Fighting for Hope and a Future

Due to the change from Standardized Learning to Common Core, tests, such as CST, have to be updated. As wonderful as this may seem, the Smarter Balanced Test is unseemingly unfair. There are two tests covering only English and Math. Social Studies (History) is not a testing option, although taught all throughout grade school. These tests are profoundly advanced and difficult to solve. It covers topics in English and Math not taught in the curriculum and are expected to be mastered.

Smarter Balance Testing is supposedly going to determine a child’s intelligence by the rate of accuracy and correctness when answering questions. Every time a child misses a question, the test gets easier. Every time they get a question correct, the test becomes more difficult. “With Smarter Balance Testing,” the creators of SBAC say, “scores are not classified as passing or failing. Instead, the test in divided into four groups: 1. Advanced; 2. Proficient; 3. Basic; 4. Below Basic.” The grades to be put in Advanced English or Math classes would be Advanced or Proficient. But, Smarter Balance testing is classifying students’ scores as passing or failing based on the division of categories/groups. Also, another problem with their statement is that if a child doesn’t pass or fail a test, how do you know their weaknesses, or where they're excelling in an area?

Of the 50 US States, 26 states are participating in the Smarter Balance Assessment Pilot Test. The Smarter Balance Assessment is supposed to improve education and enhance learning skills based on the subject areas the children failed. But how can any students pass any parts of the test when they are unable to comprehend the problems not taught by Common Core, which is what the Smarter Balance Assessment is based off of. Due to its poorly written questions that are incomprehensible, students are failing and their academic records are being destroyed. 

Given the fact that many students in California have little experience with computers, and this is a computer-based test, many of the students will score poorly due to their lack of technology knowledge. These students' scores will be recorded in their academic records. They will be classified as "basic intelligence" and put in a Basic English or Math class. 

One teacher, Gerald J. Conti, resigns, saying that his profession no longer exists due to the "communistic" and "demeaning" system of Common Core. Gerald J. Conti refers to the new education systems as "zombie-like adherence to the shallow and generic Common Core, along with a lockstep of oversimplified so-called Essential Learnings." He defines his hard work and how Common Core has taken away the freedom to express one's knowledge, "...referred to as teaching 'heavy,' working hard, spending time, researching, attending to details and never feeling satisfied that I knew enough on any topic. I now find that this approach to my profession is not only devalued, but denigrated and perhaps, in some quarters despised. STEM rules the day and 'data driven' education seeks only conformity, standardization, testing..." For the full letter, go to the following link:

http://www.tnacc.net/uploads/1/7/7/2/17726361/teachers_resignation_letter_my_profession__no_longer_exists.pdf

New York's 2012 scores were phenomenally low. 26% of students passed the English test, while only 30% passed the math test. Considering that 70-75% of students did not achieve a high score as they may have with CSTs, but “failed,” why would you allow your child to fail and their Future to no longer be an option?

Something not mentioned on the Smarter Balance Website (http://www.smarterbalanced.org/) is a program in the Smarter Balance Assessment called inBloom. This is a small program in the test that chooses a career path for each individual student based on their test scores. This program includes personal information about each individual such as: name, DOB, past testing records, address, email, phone number, etc. If your child has potential and is very smart, and they fail these tests due to its incomprehensible questions, inBloom will prevent your child from getting into a good college, and will steer them towards a community college. Because they may not have passed at an advanced or proficiency level, colleges will assume they can't problem-solve and suggest a college more "suitable to their level."

Another thing SBAC fails to mention is something called data mining. Data mining is similar to inBloom and WordPress calls this a database more easily accessable to the world. -"In public speeches, Secretary Arne Duncan calls for 'robust data' –and he is the very man who altered federal FERPA regulations to make access to private data more easily accessible by a large number of agencies –without parental consent, and this is the same Arne Duncan who boasts of Obama’s 'College and Career Readiness' (Common Core standards) as if he birthed them,  in public speeches."

Parents, you can help stop this by writing a hand-written note to opt your child out of testing. I urge you to opt your child out, so this doesn’t continue next year. If California goes through with this, your child is in potential academic danger. By opting out your child, they will be one of the many who don’t participate in the test, if no one takes the test, they can’t run it next year. If you would like to take the practice test to see its difficulty, go to the following link:

http://sbac.portal.airast.org/

National Takeover of School Curriculum Violates Constitution

Many people said Ho-Hum when Barack Obama threatened to change any law with his pen or phone, and used that power to personally alter Obamacare and the welfare law. But Americans are rising up by the tens of thousands to stop Common Core, which is the current attempt to compel all U.S. children to be taught the same material and not be taught other things parents might think important. Ever since Congress began pouring federal tax dollars into public schools, parents have been solicitous to have Congress write into law a prohibition against the federal government writing any curriculum or lesson plan, or imposing a uniform national curriculum. Parents want those decisions made at the local level by local school boards which are, or should be, subject to the watchful eyes of local citizens and parents. Parents are supported in this view by the U.S. Constitution which gives the federal government no power over education. Here is some of the repetitive language included in federal laws. The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act stated: "Nothing in this act" shall authorize any federal official to "mandate, direct, or control" school curriculum. The 1970 General Education Provisions Act stipulates that "no provision of any applicable program shall be construed to authorize any" federal agency or official "to exercise any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum, or selection of instructional materials by any" school system. The 1979 law that created the Department of Education forbids it to exercise "any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum." Despite all those emphatic words, the trendy expensive new curriculum called Common Core is artfully designed to impose de facto national uniformity while pretending comply with federal prohibitions.

http://blog.eagleforum.org/2014/04/national-takeover-of-school-curriculum.html

Field tests scheduled for the spring, 2014, will continue as planned. Those assessments will:

• be computer adaptive

• be focused on Missouri Learning Standards

• contain items from the Smarter Balanced item bank

• be based on the same blueprint as the summative assessments to be used in the spring of 2015

"2015 overall predicted scores will drop drastically by 30-40%." says David Coleman, one of the creators of Common Core. Please help fight for Hope, and your child's Future.

Some questions to ask:

1.       Notice that administrators, School Board Members, and the Secretary of Education of the United States Government support SBAC Testing while parents, teachers, and students do not support this test. Why is this? Since teachers’ bosses support SBAC, are their opinions are biased or influenced?


2.       What is different between our research and their knowledge?


3.       Why are so many people unhappy with the test after SBAC has promised a successful better way of education?


4.       What good qualities does this test have?


5.       Are there any concerns, regarding the test, that they may have?


6.       Since this is a computer-based test, is it possible that it could be hacked like the National Opt Out site was?


7.       What are the long-term effects on students and education? Good or bad? How have you come to your conclusion?


8.   Do you think parents will support this because it’s a good program or because of lack of knowledge?


9.   Do you think the questions are at our comprehension level? In your opinion, is the test too complicated for us?


10.   Why are parents and educators also struggling when taking the SBAC Test, which was designed for students to master?


11.   How do they plan to help improve education to prepare students for SBAC?


12.   Why has the test been written and created by educators who don’t actually teach in classrooms? We understand they have often been involved with children, but how can they keep up with each individual enough to create a test fair to all?


13.   Since the creator of Common Core said that 2015 tests scores are predicted to drop by 30-40%, why are educators still supporting the test?