testing
High-Stakes Testing and Increasingly Strict Discipline higher dropout rates
A combination of the growing reliance on high-stakes testing and increasingly strict discipline policies is a driving force behind drop-out rates nationally, according to a study released by the Advancement Project.
The report, Test, Punish and Push Out: How "Zero Tolerance" and High-Stakes Testing Funnel Youth Into The School-to-Prison Pipeline, finds that a growing number of students are leaving school and ending up in the criminal justice system because the concentration on high-stakes tests is turning them off to education or because they are being arrested for actions that in the past would have been addressed within the school system.
State Board Legislative Request - Length of School Year, Administrator Certification, Testing
Board Requests Legislative Help
The State Board of Education today joined the growing call from education officials to lengthen the school year back to 180 days.
As a part of four requests the Board sent to the Legislature today, the Board asked lawmakers to require school districts hold a minimum of 180 days of school each year rather than simply requiring 1,098 hours of instruction.
The request comes after a survey of more than 750 public school districts and charter schools released last month by the nonpartisan Center for Michigan found that 98 percent of Michigan schools fall short of the 180-day standard across much of the country, something state Superintendent Mike FLANAGAN said at the time was "outrageous" (See "Districts Cutting School Days To Cut Costs," 3/16/09).
Punishment – MDE Style
MASSP is in the doghouse with the Department of Education. Two reasons: Trying to shift the money spent on the 9th grade social studies exam to EXPLORE, and our public statement about the proposed MI-SAS accreditation program.
When polled, 97% of our membership doesn’t see value in the 9th grade social studies exam. Our governor in her state-of-the-state speech called on us to find ways to reduce wasted state costs without hurting its citizens. So we proposed legislation to shift this money to something 60% of schools do value. We feel it is a matter of equality.
MASSP Podcast #029 Testing Out
Old law and new law... which parts are still in place?
What classes can students test out of?
If a student fails a class, can he/she later test out of the class?
Does a student who tests out of a class still earn credit?
Jim and MDE's Sam Sinicropi talk about Testing out.
Listen In
AYP Appeals for Special Education Sub Groups
By Wendy Zdeb, MASSP Board of Directors
If your school did not make AYP due to the participation rate in your school’s special education sub group, you may want to formulate an appeal based on information contained in the student’s IEP. There are a variety of reasons that may keep a student from being counted in the school’s participation rate such as:
