Teacher Evaluation - Keystone College: Fill & Download for Free

While I would be insulted, after 20 years of teaching, I would welcome *actually seeing* the test that I must teach to. I teach in Pennsylvania, where it is forbidden for me to see the questions on that state exam. If I am to proctor the exam, I am not allowed to look through it. Not at all. I could / would lose my license. I can check to top of the page to see if the student is on the right section of the test for that section as it is printed in bold, but we are not to look at the exam at all. Students are not to discuss the exam with us or anyone. They have to sign a confidentiality statement on the test, and they may not opt out of except for religious reasons.It’s absurd, really. I teach to a test (the biology keystone exam) that determines if they graduate* and my rating depend upon it. But I am not allowed to see what the content is. And while you might expect the state gives clear guidelines and examples, it really does not. We also have no way of knowing if our practice matches up to the real test, as they are not released after testing. (*depending upon the year; some graduating years have been required to pass, others not. And that has changed during the year they were taking the course)This is the case for all PA tests, from elementary through high school. In addition, teachers and schools are judged on results for students that never step into their classroom, or even their school. I have a friend whose son is borderline intellectually disabled (ID) and on the autism spectrum. He was not sent to his neighborhood school, but to another school better suited to meet his needs. His scores were sent to, recorded at, and attributed to the neighborhood school That he never once set foot in. In addition, he qualified to take the alternate version because of the ID, but the state did not allow the school to have so many students take the alternate, so he had to take the grade level tests that his neurotypical, non-disabled peers took. So a student who was not fully capable of taking the test had to take it over a period of several weeks, and then teachers who never saw the student had to take his scores are part of their evaluation. Because that makes sense.I have no issue at all with teacher evaluation, if it is a fair and accurate assessment. Our current system is not even close. In my school, if I do not teach a subject / course area that is tested (biology, algebra, or language arts) my evaluation still comes from the school average of those tests. Health/PE , social studies, tech ed, and other science teachers etc. are judged on all of these as part of the evaluation For the year.So while I'd be offended at the idea that I need to prove myself, I'd like to see what I'm judged on. However, if I were to be asked to take a 5th grade test, I'd be pissed. Because it has bearing on my teaching, would waste my time, and tax payer’s money. Make no mistake, those tests are all about money. Even having all teachers in the state take one test and have it scored would make a tidy profit in the millions for the testing company. This isn’t even considering the people grading the tests (the subjective portions) are usually not teachers or people with degrees in the field. while they may have been *trained* to grade in 10 or so hours, I don't like the thought of having myself or my students evaluated by someone making $10/hr with 30 college credits and likely not invested in the process beyond it being a job, and having to process so many tests in a time period. It's wrong. Education has moved from being about education and kids to money. It's sad, really.Can you tell it angers me?

