{"id":10500,"date":"2015-05-29T13:07:06","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T17:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=10500"},"modified":"2015-05-30T13:03:02","modified_gmt":"2015-05-30T17:03:02","slug":"is-it-time-to-look-at-the-role-of-standardized-tests-in-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=10500","title":{"rendered":"Is it time to look at the role of standardized tests in schools?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Also: if teacher unions demand raises, they should say what to cut from education programs to pay for it<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Mike McGann<\/strong><\/span>, Editor, The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"UTMikeColLogo\"<\/a>The rising tide against Common Core continues to obscure a growing, but still under discussed debate about the value and quality of standardized testing in our schools.<\/p>\n

While it seems increasingly likely that a passing grade on the Keystone tests will not end up being a graduation requirement for students in the class of 2017 \u2014 and maybe for some years to come \u2014 the back and forth over Common Core, much of it nonsensical, is obscuring the question of whether we focus too much time and effort on standardized tests.<\/p>\n

To get the Common Core stuff out of the way, two things: first off, this was the genesis of a bunch of Republican governors and the Chamber of Commerce, which as we all know are noted left-wing terrorist organizations. Yes, that was a joke. The fact that I have to explain that it\u2019s joke may be even sadder. That Jeb Bush is the last ex-governor tuned presidential candidate with the cojones to admit it he supported it is even sadder.<\/p>\n

And yes, Chris Christie, it\u2019s nice to see your willingness to stand up for what you said you believed in matches both your ethics and skill set at somewhere below zero, which nicely matches your poll numbers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a little stunned that there seems to be so much pushback against the concept that kids starting in school in Arkansas are getting approximately the same education at the same grade level as kids in Nebraska. Much of the arguments seem to come from the ignorant argument of states rights and sovereignty\u00a0 \u2014 pretty much wiped out by the 1787 U.S. Constitution, all but ended after the nullification crisis and finally the Civil War \u2014 but from time to time again pop up only to beaten down by the courts and common sense.<\/p>\n

Again: big business wants decently educated kids for its work force, not kids either poorly taught or filled with bogus non-science based stuff like creationism, just because some backwards state wants to teach it. We\u2019re 90 years past the Scopes Monkey Trial, maybe it\u2019s time to act like it.<\/p>\n

If you want to argue the details of what should be taught and how, fine. But the U.S. is rapidly becoming a joke in the rest of the world because of how we\u2019ve gutted our educational system \u2014 but it does seem like a lot of people are working passionately to turn us into a lame second-rate power (poor education, crumbling infrastructure and overpowered police forces \u2014 just like all the best banana republics) in the ironic name of patriotism, so I guess I shouldn\u2019t be surprised.<\/p>\n

But, moving onto standardized testing and what we should be talking about. The tests aren\u2019t new \u2014 I remember taking the California Achievement Test in the 1970s. What has changed is the focus and stakes of testing. As the parent of two middle school students, I can say they lost an entire month of traditional education in April to standardized testing. Was it worth it as an evaluation tool to lose about 12% of the school year?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so. I support some sort of testing to allow schools and teachers to be evaluated but wonder whether we\u2019ve gotten too focused on testing and less so on education. Like other educational issues, such of homework and school schedules, we should be able to have a reasoned debate and come to a consensus. But\u2026.what are the odds of that?<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following the story coming out of the Avon Grove School District, it should be a cautionary tale for districts around the county. As tax revenue continues to be limited by state law, state funding lagging behind percentages of a generation ago and of course the pension mess, some area school districts are well beyond cutting fat or even muscle now, but cutting bone. Avon Grove plans to lay off five gym teachers at its Intermediate School \u2014 meaning a drastic reduction in physical education time for the district\u2019s third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s wrong on so many levels, I\u2019m not sure that the district or its board of education have a lot of other choices. When the state says you can only bring in so much money, yet fixed costs increase by a higher rate, you eventually hit the point where you have to cut program and staff.<\/p>\n

While this hasn\u2019t happened in the county\u2019s elite school districts yet, the ongoing budget crunches in Avon Grove, Octorara, Coatesville and elsewhere are a canary in a coal mine. With the likelihood of the state legislature repealing Act 1 and\/or doing something about pensions about the same as my winning the GOP nomination for president (I\u2019m the only one behind Christie in the polls), districts are going to have to be hyper careful on spending.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to a series of ongoing teacher contract negotiations under way right now in the county.<\/p>\n

It seems from here that the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state teachers\u2019 union, is a lot more interested in making political points and scoring \u201cmodel contracts\u201d than looking out for students, or dare I say it, teachers. This is the same group that bears no small amount of blame for the pension mess, having been bought off into a lousy, shortsighted deal in 2001 with self-serving legislators.<\/p>\n

