PSSA Day!

Dear Students,

The American Dream will become one step harder for you today. No longer can you work your way to success no matter what your background because today you will take the PSSA test. Your parents and teachers will receive a report giving you a label of advanced, proficient, basic, or below basic. Your classes will be picked for you based on this label. Consequently, your career choice will be narrowed based on this one test. Your educational experience already has been narrowed so that you can prepare for these few hours. Some of you will have recess, art, and music taken away to help you score well on this test. Your written answers will be analyzed by "readers" that have their own opinions resulting in a score received that may or may not be fair. A true American trait of "thinking outside of the box" and individuality will be demolished as you and everyone else must see the same thing in poetry and stories. Instead of going outside and figuring out how high your school is based on mathematics and formulas, you will stay inside and continue to fill in bubbles. You may work hard in school and get decent grades, but still the PSSA test will be more important. You may be a powerful speaker, be able to deal with people well, be good at driving, be dependable, and be compassionate or any number of other important life skills. Yet, the PSSA test does not take these into account. Your label will be stamped on your file, just as a post office stamps each letter with a postmark. Students, please do not carry the label around on your person and do not let it interfere with the American Dream. Your life is your own, your education is your entitlement. Let your government know that you demand more from them than a stamp from one test.
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Proficiency on the PSSA Test

Why does my son do well on the PSSA Math exam and not on the Reading portion of the test? Why does he score well on his Accelerated Reader tests, Star Reader tests, and even the Woodcock Johnson, but not the PSSA? After reviewing the PSSA test last week, I have solved this perplexing mystery.

Math is a subject that is presented in limited ways to a child of his age. The Math on the PSSA test very much parallels the practice sheets that he is assigned in his Academic Math class. On the other hand, by its very nature, reading has more room for variances. Not only are the stories going to be different from what is studied in class, but the interpretation of the story will be different from student to student. My son is a student that does not easily transfer the skills of interpretation and evaluation, but instead relies on his he does not have the chance to study the Reading and reap the benefits of the teacher/classmate discussion of the passage.

What to do with this new found information? Absolutely nothing. More prep work is not going to help. We are already working on the skills of transference, inferences, and evaluation. I am confident that we are thoroughly working with my son to make sure he learns as much as possible. Reviewing the PSSA test has confirmed that pursuing the "proficient score" will only interfere with the time needed to work on other skills that he will need in life. Proficiency on the PSSA test will not help him become successful. To all of you, I recommend reading the PSSA test so that you can come to your own conclusions about your child before the school and the government do that for you.
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I read the PSSA today.

This morning I reviewed the PSSA test that my son will take in a few weeks. The Guidance Counselor sat with me in a small meeting room as I read through the exam. The total time to review the 7th grade test was approximately one hour. I did not have to sign a confidentiality agreement, but I was asked to write down the fact that I reviewed the test on a piece of paper. If I wanted to, I could state why I was reading the test and then state my findings. I wrote the date and that my reason for reading the test was to determine if the test was fair and appropriate.


The exam actually consists of two booklets. One contains all the Math and Reading questions. The other is the answer booklet which has the infamous "bubbles" and the area where the students respond to open ended questions. The bubbles are much better than those of yesteryear. They are not crammed together onto one sheet. Instead each section has its bubbles placed on separate pages. This really eliminates confusion and the possibility of "skipping" a bubble. Unfortunately, the exam is set up so that the students must go back and forth from the exam booklet to the answer booklet. As a first time reader, I found the format a little confusing at first, but became used to it over time. The open ended questions are in the answer booklet, so the exam booklet gives directions at the end of a section such as "go to page 23 in the answer booklet and answer question 15". I found this confusing because the answer booklet page numbers were in a light shade and did not stand out on the page. Attention DRC (Data Recognition Corp.): A bright shade of red would make the pages easier to find.

The math had some of the same problems (with the numbers switched) as what my son has done in class. The open ended questions are similar in format as in class with the exception of some awkward wording. For example, a two part question is often segregated by a page break and the directions are given as "refer to specifics of the previous page to answer". I am sure I am not quoting this exactly, but I felt that for seventh grade the statement is hard to decipher. The math problems range from easy to complex.

