How Pennsylvania Uses your Child's Standardized Test Scores

My 8th grade daughter was denied her application for the Pennridge High School cosmetology Program at the Tech School based on her 7th grade PSSA scores (Pennsylvania).  Her Math score came out as "basic" and in all other areas she scored "proficient". We refused the PSSA testing for 8th grade.

Below is the series of correspondence I had with the school in protest of the way the standardized scores were used, and the final outcome. It is a bit lengthy, however important for everyone to see the progression of the rebuttals I received as well as the way to push back against policies and practices that hurt schools and halt our student's progress. 

Please feel free to share or use the letters as a template for your own situation as much as you like.

Students are being denied access to technology programming (that they could excel at), based NOT on their unique abilities or a portfolio of work or even a personal interview, but on a single standardized test score. In the business world, if your professional progress was halted by a single 2 year old outdated, biased and insufficient work evaluation, you would sue. This is no different-in fact, its worse because the kids don't realize they are being used and held back. The kids don;t realize that not only do they have the RIGHT to refuse-but they are OBLIGATED to not comply with regulations that are in fact illegal. (I will explain how and why this is illegal in an upcoming post.)

We need to push back as parents and educators, advocate for our kids and teach them to advocate for themselves, and take back control of our schools!

May5, 2014

Ms. D'Angelo,

I am in receipt of a form letter dated May 1, 2014 stating that my daughter, Lauren Bruge, was denied her application for the Cosmetology Tech Program based on her PSSA scores. This e-mail is to let you know that we are contesting this decision based on the biased way in which these applications are reviewed.  

I am not aware of any personal interviews being done with the high school candidates in this application process, nor any portfolio assessments, so I am to assume that the denial comes strictly from the standardized test score, as was stated in your letter. This is simply not acceptable.

At this time, I am requesting a full copy of the Pennridge High School Administrative policy, which you cited in the denial letter, as well as the date it was adopted and by whom so I may review the information.

In addition, I am requesting a specific and detailed written breakdown of exactly how my daughter's year-old PSSA scores, (that will be two years old by the time she is in 9th grade next year) have been projected to negatively impact her attendance and ability to benefit from the cosmetology program at UBCTS.  Your reasons stated in the letter are vague and generalized and I would just like to clarify the specific benchmarks of the Cosmetology program, and which ones were not met.

My next question is why are 9th graders singled out and discriminated against in this manner? You stated that the other grades do not have this requirement-and I also am aware that your adult cosmetology program does not require any test scores either as a condition for enrollment.

The excuse for this only being a 9th grade requirement is unclear-regarding time in the schedule for standardized test remediation...(is that for the 9th graders or upperclassmen?) and that its hard for 9th graders to transition to high school AND tech-but only if they are "average" or below on PSSA's? Is any other work assessed or a personal interview given to see what the individual student's ability, maturity and commitment level is? Or does someone who has NEVER even met my daughter just look at those PSSA test scores and decide for her? 

My daughter cannot wait to get out of 8th grade and away from the immature behaviors of her classmates and do some actual "hands-on" learning. She was looking forward to high school and cosmetology until we got this letter. She Was an A/B student until she started being harassed and drilled last year over her "insufficient" PSSA scores-(that were "average" and above average" according to the scale) and her refusal of remediation services. 

Why are students being penalized for being average in one subject? 

It used to be that the students who did not want to go to college, or the ones who may have trouble adjusting to a tougher academic atmosphere would go to tech. However, I have never heard of a time when a child was  denied entrance to a tech program because of a single test score, while their whole academic portfolio, face-to face affect and emotional maturity was otherwise ignored or not considered as a factor for acceptance. 

We refused to participate in PSSAs this year for this exact reason- and will continue to refuse to participate in  them from this point on. They are not being used as a useful tool to develop programs,or to help children prepare for Life, they are being used to collect data as they label, penalize, intimidate and discourage students who strive to do their best each day. 

In addition,they are not part of any contract that I or my daughter volunteered for or consented to participate in. The PSSAs exist as a contract between the school district and the state of PA-and I suppose a testing company (Pearson Education?) . Therefore, her scores are actually null and void and cannot be used to penalize her - a minor - who is not of full age to enter in such an agreement, and who therefore was not ever really part of the (testing) agreement. So now, she is (along with a few of her other classmates) being unfairly penalized and refused entrance, based on test scores, generated by a contract that she was never even part of. In my book, that is a clear case of bias.

The untruth I would like to call you on is the statement that the programs are "designed to be completed in 3 years". This is a misleading statement and not true based on the dozen or so students I know who have come through the cosmetology program. The students who begin Sophomore year as opposed to Freshman year, will not have enough hours to complete the program and will have to pay $60/day to complete their hours so they can sit for their licensing exam.

I would like to initiate an appeal and am requesting a copy of that policy & procedure as well so I may move forward with this.

Thank you.

Barbara Gini

May 7, 2014

Dear Ms. Gini,  

   

I received your email and hear your concerns regarding the PSSA requirements for 9th graders to attend UBCTS.  As my letter stated the admission requirements for 9thgraders to attend UBCTS were implemented by PHS Administration. As Guidance Counselor, I need to refer your concerns to the appropriate individuals. Do I have your permission to forward your concerns and request to appeal to both Dr. Creeden, PHS Principal and Mr. Schoonover, 9th Grade Principal?  

   

Thank You,  

   

Lori D’Angelo

May 9, 2014

Ms. D'Angelo

Yes you have my permission.

B.Gini

May 9, 2014

Hi Ms. Gini,  

   

I did send your concerns to Dr. Creeden and Mr. Schoonover yesterday.  

   

Take Care,  

   

Lori D’Angelo

May 27, 2014

Good Morning Ms. D'Angelo

A few weeks ago I contacted you regarding my daughter's rejection from the Tech program based on her PSSA scores.

I am disappointed (yet not surprised) that I have not heard back from anyone regarding the district's appeal process. I need to hear back from someone by the end of this week or I will be forced to pursue this by another avenue.

As I stated, PSSAs are to be used as an assessment tool-not as a placement tool and I feel that this practice and the rationale behind it is discriminatory. 

Kindly forward me the e-mails of the individuals you forwarded my original e-mail to-(Dr. Creedon, Mr. Schoonover and anyone else who was forwarded the information) so I personally may contact them & not take up any more of your time.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail as well if you need to.

I thank you for your assistance.

Barbara Gini

215-257-3193

May 28, 2014

Hi Mrs. Gini,  

Mrs. D’Angelo is currently out on maternity leave so her email was forwarded to me.  You can contact Dr. Creeden at tcreeden@pennridge.org or Nick Schoonover atnschoono@pennridge.org regarding your questions.

I understand your frustration.  Let me know if there is anything I can do to help after you speak with one of the administrators.

Take care,

Shannon O’Sullivan  

PHS Counselor  

(215) 453-6944 ext. 4030

May 28, 2014

Ms. Sullivan

Thank you for the update and for forwarding the e-mail. It is much appreciated!

Barbara Gini

May 28, 2014

Mrs. Gini,  

   

Sorry I did not get back to you sooner about the question of vocational school and the need to meet graduation requirements. Unfortunately, since Keystone Tests are now the graduation requirements for the Class of 2017 and beyond we have to find time in the day to remediate the students that have to retake the Keystones during grades 9-11. Vocational Technical students have limited time in their schedule to meet these requirements so we have to delay the enrollment into the vocational program, hopefully only a year. Your daughter can apply for her 10th through 12th grade years and still meet the requirements of the vocational program.  

   

Please contact me if you have any other questions. Thank you.  

   

Thomas Creeden Ed.D.

Principal, Pennridge High School

215-453-2744  

  

May 28, 2014

Mr. Creedon,

Thank you for your reply. However, the purpose of my original communication was to inform you of my intent to appeal. 

In that communication, which you have been forwarded, I requested to see a copy of the Pennridge High School Administrative policy, which you cited in the denial letter, as well as the date it was adopted and by whom so I may review that information.

In addition, I requested a specific and detailed written breakdown of exactly how my daughter's year-old PSSA scores, (that will be two years old by the time she is in 9th grade next year) have been projected to negatively impact her attendance and ability to benefit from the cosmetology program at UBCTS.  

