Myths & Truths About the Georgia Milestones Assessment System

By Meg Norris, Ed.S

Truth #1: Students scores on the Georgia Milestones Assessment WILL be dramatically lower than the CRCT.

The GA Milestones test will be nearly identical to the PARCC and the SBAC. The lead company for the writing of the SBAC is McGraw-Hill/CTB. McGraw-Hill wrote the CRCT and the GA Milestones tests. They are a leading psychometric research company andproudly announced their psychometric testing skills in the following press release after being selected to write Georgia’s tests: http://www.ctb.com/ctb.com/control/aboutUsNewsShowAction?newsId=63173&p=aboutUs

PARCC and SBAC Common Core tests in other states have seen a 70% failure rate that went as high as 91% failure rate for special education students. http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/data/TestResults/ELAandMathTestResults

Here in Georgia, the 2014 spring Common Core pilot tests faired just as poorly.

There is potential for nearly every school to receive failing scores.

Truth #2: Common Core Standards are a curriculum.

Definition of curriculum from edglossary.org: “The term curriculum refers to the lessons and academic content taught in a school or in a specific course or program. In dictionaries, curriculum is often defined as the courses offered by a school, but it is rarely used in such a general sense in schools. Depending on how broadly educators define or employ the term, curriculum typically refers to the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student learning. An individual teacher’s curriculum, for example, would be the specific learning standards, lessons, assignments, and materials used to organize and teach a particular course.”

Because the point of Common Core was to create a new and in depth education market with new math, new ELA, new textbooks, new teacher training, and new tests, the standards had to instruct HOW things were to be taught. And they do. They instruct a list of specific skills without necessary content.

Imagine the standard you are working on is to bake a chocolate cake. Let’s say I wrote the standard, and I want you to bake a chocolate cake exactly like mine. When you are done, I am going to come back and test your cake. It must be exactly like mine and even taste like mine, so we have a standard and a test. A curriculum is what has to happen in between that standard and that test to get the exact chocolate cake outlined in the standard. If the cake is going to taste the exact same, how much leeway do you have between the standard and the test? Not much, if any. That is how the standards drive the curriculum. That is why teachers will continue to teach to the test. (Borrowed from the great educational researcher and leader Peg Luksik: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzLrYIDQiqY). Five hundred early childhood experts agree these standards are not appropriate for young children: http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org/files/file/Joint%20Statement%20on%20Core%20Standards_(417).pdf.

More than five hundred early childhood experts reviewed the standards in 2010 and sounded the first alarm that the Common Core standards are not appropriate for young children: http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.org/files/file/Joint%20Statement%20on%20Core%20Standards_(417).pdf.

In short they came to these conclusions:1. Such standards will lead to long hours of instruction in literacy and math. 2. They will lead to inappropriate standardized testing. 3. Didactic instruction and testing will crowd out other important areas of learning. 4. There is little evidence that such standards for young children lead to later success.

“We therefore call on the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to withdraw the proposed standards for children in kindergarten through grade three. We further call for the creation of a consortium of early childhood researchers, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, cognitive scientists, master teachers, and school leaders to develop comprehensive guidelines for effective early care and teaching that recognize the right of every child to a healthy start in life and a developmentally appropriate education.”

THE CEILINGStandards become the “ceiling” in learning when they are attached to high stakes/standardized testing, like the GA Milestones. When a teacher’s job is attached to the test scores of her student, the teacher’s goal is to ensure her students know those standards backwards and forwards. If the standardized tests are removed, those tests and standards become guidelines.

THE FLOORThey become the “floor” for what should be learned ONLY IF THEY ARE NOT ATTACHED TO HIGH STAKES TESTING. The teacher now has the freedom to understand her students’ needs rather than constantly drill on a narrow set of standards.

When DATA DRIVES INSTRUCTION, teachers are limited to teach the standards. Teaching is about building relationships and getting to know each student as a whole, and valued individual. It is not about a test, a number or a score.

Myth #3: Common Core is new to Georgia

Schools have used “curriculum maps” or “Scope & Sequence” tools for decades to ensure children were all learning relatively the same thing at the same age. Normally, experts in the content fields wrote these tools. Often the math sequence was written by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) or another organization of professionals. The same was true with other content areas. This did not happen with Common Core. Of 24 writers who worked with the initial five lead writers, 17 were from testing companies and although the remainder did have some teaching experience, none had K-12 experience in the content area in which they worked. None had any background in child development (https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/those-24-common-core-2009-work-group-members/).

