Rockville School's Efforts Raise Questions of Test-Prep Ethics

[Howard Hartman]

Washington Post
Daniel de Vise

A Concentrated Approach to Exams

Rockville School's Efforts Raise Questions of Test-Prep Ethics

The principal of Earle B. Wood Middle School in Rockville gathered teachers and handed out a list of all the black, Hispanic, special-education and limited-English-speaking students who would take the Maryland School Assessment, the measure of success or failure under the federal No Child Left Behind mandate.

Principal Renee Foose told teachers to cross off the names of students who had virtually no chance of passing and those certain to pass. Those who remained, children on the cusp between success and failure, would receive 45 minutes of intensive test preparation four days a week, until further notice.

Under President Bush's education initiative, hundreds of middle-class suburban schools like Wood, with a history of solid test scores, are at risk of academic failure. They must address nagging achievement gaps that cut along racial and socioeconomic lines or face the penalties and possible "restructuring" that the federal law prescribes.

The coming weeks will bring a battery of tests -- Virginia's Standards of Learning exams, the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System and the Maryland School Assessment -- that will determine whether schools and students have made "adequate yearly progress" under the law. Maryland's testing begins March 12.

Because these "high-stakes" tests exert unprecedented influence on public education, principals and teachers are struggling with the ethics of test preparation: Is it right to give extra help to some students and withhold it from others based on who is likely to pass? Is it acceptable to set aside regular instruction for lessons on how to solve multiple-choice questions? Is it all right to forsake free-form poetry for a steady diet of heavily formatted reading passages?

That is what some teachers say has happened at Wood. Their accounts and interviews with Foose offer a glimpse at a kind of test-prep triage that analysts think is increasingly common at many schools but is rarely discussed in public.

"We're not talking about instruction," said Bonnie Cullison, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, who is investigating teacher concerns at the school. "We're talking about a narrow set of skills that is really about passing a test."

Foose, in telephone and e-mail interviews over several weeks, said that a few unsupportive employees were distorting the school's efforts to help students with the greatest needs.

"No student here is excluded from any instruction whatsoever," she said.

Foose, a former state trooper who became Wood's principal last fall, explained the process:

"Our school improvement goal is 80 percent of all students pass" the assessment, she wrote in one e-mail. "We were determining how many students we know will pass based on their classroom performance."

All students received extra support, she wrote in another e-mail, "some more than others." Children with little English ability or severe cognitive disabilities were excluded, she said, because they get intensive help through regular studies.

Then, last week, she said that the special lessons had been halted.

Another Montgomery middle school principal, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of her being fired, described the pressures that she and others face:

"You have to be smart about what you do," she said. "Because, realistically, I don't want to think I could lose my job, but I could lose my job if the school doesn't make [adequate yearly progress] for too long. Realistically, we could all lose our jobs."

Wood serves a community of single-family homes and apartments typical in a dense suburb. Its student population is approximately 44 percent white, 23 percent Hispanic, 19 percent black, 12 percent Asian and 1 percent Native American. One student out of four qualifies for federal meal subsidies.

Last spring, 68 percent of Wood students rated at least proficient on state tests, surpassing the state average of 65 percent. But the school failed to make adequate yearly progress, the federal standard for success, because special-education students, those with limited English proficiency and those receiving federal meal subsidies fell behind in reading scores.

Foose came to Wood to set things right.

A veteran principal, who retired last spring, had allowed discipline to lapse, said two Wood employees and Cullison, who has spoken to other staffers.

The laxity extended to testing season, one teacher said: When students sat for the assessments, "kids who were fully capable of passing, they just didn't care."

Parents saw immediate improvement under Foose. Student suspensions fell by more than half after she arrived.

"She is very direct. She is very focused. She is very determined," said Pauline Lamberg, Wood's PTA president.

The principal's approach to state testing was, by all accounts, focused and determined.

Test preparations began in earnest, the staffers said, on the day faculty returned from winter break. In separate meetings with the English and math teachers, Foose handed out lists of "subgroup" students and outlined her plan:

"We were told to cross off the kids who would never pass," one staffer said. "We were told to cross off the kids who, if we handed them the test tomorrow, they would pass. And then the kids who were left over, those were the kids we were supposed to focus on."

The next week, teachers regularly began pulling selected students from social studies, science, gym, art and other elective classes to work in small groups to prepare for the test. They used test-prep workbooks and sample material from the state education department's Web site.

The principal and some employees disagree on how often students were removed from classes for test-preparation. Foose said that many teachers delivered extra instruction in the classroom.

Employees say that Foose and one of her administrators added to the urgency by telling students and parents that those who failed the assessments might be held back. The principal said the comments came from an assistant principal and were more about students' long-term academic prospects.

Foose and her supporters say the remedial lessons ultimately did much good.

"Trust me -- you want students to be able to pass a basic comprehension test," Deborah Longo, leader of the eighth-grade instructional team, said in an e-mail.

Others, inside and outside the school, said they thought the exercise crossed a line.

"They're not teaching the material," Cullison said. "They're teaching them how to take a test, which is a huge disservice to these kids."