The Reading test is difficult. Mechanically, I felt that there is not enough delineation between two different passages that the students are supposed to compare. Moreover, the subject matter is one in which I felt that some of the student's experience will limit them in answering the open ended questions. Figurative language is tested in a way that is similar to the sample question on this website. (PSSA sample questions).

Most reading passages have underlined words that the students must refer back to in order to determine the meaning of the underlined word. It will help a braille reader if it is allowable to have their hand guided back to the underlined word since, in being able to see the text, the visual reader certainly has the advantage in this situation. If my child was visually impaired it would be something I would ask about before he took the test.

Most of the open ended questions require the reader to cite examples from the text. The kind of questions asked are ones that I just want to say "Who Cares? Justify your existence in another way other than making up questions for this test." (Nasty, aren't I?) When reading the passages, I could always tell which parts there would be a question on because these paragraphs are particularly vague. After all, we need to separate the advanced from the proficient, the proficient from the basic, and allow the below basic to be totally blown away. Isn't that what the test does so well?

Some reading passages require the reading of recipes and step by step instructions. While I know these are important parts of our lives, I am sure that it is difficult for seventh graders to uphold interest in these subjects much less answer questions on them.

Generally, I can see why the reading open ended scores produce more variance than the math open ended scores. That is, when the open ended questions are graded, the scores given by two separate scorers are different even while reading the same answer from the same student. Much of the process is subjective based on one's interpretation of the passage and what would be an ideal expected answer. From a child's perspective, differences in beliefs, experiences, interests, and ideas will influence the way any given student understands, interprets, and answers these questions.

After reviewing this test, I realize that the quest to learn even the basic of skills entails so much more than what the PSSA or any other test could possibly reflect. Now more than ever, I truly cannot believe that we use this test to judge our children and label our schools. There are other ways to build student proficiency. They are called classroom exams, hands on activities, individualized education, smaller classes, quality teachers, strong, involved parents, dedicated school boards, and government funding that rewards all of these components.
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Presidential Candidates and the NCLB Act

Since the NCLB is the driving force behind the PSSA test and since the NCLB Act is up for re- authorization, we should know where the presidential candidates stand on education and the NCLB.

While Hillary Clinton voted for the NCLB the first time around, on her website, she bluntly states that she will end the NCLB Act. (Hillary Clinton Website) To improve education, she will enhance the IDEA Act with more funding, recruit and retain good teachers, improve early intervention programs, and create job programs.

On his website, (Barack Obama Website) Barack Obama says that "teachers should not prepare students to fill in bubbles". He believes in reforming and funding NCLB to improve current assessments and create new ones in areas such as the ability to work with technology. He believes more funding from the government would help schools to run lots and lots of programs that would close gaps in subgroups of students, recruit teachers, and run summer programs to help educationally disadvantage students. The funding money would come from varies parts of government such as a reduction in a specific NASA program, improving government procurement systems, and savings from the Iraq war.

According to his website, (John McCain website) John McCain believes that the standardized testing required under the NCLB has helped us see that there is an achievement gap between schools and students from different socioeconomic groups and school choice is important to narrowing these gaps. He states that schools should be "innovative and flexible" in teaching our students and we should focus on addressing the underlying cultural problems in the educational system.

While I do not think any of these candidates is exactly an educational ball of fire, their plans sound good in theory. I am suspicious of Hillary since she was on the committee that gave us the first report "A Nation at Risk" which, along with her husband, really created the environment for the NCLB to become law. I will give Obama some credit, his plan is on a PDF file and has a lot more detail than the other two candidates. I like what John McCain says about schools becoming more innovative and flexible, but that is pretty hard to do when you have the PSSA looming over your shoulder.

Well folks, the vote is yours alone, so I encourage you to look on the websites to read the candidates stances on different issues and the plans they have associated with their ideas. Let us strive to have past voting records and these facts decide our next president instead of voting with whatever the media decides to bombard us with during the race.
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With the PSSA's only a few weeks away, the time has come to contact your principal and make an appointment to review the test. My appointment is next Wednesday. I am looking forward to reviewing my son's exact PSSA test. By reading his test, I hope I will gain insight into his eventual test score. I look forward to describing that experience to all my readers.

