1:48 p.m.
Here is a couple more to share…unfortunately, we are in a field that is on the front line
of politics.
The Chicago teacher’s union voting proposition is an example of some of the “institutional
stupidity” going on…and one of the most powerful chapters of teachers unions in the
country. - they include DIBELS and AimsWeb in the list- the premise is that tests are
racist because black/brown kids can't pass them- from this perspective regarding the
social construction of reality- the test creates the deficit rather than showing the need
that objectively exists.
Funny quote:
“Districts and school boards use these tests for other purposes: to stratify schools,
blame teachers and parents and to categorize as failing the schools in Black and Brown
communities that they have deprived of adequate and equitable resources for decades.”
https://www.ctulocal1.org/rights/concerns/workload/testing/
If they are providing assessment tools like AimsWeb and DIBELS (I am biased because I know
the developers for sure),those are at least some of the resources they need…some in the
field seem to think that if the test goes away, somehow, the deficit will also (rather
than just being ignored as it usually is or issuing a referral to special education). And
then….somehow the union isn’t engaging in bias and discrimination and is off the hook
because they refuse to use or aren't teaching or using the tools to teach kids how to
read, which promotes inequity and makes disparity gaps even worse.
And this op ed I shared earlier is quite true and has been an issue for a very long
time…hopefully something some of you can help us figure out.
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/579750-many-of-americas-black-youth...
“According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a sector of the U.S.
Department of Education, 84 percent of Black students lack proficiency in mathematics and
85 percent of Black students lack proficiency in reading skills. This astonished me, and
the hour-long show became dedicated to examining what’s behind these numbers.”
Fortunately, the NEA and AFT, despite having some problematic views in other areas I
think- seem to be still promoting MTSS. Which is a good thing as they are powerful
influencers of education policy.
https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips...
State tests- they don’t like so much… people have talking about this for a long time-
somehow- it is overlooked that if you can’t read, well- you aren’t going to do well on any
type of test (so of course they are biased toward people who can’t read) and somehow, it
then gets generalized that black/brown people can’t learn how to read rather than they
haven’t been taught how to read, and of course- the kids then come to us in special
education- now they have a learning disability (rather than a curricular disability).
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/racist-beginnings-standar...
“Many of these same communities have suffered the most from high-stakes testing. Since
their inception almost a century ago, the tests have been instruments of racism and a
biased system. Decades of research demonstrate that Black, Latin(o/a/x), and Native
students, as well as students from some Asian groups, experience bias from standardized
tests administered from early childhood through college.”
You can parallel this conversation in math as well- with the movement to get rid of
Algebra for black and brown kids- rather than, well, actually teaching them algebra (I
don’t buy into this view that somehow based on skin color one group is less able to learn
than another…where many seem to be landing somehow). And somehow, that will help improve
disparities in STEM…strange times and recommendations from those that one would least
expect it to come from… more for all of you to help us figure out…MDB
Mack D. Burke, Ph.D.
Department of Educational Psychology
Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education Programs
Behavioral Education & Assessment Research (BEAR Lab)
School of Education, Baylor University