“When Georgia Performance Standards were aligned to the Common Core curriculum, there was an 81% alignment between the two, and 90% of Georgia math standards appeared in Common Core.” This is one of the most disturbing statements consistently claimed by Georgia Common Core supporters. They gleefully proclaim that the Common Core standards were “based” on or were already aligned to Georgia’s Performance Standards.

In 2010 when the standards were adopted, Georgia ranked 38th in the country for “overall chance for success.” Our standards were mentioned “once or twice” as influencing standards in other states in the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center study. The states most considered models for top standards are California, Massachusetts, and Indianahttp://www.edweek.org/media/ew/qc/2010/QualityCounts2010_PressRelease.pdf.

Consider this: If you were charged with writing standards for the entire country, and you wanted the best for our children, you would not start with Georgia Standards. Compare the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores between Georgia and Massachusetts. “The [NAEP] is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas.” http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/about/Georgia’s results: In 2009, the year CCSS was written no state scored higher in proficiency

for math and reading than Massachusetts.

Georgia NAEP scores for the past decade in 4th and 8th

Reading and Math

Orange and Yellow = at or below National AverageGreen = Above National Average

Massachusetts NAEPscores for the pastdecade in4th and 8th

Readingand Math

Truth #4: Parents choosing to Opt-Out of the Georgia Milestones Test WILL support teachers.

The GA Milestones test is a measure of one thing and one thing only: what a child DOES NOT know from a list of “grade-level” common core standards. They do not measure ranking or accelerated learning levels. They do not measure or compare students to other students. A high test score on the GA Milestones merely means the student knew that standard, not that they are performing at a higher level. The data returned to teachers is minimal and is usually broken into 4 or 5 “domains” with numbers of right and wrong answers. Without seeing the actual test and answers, this test tells the teacher nothing. And of course returning the scores in October makes the data worthless for additional help for the current or NEXT school year. Test preparation for the GA Milestones test will begin in January for the current grade each year we are burdened with the test. Teaching should never be about data. Teaching is about building relationships and expanding

minds and experiences. Parents should not want an education based on (invalid) numbers. The GA Milestones test measures nothing yet is used as a punitive tool against teachers, students, and schools. What these tests DO consistently measure………POVERTY. With more than 50% of Georgia students living in poverty, we need to open our eyes.http://researchnews.wsu.edu/society/169.htmlhttp://bio.fsu.edu/~tschink/school_performance/Democrat2.htmlhttp://dianeravitch.net/2014/03/02/poverty-matters/http://fairtest.org/teacher-quality-important-cannot-overcome-povertyhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-bottom-line-on-no-excuses-and-poverty-in-school-reform/2012/09/29/813683bc-08c1-11e2-afff-d6c7f20a83bf_blog.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/19/poverty-test-scores_n_4298345.html

Data driven instruction based on a standardized test is much less valuable and less effective than instruction based on what a teacher learns about his or her student throughout the year. Teachers can adjust their teaching based on the immediate needs of the student. The GA Milestones offers only one snap shot of where a group of students lie at a specific time during the year.

The Georgia teacher assessment system is called the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES) https://www.gadoe.org/School-Improvement/Teacher-and-Leader-Effectiveness/Pages/Teacher-Keys-Effectiveness-System.aspx. It is considered a value-added model (VAM) of measurement. In Georgia, this score is based on 50% student growth (test scores), 40% teacher observation and teaching standards, and 10% student surveys (“Is your teacher nice?”).

In Georgia, a teacher’s pay and certificate are tied to test scores. Because the tests are so poorly written, many teachers will be penalized regardless of whether students refuse the test because their students will fail either way. Many estimates say that Georgia students will fail the GA Milestones 70% of the time. By refusing the test for your child, you leave teacher evaluation to experienced administrators instead of temporary graders and test publishers. It is more effective and much less expensive, too (Each test and re-test is $27 of tax payer money). By refusing the GA Milestones test, you are sending a clear message that you support your teachers and the administration. No score is better than a failing score.

Research about the effectiveness of VAM measurements for teachers:http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/may10/vol67/num08/Using_Value-Added_Measures_to_Evaluate_Teachers.aspxhttps://www.amstat.org/policy/pdfs/ASA_VAM_Statement.pdfhttps://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICANG14.pdfhttp://fairtest.org/limits-standardized-tests-diagnosing-and-assisting

Truth #5: My child’s teacher is evaluated based on the results of student performance on the Georgia Milestones.

Not only is every teacher evaluated by test scores, every administrator is too. While teacher scores are 50% based on student growth, administrator’s scores are 70% based on them. This is the reason for the testing “push” your child is getting at this time of the year.

