to the legislature for approval; but the panel recommended waiting at least until the 2014-15 before the changes go into effect.

The special education funding plan is also expected to be discussed at the next Parish Superintendents Advisory Council meeting on February 14.

LFT president responds to higher ed budget cuts

Recently, Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) defended the Jindal administration’s five-year assault on higher education funding in Louisiana. Appel, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, seemed to be saying that the multi-year budget cuts, amounting to some $625 million, are the tonic that our colleges and universities need in order to produce a better product.


In an ironic twist, Appel’s letter to The Advocate included this gem: “…we must be able to provide a system of higher education that is high-performing, properly funded and aligned with workforce and economic development needs.”

Today, LFT President Steve Monaghan responded.

http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/5096495-123/letter-budget-cuts-hurt-higher

Dear Editor:

With all due respect to state Sen. Conrad Appel, his letter to the editor (Jan. 31) unfortunately reads as an apologia for the more than $625 million in cuts to higher education over the past five years, cuts that have left our state with the lowest overall level of college funding in the South.

Because of these budget cuts, many respected professors and academic leaders have left for universities in other states, and with them have reportedly gone millions of dollars in research grants.

In an effort to offset these budgetary cuts, tuition and fees have escalated. The escalation of costs to students and working families places the dream of a college education at risk.

These cuts have not been surgical. They have not been limited to the elimination of the duplications of programs, or the consequences of low graduation rates. Make no mistake about it, these cuts have affected students.

For at least five years, a cuts-only approach to fiscal policy has produced inadequate funding and mid-year cuts.

Real damage has been done to higher education and the future of our state. Literally hundreds of tax breaks, deductions and rebates have been promoted, passed and continued with little regard for their need or value to Louisiana citizens.

As a result, Louisiana is suffering disastrous consequences. Higher education stands as one of the more prominent victims.

Steve Monaghan, president,

Louisiana Federation of Teachers

New procedures, partnerships will aid school safety, LFT says

Public schools should be made safer without turning them into armed camps, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan told a legislative committee meeting in the aftermath of a horrific school shooting in Connecticut.

The union leader told members of the House Committee on Homeland Security that commonsense measures, including doors that lock and strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies, can be a big step toward ensuring the safety of students and the adults who work in schools.

Monaghan rejected the notion put forward by one lawmaker that teachers should be armed in order to face threats from outsiders like the man who burst into the Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 20 children and six adults.

Citing his own experience as a Marine veteran, Monaghan said that the training available to most teachers would not be adequate to deal with a determined shooter.

“We have to be realistic about what the role of an educator is versus the role of a security enforcer,” Monaghan told the committee.

“I was an English teacher,” he said. “You don’t want me having a gun.”

Monaghan reported some of the preliminary results of an LFT survey in which teachers and school employees were asked to describe their school’s security measures.

The vast majority say that their school does have a crisis management plan as required by law, Monaghan said, but that some report deficiencies in the plans. Many reported that their classroom doors cannot be locked from the inside or without a key.

School officials have cited the cost of retrofitting schools with locking doors and safety features like “panic buttons,” an issue that Monaghan said needs to be addressed.

“We need to seek partnerships with appropriate state and federal agencies to fund the required modifications. If necessary, a request should be made to the congressional delegation asking for funds,” the survey report says.

To read the rest of this story, please click here.

WWL-TV op-ed: Jindal plan shows disdain for teachers

Check out this op-ed by LFT President Steve Monaghan on the WWL-TV Web site!

When cultural historian Jacques Barzun wrote "Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition," he could have been describing the education “reform” movement pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal and his allies in Louisiana. Jindal’s approach to education is typified by an apparent disdain for those who have made the profession their life’s calling.

The governor’s attitude about teachers emerged in a speech before the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry a year ago, in which he first outlined the radical overhaul that would become the hallmark of his education agenda. Jindal inaccurately and unfairly asserted to those influential business leaders that teachers “are given lifetime job protection…and short of selling drugs in the workplace or beating up” their students, teachers couldn’t be fired.

“Not only is this not a factual statement,”I said at the time, “but evoking images of those specific behaviors in reference to educators is unjust and insulting.”

The governor has often been quoted as saying that, prior to his overhaul, Louisiana teachers retained their jobs simply because they “keep breathing.” As proof, he and his supporters said that only a small percentage of teachers had been found incompetent and fired.

That ignored the fact that about half of all teachers leave the profession within five years of entering it. What other profession suffers such an exodus? One would naturally expect a higher level of competency among those who survived past their fifth anniversary.

As part of this assault on public school teachers, Act 1 (2012), a hodge-podge of policies that all but abolished teachers’ due process rights and tied their professional futures to an unproven new evaluation system, was steam rolled through the legislative process.

Simultaneously and in the same manner, Governor Jindal pushed Act 2 (2012), through the legislature. This bill comprises the most overreaching efforts at privatizing public education ever conceived in the United States.

Act 2 was so big, so bloated with various unrelated schemes, and was rushed through the system with so little scrutiny, that few paid much attention to its details.

The act is best known for funneling public education dollars to private and religious schools. Some of those have been shown to be woefully inadequate in curricula, facilities and, ironically, teacher quality.

But Act 2 encompasses much more than vouchers, and provides public funding for all manner of private and quasi-public education alternatives, without appropriate safeguards to assure the instructional quality of the programs.

Under these so called reforms, public tax dollars flow to largely unregulated voucher schools and other so-called “course providers.” (Those can be any individual, business or institution that has an idea for providing an academic course and receives approval from the governor’s education department.)

Act 2 is replete with examples of disdain for teachers as well as for public education in general. For example, the act deletes any requirement that teachers in charter schools be certified, but grants automatic certification to anyone who is approved as a “course provider.”

If non-traditional schools are to be part of the reform mix, then there should be ways to compare their achievement with that of public schools. The governor and his allies steadfastly refuse to consider measurements on privatized education that allow the public to accurately assess the academic results in those schools.

That coincides with a second hallmark of the Jindal agenda: a blind faith that private is better than public, and that profit is a guarantee of quality.

Across the United States, some $500 billion a year is spent on public education. In Louisiana, our Minimum Foundation Program budget is $3.41 billion. The privatizers want a big piece of that, and have donated millions to politicians who support this agenda. They have been rewarded with an astoundingly lax system of accountability.

The purpose of any real reform should be to guarantee all that children have equal access to high quality, well resourced public schools regardless of geography or economic circumstances. The reforms should be based on research which demonstrates the efficacy of the program or policy. No such research was presented to support these reforms as they were pushed into law.

So there you have it. An apparent lack of respect if not outright disdain for the profession of education, in combination with extreme ideological and profit motives have spawned these misbegotten reforms.

Fortunately for parents and the taxpaying public, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ constitutional challenges to this agenda have served to heighten public awareness and to encourage greater scrutiny.
Even though appeals are pending, there is a growing awareness that this agenda is not the right direction for education reform to take in Louisiana.

Our message to lawmakers is simple: these laws are terribly broken, and we're depending upon legislators to fix them.