“Attention Students, please move to your Keystone Testing Location at this time or your study hall location.” Rings the intercom just as I enter school for the day.It was the fourth time that week we heard the same announcement, and it surely wasn’t the last time—there were still two assessments next week. We had three assessments, each with two parts to take; each was a two-hour test daily, with no breaks. Each determined if we graduated.Students as young as third grade are made to take anywhere between two and three standardized assessments yearly across many of the 50 States—Assessments that are each two-hours and emphasized heavily.Test performance is now tied to both school funding, and the evaluation of teachers and administrators[1]We were told a flurry of things about these assessments- PSSA’s and Keystones here in Pennsylvania—including we had to do well, else we risked our teacher being fired. Tell that to a room of 8- and 9-year olds and tell me you don’t expect some of them to feel pressured to perform well.Teachers in the Science, Mathematics, and Literature domains are forced to follow a highly specific set of classroom guidelines; they are forced to have school administrators change their classroom structure to get better scores per assessment.These assessments are spoken about for the entirety of the courses containing them; they are emphasized and it is required to pass these tests in some districts.Not only that, but it is also translating to in the classroom issues amongst students as well.These assessments encompass the SAT and ACT, otherwise known as College-Readiness Exams…which determine what colleges you can and cannot go to in many circumstances.In the classroom, students are suffering from more and more stress as a result of these exams. Many of them determine the course placements, ignoring outside forces influencing scores. Additionally, they are starting this routine of testing from far too young of an age.In a report from the Center for American Progress, Lazarín (2014) found that students in grades 3 through 8, as compared with students in earlier and later grades, spend the most time on testing during the school year, averaging around 15 to 16 hours. On average, students in grades 3 through 8 are taking 10 exams throughout the school year, as compared to around 6 exams for students in grades K-2 and 9-12 (Lazarín, 2014). In part because of state-mandated summative tests, many districts have imposed additional testing requirements, including “interim” or 3 “benchmark” assessments, which contribute to the time students spend testing each year. In many cases, these district assessments require more time than state testing (Lazarín, 2014).[2]Kids that young should not be taking that number of high stakes assessments, yet it happens every single year.Imagine, Anna is in ninth grade, her sister Bella is in third. Bella is spending the entire month of March it seems coming home with test preparation packets to complete. Her Easter break is riddled with nerves their mother must help calm.Anna is in three advanced courses, in English, Biology, and Algebra. Anna must take a state-mandated assessment in all three of those areas that year and on consecutive days. She isn’t given a break beside the weekend.Both girls spend their Easter stressing—Bella because these assessments are said to determine her classroom placement the following year, and Anna because these assessments determine if she is allowed to graduate with her class.Neither can do anything but worry, despite your reassurance because of the pressure placed on them to succeed. And the teachers aren’t the ones placing pressure on these students—it's the administration telling teachers to.This happens countless times a year per state, maybe not exactly but closely. Yet, nothing is done about it.The number of Standardized State Mandated Testing I, myself, have taken since I stepped foot in third-grade tallies to be near 17, not including my Benchmark assessments as there have been far too many to count. To date, I have taken the PSAT and the SAT each once, with the intent to take the ACT in February.That’s a total of at least 20 Standardized Assessments since I turned 8; a total of 20 in 8 years.If that’s not excessive, I don’t know what is.What’s wrong with the Current Education System here in the states?My worth has boiled down to a number in school.Whether it’s my student ID or my test score results, I’m nothing more than a number to my administrators. They stopped seeing my peers and me as students, as people, and changed to seeing as numbers.We are nothing more than a statistic to them, and it’s saddening. Some teachers see us as people, yet some still see us as an oppurtunity for a pay raise if they just get us to excel on those ruddy tests.In my opinion, the standardized tests have little by little devalued the current education system, and to the extreme of students no longer being students but mere numbers.Footnotes[1] How America Is Breaking Public Education[2] https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/eap/files/c._simpson_effects_of_testing_on_well_being_5_16.pdf