Your reasons stated in the letter and in your e-mail are vague and generalized and I would just like to clarify the specific benchmarks of the Cosmetology program, and which ones were not met.

We did not participate in standardized testing this year-nor will we be until the individual districts are back in full control of standards, curricula and other requirements, and for exactly this reason. This data is not being used in a helpful manner-it is invasive and serves to punish average students for being average and their teachers for not teaching "right". It encourages teaching to the test-and a host of other shady dealings that I will not go into now.

I am all for expecting kids to do their best-and have no problem with giving them every opportunity to achieve their highest potential, but I have never seen nor experienced anything like this out of control testing fiasco.

I ave also NEVER seen a student turned down for a Tech Program-based on a single test score. 

It was my understanding-and that of many parents- that the PSSAs were to be used as an assessment tool-and NOT as a placement barometer. I realize that the kids who are struggling and need extra help should have it available-however I refused 'remedial' services this year as well-at the time we refused Math support services, my daughter had all A's and B's and one C (78%) in Math. She can live with that. Why can't the state?

I understand the complicated workings or AYP and how the Common Core standards were snuck in, circumventing the legislative process, with the promise of funding, from the federal and state government, (and private business entities) however, the testing contract(s) that this district entered into with the state and Federal Government, and/or Pearson Education, does not include myself, (or any parents) or any of our kids. Therefore, we are not bound by any of those contract terms. Any retaliation on a student for refusal to participate in policies that ultimately hurt students, educators and schools and communities,  is a clear violation of civil rights.

Your remediation argument does not make sense and I get the feeling it is just a standard excuse that you give to parents who ask questions.  My daughter did not take PSSAs this year, so, just to be clear, you are basing your decision to refuse her entrance to tech on an assumption-that she may-or may not- be in need of future "remediation". You are basing that decision on 2 year old test scores and not her current work portfolio, nor a personal interview to see if she can handle the schedule or work load. That is the same as basing a teacher's raise on work-or lack of-that they did 2 years ago OR the assumption that they can't handle the new work they will be taking on. Ridiculous. And probably illegal.

If my daughter needs remediation, I am perfectly capable of securing an appropriate tutor for her. She does not need to use school instruction time for that.

I understand that you have to show the state that you are providing remediation to the kids who need it-or those designated funds go back into the general budget-however, neither me nor my daughter has anything to do with that either. That is a district issue and you are placing kids in support classes who could make better use of their time in the other classes they excel at.

So-with that said, I would like to request for a second time:

• a copy of the Pennridge High School Administrative policy, which you cited and referred to in the denial letter, as well as the date it was adopted and by whom so I may review that information.
• a specific and detailed written breakdown of exactly how my daughter's year-old PSSA scores, (that will be two years old by the time she is in 9th grade next year) have been projected to negatively impact her attendance and ability to benefit from the cosmetology program at UBCTS. 
• a breakdown of how you have magically determined that she will need time in her schedule for "remediation" in the future-the 9th grade-that is still 4 months in the future
• a copy of the district's appeal policy & procedure so I may proceed with my formal appeal

I have been advised of my parental rights as well as my daughter's, and would appreciate your timely cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Barbara Gini

May 28, 2014

Ms. Gini,  

   

I appreciate your concerns with meeting the needs of your daughter in a timely manner, but as principal I  need to assure that all students meet the Chapter 4 regulations pertaining to the graduation requirements. So there is no policy or denial letter stating that you can appeal the placement of the vocational school. With that being said I’m willing to allow your daughter the cosmetology placement with your promise you’ll assist her at home with the necessary tutoring to meet those graduation requirements. Be aware that the placement can change at any time if teachers or administration feels that your daughter is not meeting the necessary requirements to meet her graduation credit completion.  