The evaluation system is NOT complicated.

https://www.gadoe.org/School-Improvement/Teacher-and-Leader-Effectiveness/Documents/TKES%20Executive%20Summary%201-21-2013.pdf

Student Growth ModelThe GA Milestone test and Student Learning Objectives are not designed to measure growth. They measure specific skills within one grade level. Because the tests are different every year and the growth rating is relative to the achievement of other students, there is NO PROOF of actual academic growth. It is a relative measure that compares completely different skills with completely different tests. It is not a measure of actual student achievement.

This new “growth” model is a zero sum game. If all the students in the state of Georgia advanced their reading level by 3 years in just one year’s time, it would not register as growth because all students improved. In addition, since the tests measure rigid grade level skills, they cannot measure academic gains outside of the narrowly defined government Common Core standards. With this system, for every “winner” there has to be a “loser.” For every student that shows “growth” using this model, another student needs to show “decline” relative to the other students. If every student in the state failed the test, the “growth” model would not register the poor performance because the “growth” measure is based on the performance of the students compared to other students.

The measure is not objective and cannot be correlated with actual academic growth. It creates a “survival of the fittest” numbers game where it is impossible for every student in the state of Georgia to show growth, even if students do make significant academic gains. Only 50% of the students will be able to show “growth.” This makes it impossible for half of our students and half of our teachers to show “growth.”Under the new evaluation system, half of the teachers in the State of Georgia will not show growth. The TEM, the student growth portion of the TKES, has four categories: Exemplary, Proficient, Needs Improvement, and Ineffective. Teachers with two low evaluation ratings in four years will lose their teaching certificate. Teachers with low evaluations will not receive step pay increases. The stakes could not be higher with teacher certification and compensation on the line, but the odds are still are 50-50.

STUDENTS WHO OPT OUT HELP STOP THIS UNFAIR MEASUREMENT OF GREAT TEACHERS.

Truth #6: Students who need special accommodations on the Georgia Milestones WILL NOT receive them.

Common Core teaching and testing, under the order of US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, removes the many benefits of an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for special needs students. This is true although these plans are federal documents and are carefully outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Children learn best when they are taught and tested at their level of proficiency. (See educational psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s research.) With Common Core and the GA Milestones test, children with disabilities are taught AND tested at grade level no matter where they are functioning. Duncan went a step further and removed all modified tests and some accommodations from use. Many students with IEPs do have some accommodations, but they simply are not enough to allow them to fairly access the GA Milestones (or any Common Core) test. The GA Milestones and every other test are violating IDEA, seemingly with the government's permission.

No child with an IEP should have to take a test they cannot easily access. Passing rates for special education students on Common Core tests so far hover right around 9%.

http://teachersletterstobillgates.com/2013/06/16/who-thought-of-forcing-children-on-ieps-to-take-grade-level-high-stakes-standardized-tests-anyway/

http://neatoday.org/2014/03/05/high-stakes-testing-for-disabled-students-a-system-gone-horribly-wrong/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/03/20/you-do-not-speak-for-our-children/?postshare=9501426925707156

https://stopcommoncorenys.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/special-needs-children-suffer-from-common-core-the-most/

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-common-core-is-tough-on-kids-with-special-needs/283973/

Truth #7: Staying both informed and involved can help your child in his or her academic growth and success.

Who can argue with this? It is 100% true. The problem is that as Common Core education reform digs deeper into our schools and communities, parents continue to lose their voice in education. When they lose their voice, parents participate less. Common Core removes parent voices and further alienates them from the school.

Homework this year, particularly in math, has served to create or even to widen a divide between the parent and student for many families. The homework students are bringing home is often not a only a challenge for the student, but it is also completely unfamiliar to the parent. In some cases, teachers have told students not to get help from parents because parents will teach them the “wrong way” to do homework. This divide is just ONE example of how parents are losing their voices in their child’s education.

Last year 67,000 parents in NY opted their children out of Common Core tests http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/2015/03/24/parents-commoncore-optout-tests-standardized/70396068/. They want to take back control of their schools. Georgia is well on its way to becoming the poster child for Common Core reform with no one standing up for teachers, schools, or students. The legislature is running out of control and parents are silent. Parents need to refuse the test and write their legislators to demand that GA back out of Race to the Top to get back local control of our schools.

http://www.keepeducationlocal.com/claims-vs.-facts.htmlhttp://www.fairtest.org/get-involved/opting-outhttp://unitedoptout.com

This 20 minute video, filmed in Georgia, shows why parents are standing up, why teachers are fed up, why students are giving up and why client lists for child psychologists are blowing up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGkJOpNtOE

A message from “Change the Stakes”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ayYajsQjg8

“Building the Machine” – Parent Interviews – HSLDAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVHrCAKGBPo#t=29