May 11Election fraud: Trump created a commission to examine vulnerabilities in U.S. political systems and assess voter registration procedures.Cybersecurity: Trump signed an order to hold federal agency heads accountable for the cybersecurity of their networks and calls on government and IT leaders to step up defenses against automated attacks online.May 4Religious politics: Trump issued an order to ease federal restrictions against political activity by tax-exempt religious organizations.May 1Technology council: Trump ordered the creation of the American Technology Council to upgrade the U.S. government's use of digital services.April 28Offshore drilling: The president issued an order to review federal regulations and guidelines on offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic.April 27Whistleblowers: Trump signed an order to protect whistleblowers in the U.S. Veterans Administration, as part of his pledge to care for American service veterans.April 26Education: Trump signed an order directing Secretary Betsy DeVos to determine if there is too much federal oversight in U.S. education.Federal lands: The president took executive action to review the Antiquities Act of 1906, which will ultimately evaluate national monument designations made by former Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton.April 25Agriculture: Trump signed an order to review potential impediments to growth in the domestic agriculture industry. He took the action after a roundtable meeting with a number of U.S. farmers, industry officials and Ag Secretary George "Sonny" Perdue.April 21Deregulation: Trump signed an executive order and two memoranda. The order directs the Treasury to review tax regulations initiated last year to determine if they overreach and are cost-effective. The memoranda called for reviews of Dodd-Frank, the 2010 law against fiscal abuses that led to the financial crisis, and the Financial Stability Oversight Council's procedure in designating banks "too big to fail."April 18Labor: Trump signed the "Buy American, Hire American" executive order -- an action aimed at enforcing domestic worker rules and ending "abuses" of the U.S. H-1B work visa program. It also directs federal agencies to review trade rules that might undermine the domestic labor market.March 31Trade: The president signed two executive actions -- one ordering a review of the U.S. trade deficit and one to strengthen anti-dumping rules and enforcement. The deficit review will examine forms of "trade abuse," taking a country-by-country look over 90 days. The anti-dumping order directs the Homeland Security Department to ensure enforcement.March 29Drug abuse: Trump signed an order establishing the President's Commission Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis to fight the epidemic of prescription drug overuse and overdose. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was assigned to the panel, which seeks to fight dependence on opioid narcotics.March 28Environment: President Trump signed an executive order to roll back a suite of planned environmental regulations in an effort to spur energy independence. The order will kick off a review of former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, lift a short-term ban on leasing federal land for coal production, lift limits on coal production and return energy production authority to the states.March 27Education: President Trump revoked two Obama-era regulations on teacher training and school accountability. In a White House ceremony Monday, Trump referred to the actions as "removing an additional layer of bureaucracy to encourage freedom in our schools."Federal contractors: President Trump signed a resolution scrapping an Obama-era rule the administration said made it too easy for lawyers to target or blacklist U.S. companies and works who contract with the government. The Obama administration said the regulation even the playing field for lawful contractors.Public lands: President Trump signed a resolution rolling back an Obama-era rule that gave the Bureau of Land Management power to conserve public lands for future use. Critics said it reduced efficiency and gave states and local government little input on land use.March 6Travel ban: President Trump signed a revised version of an existing order to block entry by people from six majority-Muslim nations for 90 days and ban all refugees from Syria for 120 days. The new order specified that it won't affect people who had already been issued travel visas.February 28Clean Water Act: President Trump signed an executive order calling for a review of an Obama-era rule expanding the number of bodies of water under environmental protection.Historically Black Colleges and Universities: President Trump signed an executive order moving the federal initiative on HBCUs directly to the White House instead of under the Department of Education in order to "promote excellence," the White House said.Women in Science: President Trump signed two bills aiming to promote women in the STEM fields. The Protecting Women in Entrepreneurship Act calls on the National Science Foundation to "recruit and support women to expand their focus into the commercial world in its entrepreneurial programs. The Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers and Explorers Women Act requires NASA to encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.Gun Control: President Trump signed a bill nullifying an Obama-era rule aimed at blocking gun sales to people found to be mentally ill.February 24Regulatory Reform: President Trump signed an executive order to direct federal agencies to evaluate existing regulations. The action is part of Trump's plan to eliminate what he views as overreaching, "job-killing" restrictions.February 16Stream Protection: President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 38, which scraps an Obama administration environmental rule to protect waterways from coal mining waste. Trump's administration said the rule puts mining companies at a competitive disadvantage.February 14Anti-Corruption Repeal: President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 41, which wipes away a federal rule that requires energy companies to disclose royalties and government payments. The rule was imposed by the Obama administration last year as a transparency measure. Trump's government said it puts