   

Testing has become an overwhelming issue in high schools. The amount of time taken away from instruction is tremendous, but I don’t make the rules I need to follow them as set up by the Department of Education. My goal is to ensure that every student meets the Chapter 4 requirements by their senior year. Please follow through with Ms. Hill at the vocational technical school and Ms. D’Angelo or Ms. Letterman on the scheduling process this summer. Please contact me with any other questions. Thank you

Note:

I did not contact the school after this above communication because my daughter was very angry, discouraged and now questioning if she wanted anything to do with the program at all. I still have not received any of the policies and procedures that I asked for however on June 9, I received the letter of acceptance for my daughter, into the cosmetology program. 

My point with all of this is to illustrate two things: the first is that these tests are not as vital for kid's progress as they want us to believe. Our kids are being used as lab rats in a social experiment without our consent and probably illegally. The kids now represent human capital-their personal information is collected-and the federal gov and local districts have circumvented the legislature to do this. Parental rights, student rights and privacy laws take a back seat to the almighty $$$ (500 pieces of information is collected in PA-most NOT related at all to academics.) This was all started with No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, (and followed up with Common Core) which makes schools compete for funding and expects ALL Kids to be on the SAME level-regardless of ability. This means that the higher level kids will be held back, while the slower learners will be dragged ahead. They all lose. There are protections in the US constitution that keeps government OUT of education, however these boundaries are slowly being eroded under the guise of saying that the education initiative is "state led". These are lies. It was not initiated by any state.

The second point is that we need to just ask questions and keep asking. Whether you are a parent or an educator, do not be afraid to push back. Much of what we are told is lies, half truths and other deceptions. If we don't open our mouths and ask questions and demand TRUTHFUL answers, we are consenting to the continued practice of data mining, and unfairly grouping kids by a single standardized test score, not from a test written by an educator-or a child development specialist, but from a test written by bureaucrats and book companies. Not only are we consenting, but we are the proverbial "useful idiots" being used to implement it all.

If something sounds fishy, investigate. This was tedious for me, but it is more important for me to advocate properly for my child-even if it means I have to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable. In the end, they backed off, which indicates to me that the tests scores are NOT really about the kids progress at all. If they were, I would still be having the conversation. 

What this means, is that any OTHER Pennridge parents who want to challenge this policy can. If they do not let your child into the program after you "appeal" then they are being discriminatory-if they backed off with my child, they should back off with others.

I am not against assessment. But I am against using only 1 specific assessment to determine all other outcomes in a child's life. This is unwise, unfair, discriminatory and out of control, especially for kids in crisis or transition, English language learners, children living in poverty, children with special needs and those kids who defy definition or category-and who do not color inside the lines.

When it comes to our kids, always be firm and stick to your guns! Encourage your kids to do the same!

~Barbara

 E-Mail: bg.bgini@gmail.com 

  

Reason vs Progress

Don't be afraid to be a little unreasonable on occasion! 

Have a great weekend!

On Educator's Opting Out & Children Leading

IMAGE: Mother Jones leading a children's march
against exploitation circa 1903 (OpEdNews)

I recently posted this comment on a Social Network page:


So I have a question I posed earlier on another page: has anybody explored the option of teachers opting out of administering tests for religious reasons? Why would it be any different than a parent opting a child out for religious reasons? It would seem to me that if an employer suddenly was asking you to do something that you believed to be morally and ethically wrong, you would have the same right to refuse, under religious protection. It frustrates me to see teachers-and parents- complaining about how much instruction time this takes up, yet not willing to actually do anything about it. I understand the concerns and fears-but then I look at my daughter, who is being teased by many kids now-(and admired by some others)-and she is acting for what she knows is right in spite of her fears. I wonder why more of the adults who are helping perpetuate what amounts to a takeover of our schools, can't start a "Teachers Opt Out" movement and help stop it? From where I am sitting, being passively subversive is not enough anymore. I am watching kids get intimidated, lied to and bullied by staff over these tests. It will take more than angry parents and stressed kids to get rid of this."

A commenter asked to share it and another said that religious reasons would not work in a public school setting-but educational objections might. That commenter expressed the idea that kids should be the ones to deliver 'the message' and that kids should lead this.

Below is my response, with a few modifications, that I felt was important enough to put in blog post form:


@---- , Absolutely! Please share the idea of teachers opting out of administering standardized testing for religious reasons as much as you want-the more the better! I would love to explore options and start a movement.