Link to the original Washington Post article

[Howard Hartman]

Dear President Navarro and Members of the Board,

As a parent in the Rockville cluster, I am shocked and appalled by the reports in today's Washington Post about test prep practises at Wood Middle School. It is unconscionable to abandon children who need help in school. We cannot allow our schools to provide tutoring only to the children they believe can pass the MSAs and ignore children who need more help. Surely we want the children to learn more than we want them to pass the MSAs.

In addition, as described in the article, the process seems to exclude children who could do well if they had a little help, but do not fall into certain demographic categories. In other words, an average Asian child who is in danger of failing the MSAs might not have gotten tutoring services. While this might not hurt the school's AYP, it would certainly hurt the child. Such a policy would obviously be racist.

I urge you to investigate these reports and ensure that there is appropriate disciplinary action. In addition, I believe Dr. Weast should immediately let all principals and teachers know in no uncertain terms that MCPS does not abandon children. Educators must provide tutoring to ALL children who need it, not just the ones who will help the school's statistics.

For the future, I think the time has come for MCPS to develop guidelines on test preparation, with input from teachers, parents, and community groups We need to know the answers to questions like: How many hours should students spend in tutoring during the school day? Which classes should they be pulled from and how will they make up the work they miss? How much tutoring and classroom teaching should be test preparation? How can we distinguish between teaching that improves reading and math ability and teaching that is just test preparation?

Sincerely,
Diane K. McHale

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from eWood - Wood Middle School Listserv

I am a parent who is very grateful for the extra MSA help offered to students this year. My boys have been in the afterschool MSA math club all year. I am appreciative and impressed by the support they (and many, many other students) have been offered. Despite the negative spin The Washington Post put on the MSA support, I believe that readers were readily able to see that Wood Middle School cares about the students and their performance on mandated tests.

Newspapers frequently skew reality. That said, I would like to commend the highly qualified, dedicated teaching staff at Wood Middle School. They continue to provide an excellent education to our students every day and are willing to go the extra mile to do this (before school, after school, during lunches, and planning periods.) The teachers and administration at Wood Wood Middle School are committed to ensuring the success of all students. They do this in ways that The Washington Post neglected to mention. Unfortunately, many educators (who have been in the trenches teaching students of all academic levels) must now assume a defensive posture to justify their desire and methods as they strive to ensure that ALL students succeed.

Nicole Hoppman

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from GTAletters - Gifted and Talented Listserv

Unfortunately, I have also heard of this type of "targeted test prep" going on at other schools. In the long run this hurts all students. The targeted kids only learn how to take a test. The kids below the targeted group are essentially given up on. The kids above the target group witness this unfair practice (dare we use the term "sanctioned cheating"? And finally, the Asian and Caucasian kids "on the cusp" who are left out of this extra "text prep" due to their race, get no benefit from this practice. So, who benefits??? MCPS will benefit because, by only helping non-Asian "cusp" minorities, the achievement gap will be narrowed...at least on paper.

Mary Ling

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from RAMSNet - Rockville High School Listserv

I'm requesting that Dr. Foose reply here. People believe what they read in the paper, and they have a right to. The Washington Post says, "The principal of Earle B. Wood Middle School in Rockville gathered teachers and handed out a list of all the black, Hispanic, special-education and limited-English-speaking students who would take the Maryland School Assessment, the measure of success or failure under the federal No Child Left Behind mandate."

Is this true, or is it a misrepresentation? If it's true, is there some reason race and ethnicity get into the picture like this? Can't you get test-taking help based on past tests, whatever your culture or color, and be left alone if you scored well, whatever your culture or color?

I'm reminded of products people buy because they are rumored to help people pass drug tests. Passing the test doesn't address their drug problem, but it does help everything (analogously, the school) LOOK better.

Maybe what we're all getting at is that these tests are a burden and not an aid. What if we protested the tests by refusing to administer them? Now THAT might be a good use of newspaper publicity.

P.S. As I've said repeatedly, the Wood educators are second to none.

Jane Campbell

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from eWood - Wood Middle School Listserv

I don’t believe everything I read in the papers – especially the Post! I personally give the benefit of the doubt to the administration of the school – I’d like to know who actually saw her hand out lists of students and said to help them or not. I thought the whole thing smelled of a disgruntled employee trying to make problems… I could be dead wrong, but until I’m proved that way, I’ll stick with trusting the school instead of the Post – especially the writers that wrote this particular article, they wrote about the stabbings by the gang in aspen hill and got many of those facts wrong, and made the criminals look like the victims. I definitely take anything they write with a grain or three of salt.

Tammy Swann

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from eWood - Wood Middle School Listserv

I agree that Dr. Foose needs to speak to this issue. If it is true, that a list was distributed, she needs to specifically address why this was done. I'll withhold any opinion until Dr. Foose speaks to this.