U.S. energy companies at a disadvantage.February 9Police Protection: Trump signed an order to review existing laws and produce legislation to better protect federal, state and local law enforcement officers. The action is a response to increased attacks against officers in the past year.Crime Reduction: The president ordered Attorney General Jeff Sessions to create a new federal task force to share information among agencies, develop strategies, identify deficiencies in current laws, evaluate criminal data and make recommendations for greater safety of U.S. citizens.Foreign Crime Fighting: Trump issued an executive order prioritizing efforts to prosecute foreign-based crimes like drug and human trafficking. It calls for stricter enforcement of laws already on the books and efforts to "identify, interdict, disrupt, and dismantle transnational criminal organizations."February 3Wall Street Regulation: Trump signed an executive order to ease U.S. fiscal regulations in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 -- which was a response to the financial crisis and Great Recession that Trump's administration called "overreaching."Money Manager Rule: The president ordered the Labor Department to review a rule from former President Barack Obama requiring financial managers to act in their clients' best interests when handling retirement accounts. The department will determine whether such a mandate is necessary.January 31Supreme Court: Trump nominated federal appellate Judge Neil McGill Gorsuch to replace Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Some Democrats promised to filibuster the confirmation process after Republicans refused to hold hearings on former President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland after Scalia's death.January 30Federal regulations: Trump signed an executive order requiring that for every new federal regulation on small and large businesses, two existing regulations must be removed. He signed the document after a meeting with small business leaders. Trump said he wants to end regulatory discrepancy between big and small business.CIA in the NSC: White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the CIA was added to Trump's National Security Council -- something that wasn't done by former President Barack Obama due to the creation of the national intelligence director post in 2005.January 28National Security Council: Trump reorganized the council, adding his chief strategist, Steve Bannon. The council is a panel of officials, most of them Cabinet level, who work with the president to determine the best course of action on security issues.January 27Military strength: Trump signed an executive order to provide new resources and equipment to strengthen the U.S. military. The order promises to "rebuild" American armed forces and upgrade national and global security as part of a strategy that dictates "peace through strength." The order directs Defense Secretary James Mattis to assess the country's military and nuclear capabilities.Visa vetting: Trump signed an executive order that calls for more intensive security checks for foreign nationals seeking U.S. travel visas. The action stems from a controversial proposal Trump made during his campaign -- to prevent certain refugees from nations of concern, like Iraq and Syria, from reaching U.S. shores until they can be cleared.January 25Border security: Trump signed an executive action directing federal agencies to prepare for "immediate construction" of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border -- a controversial project that was at the center of his presidential campaign.Immigration enforcement: The president signed an executive order to strip federal grant money from so-called "sanctuary cities" -- U.S. municipalities that protect undocumented immigrants from federal prosecution. Trump's order also seeks to hire 10,000 additional immigration officers, build more detention centers and prioritize immigrants for deportation.January 24Oil pipelines: Trump signed executive orders that would make it possible to complete the Dakota Access and restart the process for the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.January 23Abortion: Trump signed a presidential memorandum reviving a rule that prevents U.S. funds from going to certain health charities around the world that counsel on abortions. Known as the Mexico City policy, it was first instituted by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984 and has been on and off the books ever since.Trans-Pacific Partnership: Trump signed a presidential memorandum withdrawing the United States from the trade deal with Asia. The pact has been criticized by people skeptical of its benefits and worried over its potential to kill U.S. jobs. Proponents of the deal worry that pulling out could harm relations with key allies in the region.Federal workforce: Trump ordered a temporary hiring freeze for federal workers, except for the military and certain security positions.January 20Obamacare: Within hours of his inauguration, Trump took his first step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act, signing an executive order calling on government agencies to "ease the burden" of the policy.Trump's order asked federal agencies to "prepare to afford the states more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market."Homeowners insurance: The new president also suspended a scheduled insurance rate cut for new homeowners, which had been set by Barack Obama's government. The cut would have reduced annual insurance premiums for new Federal Housing Administration loans by 25 basis points -- from 0.85 to 0.60.Federal regulations: Trump also ordered a freeze on all new federal regulations that had not been finalized.