And @----, I understand what you are saying about the educational arguments-which are valid-however, in spite of educational arguments, educator observations and psychologists data proving that these tests are NOT age or developmentally appropriate, and are actually CAUSING behavior and other serious emotional disturbances in children, districts are still implementing them as well as the Common Core. I would think that a school district would be less inclined to challenge educators' religious beliefs-because once they do that, they open themselves up to a Pandora's box of repercussions. Insist that your union backs you all on this. 

Remember that Religious freedom is what our country was founded on and is a valid reason to object to this. The "reforms" we see can be viewed as an attempt to bring Socialist ideals into our schools to indoctrinate our kids with half-truths, deceptions and outright lies. Its abuse to put it mildly. The biggest religious objection to this is that socialist ideals enslave and indoctrinate, and take away an individuals ability to use their God-given free will-their power of thought and choice-or face intimidation and harassment.  

The CC and these tests are a HUGE deception in themselves-they are being used to manipulate the (false) data to  "show" that our kids, teachers and schools are failing. They are designed to make everyone fail-(especially the least among us-the special needs children) so that the gov/business can take over the schools. This is a deception by design and the search for a higher Truth is at the heart of any religion. 

The testing is not about children succeeding - its about placing False Gods - the education companies' promise of money - before the greater good. To say that the kids need to deliver the message is missing the entire point and, in my opinion, a cop out. That "child shall lead them" quote is often taken completely out of context. It does not mean that kids will lead adults. That passage is about the lion, lamb and other creatures living in Peace-and the child being able to go near them without fear of harm. 

But let's take that thought of a child leading a little bit further, and ask ourselves just how much more do we want to dump on the kids? 

The kids have ALL of this dumped on them. They have so much pressure. If they don't "do well" on the tests, then they themselves, their teachers AND their school 'fails'. This is what they are told, over and over again. 

In addition, we are dumping the cost of this implementation on them as well as other debt on them. A child born today will owe $1,532,026 in National Debt, and by the time I update this post that number will climb even higher. 

This is NOT the kids responsibility to lead or to clean this up. WE did this and WE need to fix it: the administrators and school boards who gave in to the bribe and promise of funding, the teachers who passively sat there and did not object until it was tied to their evaluations, the parents that were not involved nor proactive in their child's education, and people in general not ensuring that our local and federal government does the right thing. It is our responsibility to take care of and support the kids-not the other way around. They have been used enough and its time we all act to put a stop to it.

The kids need support from LEADERS-adults-parents AND their teachers and administrators who will protect them from and stand by them on this, not people who are afraid to open their mouths when injustice and abuse is taking place all around them. In a school setting especially, there is a huge imbalance of power between children and adults, no matter how outspoken the student is. 

Many kids don't understand the depth of the issues, nor the far reaching consequences, and are simply too scared: scared of "failing", of being teased, of being singled out, and of "getting in trouble" if they don't comply. Excessive sensitivity training, the CC and hype/indoctrination over the "importance" of the tests has ensured that they are too scared to object on their own and think that if they refuse or make waves they will be hurting their schools & teachers. Parents are being told the same thing. They are being bullied and used by state DOEs and local administrators to perpetuate this lie. Our kids are the "Useful Innocents" and WE - adults - have to be aware, present and assertive enough to recognize this, and to stand up and intervene in effective ways to stop the abusive forced compliance. 

If educators are who are reporting & resisting abuse, injustices and crimes are being treated as if they are the ones committing the abuse, injustices & crimes, then they are being governed by the criminals. We need to act now.


So what say you? Do you think a "Teachers Opt Out" movement would be successful? Are you a teacher who would be willing to find out? Let's give it some serious thought as to what this would look like.

In the meantime, if anyone needs additional inspiration for parent or teacher religious objections, please refer to my most recent note on the left column of my Barbara Gini  [Facebook] page. It is my letter to my daughter's school explaining what my own personal objections are, but it may be helpful in realizing & finding a way to verbalize your own moral/ethical objections.


Fell free to e-mail me: bg.bgini@gmail.com


Additional Reading:

Freedom Heroes: Mother Jones

United Opt Out National

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