Part of the No Child Left Behind Act expresses the need for family involvement in education so that the child's educational experience can be maximized. What chances for involvement do parents have? I have attended many PTO meetings. Trust me, "helping education" in the PTO means planning teacher luncheons, deciding on classroom parties, and raising money to purchase items for the school. Of course, there is always the "booster club" for your child's chosen sport, which does help to expand life beyond the 3 R's. While these things do enhance education in their own right, I am not sure if the NCLB ACT was eluding to events of this type. I think the NCLB Act was speaking of improving the parent/child teaching relationship by improving the parent's understanding that the process of teaching starts at home. To learn this, parents need knowledge of what their child is doing in school. (Is anyone familiar with this conversation? Parent: "What did you learn in school?" Child: "I don't know". Or how about the infamous :"Nothing".) Any attempt to fix this common problem must include direct information from the teacher to the parent.

Most schools have web sites to disseminate information efficiently. Some schools have real time student grades that can be accessed through the computer. Teachers may even be required to have a web page with basic information pertaining to the class that they teach. Yet, in our district anyway, there is no requirement for teachers to post homework assignments, give teaching tips for parents, and show daily logs of what is being taught in the classroom. School districts are paying for well designed web sites, yet they are not utilizing the sites to meet one of the requirements of the NCLB.

I recall making some of these suggestions in one meeting. Of course, I was given a look of "are you some kind of idiot", but politely told that the teachers are busy enough without adding more to their plate. The answer to that should be simple. Parents cannot help if they do not know what is happening in class. So I say, start making the teachers post their lesson plans on line. Too much work you say? How about electronic lesson planners that could be posted directly to the web site, have a copy sent to the principal, and another saved for the teacher? When I asked in yet another meeting whether this was possible, the answer was, "I don't know." Translation: "I don't know and I am not going to find out. Keep your suggestions to yourself."

Perhaps this attitude will change since the new Kindergarten parent is at an age where they can only vaguely remember life without the Internet. Hopefully, they will demand and get more information than what we "older parents" are getting today. Their educational interaction with their children will benefit as more classroom details are given. Perhaps this communication will actually aid in a decreased need for the PSSA!
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Questionable PSSA Practices

Remember to call your school today to schedule a time to review the PSSA test before your child's scheduled testing time!

Today, I wanted to touch on a different ways that the school districts interrupt important education to prep students for the PSSA. Some schools have labeled a group of children "Bubble Students". These are the students that have a score of "Basic" on their PSSA, but are close to the "Proficient" score. These kids are pulled out of class and given special small group instruction in hopes of pushing them into the "Proficient" category. At first glance, it seems okay. Let's give a little extra help to those that can benefit. Well, there can be no benefit without a cost. Let me tell you how our school is able to make this accomplishment. The "Bubble Students" are given instruction by the already overworked Learning Support teacher. As a result, the Learning Support teacher has less time to spend with the Learning Disabled children who legally and ethically are actually supposed to be the recipients of her services. With the LS teacher busy with the "Bubble Students", the truly disabled students, who so desperately need help, are put on the back burner until the PSSA is complete. The interruption of services is frustrating for the parents and the students. This is one of the many examples of how schools feel is necessary to participate in morally questionable decisions in order to manipulate the numbers into showing progress. (In my opinion, saturating a kid with PSSA problems and calling it "progress" is a questionable practice. )
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What causes the "false need" for the PSSA?

In a perfect world, the teachers would instruct students to the best of their ability, the students would receive the information and learn easily, the parents would be involved enough to help and support their child's educational process, and the government and school boards would provide enough money for a "free and appropriate education" for all children. If these conditions existed, the PSSA would be nonexistent. As we all know, none of the above always occurs in schools across our nation. Sometimes teachers are incompetent and that incompetency is protected by other teachers and the union. Children have different learning needs and styles. All too often, parents are uneducated or careless when it comes to their children's educational needs. School boards claim they have no money, yet the funding of sports is often a priority in many districts. Governments, for many reasons, must put regulations in place, but neglect to give the money necessary for schools to follow through with those regulations. Some would say that the PSSA is a method of forcing school districts to address all these issues that impede learning. I say that the PSSA is a coercive way of forcing school districts to obtain a false sense of student proficiency instead of correcting some of the reasons that we have an inadequate educational system that will force our nation into an uncompetitive position in the world. (according to some anyway) I look forward to discussing these issues in blogs to come.
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