I can think of a couple of districts where teachers at the top of the pay scale are making more than $100K a year \u2014 and yes, I don\u2019t begrudge them that. I know how hard they work, I know how well they work, I know how much they care. In those districts, local union leaders have been making a big deal about those top of the scale teachers not getting pay raises in recent years.<\/p>\n

Well, here\u2019s the problem: the tax base is a limited number. So dollars become a real zero-sum game. Dollars given to top of the scale teachers \u2014 and don\u2019t forget the entire costs, between pension (an extra 30 cents on every dollar has to go to pensions) and the usual costs of employees (payroll taxes and FICA and such) \u2014 are dollars taken away elsewhere.<\/p>\n

So the question becomes this: how bad do you want a raise? Bad enough to cause less senior teachers to be laid off? Bad enough to see programs such as art and music and gym cut from our schools?<\/p>\n

And while it\u2019s easy for union leaders to point fingers at school boards and administrations, it\u2019s not fair. Districts can\u2019t magically make more money appear \u2014 even if they wanted to \u2014 and you can thank the state legislature and, yes, the PSEA for that.<\/p>\n

You see, the PSEA has been woeful in supporting pro-education state legislative candidates \u2014 often backing some of the state legislators behind Act 1. They don\u2019t put real money in races, don\u2019t organize, canvass or do much of anything. And teachers in districts have largely sat on their hands (yes, I know of a few exceptions \u2014 but I\u2019m talking about the rank and file) when it comes to election time. And of course, now they act surprised when things are the way they are.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d be a lot more willing to listen to PSEA and its various locals if they hadn\u2019t been part of the problem for the past decade instead of part of the solution.<\/p>\n

But again, I\u2019d like to hear from teachers: what (or who) should be cut to pay for bigger pay raises?<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Speaking of our no-account state legislature, I\u2019d like to congratulate them on simultaneously raising taxes (in a stealthy way) and aggressively cutting public volunteerism, with a new law that takes effect July 1.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m speaking, of course, of the new fingerprinting requirement for youth volunteers. Aside from being likely in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it is an onerous, expensive and useless rule passed in panic in wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Ironically, it would have done not one thing to stop Sandusky.<\/p>\n

From youth sports leagues to our schools, you will see volunteers, already in short supply, dwindle further. For those adults who step up, the extra $47 is an unreasonable burden, and yes, a tax increase. So \u2014 you may want to remind your local legislator of this and urge them to fix this, ASAP.<\/p>\n

Without changes, we could literally see the end of parent chaperones on field trips \u2014 meaning higher costs (and yes, higher taxes) for school districts or doing away with field trips. For youth leagues, it could mean a drastic drop in coaching volunteers and those folks who volunteer at the snack shack. That will mean less kids on playing fields and more kids staring at their iPads.<\/p>\n

This law was passed in a rush by a legislature seeking to do anything, no matter how lousy and pointless, to show they would protect kids from predators.<\/p>\n

This needs to be fixed, now.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Just when you thought folks couldn\u2019t be any more self absorbed, short-sighted \u2014 and lets be honest, moronic\u00a0\u2014 I bring you the story of Upper Uwchlan and the county emergency radio tower.<\/p>\n

The residents of the area \u2014 apparently about 1,100 of them \u2014 say building the 326-foot radio tower near Fellowship Road will lower property values. Okay, it\u2019s going next to an existing 300-foot tower and a waste-water treatment plant \u2014 hardly the French Riviera. Of course, they managed to get a property appraiser to say that having a tower nearby would lower property values.<\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t, however, ask those same appraisers whether having houses burn down because emergency responders might be hampered or the fact that you\u2019d have a lot of knuckleheaded neighbors would have an even bigger impact on property values. I\u2019m betting it would.<\/p>\n

In fact, as we\u2019ve seen in other similar cases, the negative publicity has probably already driven down prices in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

What ever happened to doing things for the common good? This is a clear need and folks need to get over themselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Also: if teacher unions demand raises, they should say what to cut from education programs to pay for it By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The rising tide against Common Core continues to obscure a growing, but still under discussed debate about the value and quality of standardized testing in our schools. While it seems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[37,3063,1562,5932,5934,4676,5933,5931,1144],"class_list":["post-10500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-featured","tag-act-1","tag-budget","tag-common-core","tag-contract","tag-fingerprinting","tag-psea","tag-raises","tag-standardized-tests","tag-volunteers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10500"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10522,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10500\/revisions\/10522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}