Lorraine Lee

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from eWood - Wood Middle School Listserv

There's one thing everyone should keep in mind. The 2002 No Child Left Behind law not only requires schools to meet an annual standard (known as Annual Yearly Progress, or AYP) schoolwide, but it also requires them to meet the SAME standard for three subgroups of students: minorities, special ed students and ESOL students. The way to meet that standard is to have a certain percentage of students pass the state's standardized tests -- in this case the MSA. And, that percentage must improve every year -- for the school as a whole as well as for each subgroup. If they fail to meet AYP two (or maybe it's three) years in a row, they lose federal funds.

Dr. Foose and Dr. Munk at RHS are under intense pressure to meet AYP -- as well as to improve the standard of rigor at both schools and in the entire cluster. I just wanted to add some context -- some sense of what our principals are up against -- as this very important discussion continues in our community.

Caitlin Hendel
Rockville Cluster Co-coordinator

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from eWood - Wood Middle School Listserv

From the Washington post article:

“Employees say that Foose and one of her administrators added to the urgency by telling students and parents that those who failed the assessments might be held back. The principal said the comments came from an assistant principal and were more about students' long-term academic prospects.”

My 6th grader has commented repeatedly that he had been told (along with his classmates) that if they did not pass that he would be “held back” and have to repeat 6th grade. As it happens, my own 6th grader is in no danger of failing any test. But this added unnecessary anxiety to life and adjusting to middle school. When he repeated this to me, frankly I was skeptical. WE ALL KNOW that the test is NOT an assessment of individual students, cannot be used to hold anyone back, and that it is supposed to be an aggregate test OF THE INSTITUTION. He insisted and I should have believed him.

Obviously, Dr. Foose has admitted that this comment was in fact made by one of her assistants. To the press she explains that there was some type of context about “future” performance. Obviously, by the time it was repeated by teachers, that context was lost and all that was left was the pressure and complete misinformation about moving to the next grade. Clearly, this was intentional, and directed to the average student at Wood, who would ordinarily pass this test in any event, and was hoping to get at the kids who one teacher describes as “kids who were fully capable of passing, they just didn't care."

I am in favor of making sure that everyone is educated. I am favor of identifying the needs of students and meeting them. I have been listening to line teachers and parents complain about the whole MSA and no-child process for some time, and I was not convinced until this latest episode of just how horrible this is for the kids who are NOT left behind. If I read the statistics correctly, almost 70% of the students at this school are demonstrably NOT left behind. Another substantial portion with language issues etc is NOT left behind, they are simply in another place and need different resources. So, we are literally torturing ourselves, our kids and our teachers to get at the “test performance” of a group that is 5-10% of the population.. at least at this school.

So….. my question is this: I’ve heard all of the complaining about the problem ... now what is being done to fix it. Is there an advocacy group working in Annapolis? In DC? Is there a money-backed interest group that would oppose fixing this? This should not be dems v. republicans … we’re not talking about school prayer or evolution here. Dr. Foose is not the problem. She appears to be a talented and dedicated administrator who is trying to apply her energy to rules of a flawed game. (by the way, despite the phrasing of the post report, I presume that she did not pass out a list selected because of their race etc., but that a list of students developed based on evidence of performance and it fell out the way that it fell out .. .. if that’s not correct .. i.e. if there was an assumption that minorities needed help because of their skin color that would be unthinkably horrid and the punishment should be harsh and set an example). So, presuming the best about our principal .. how do we help her get out of the box?

What should we be doing to bring about change aside from writing on this listserv? I’m sure someone out there is an activist and knows exactly where the action is (this IS Montgomery county after all ).

Larry Holzman

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from BarnsleyNet - Lucy V. Barnsley Elementary Listserv

First, I think it is important to realize that newspapers (media in general for that matter) are trying to get the big headline and keep readers. I think if you consider all articles with that in the back of your mind you can remember to give a thought yo what the "other side" might be.

In reference to the Sunday Post article about Wood, it seems to be an article that highlights a symptom caused by the "No Child Left Behind" law. Dr. Foose is not the one separating by race, the law does. Here is the link to how "Adequate Yearly Progress" is reported to the public "http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/03820.pdf"

If we start seeing "Not Met" in a lot of categories, this board would be filled with posts on the subject, and there are interventions and "take-overs" that begin from the county, the state, and finally the federal government (in stages).

So if you are the administrator of a school in danger of not meeting "adequate yearly progress" in one of these demographics, you are going to target help and resources toward that group. I'm not saying that is necessarily the good or proper thing, I'm saying it is a logical step for the principal to take, and I think we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't think this takes place to some degree in EVERY elementary and middle school taking a state assessment EVERYWHERE in this country where they have a demographic in danger of not making AYP.

The only thing that makes Dr. Foose different is that she is the new boss to Wood, and it's simple group dynamic that not all teachers will be happy with a new boss, so somebody called the newspaper. Our energy should turn toward the study of the unintended effects of the NCLB law and letting lawmakers know that adjustments need to be made to the law, rather than focusing on an individual who is just trying to meet the standards placed
before her.

Amy Soldavini

[Howard Hartman]

The Bubble Kids

From Sherman Dorn

Daniel de Vise's story in the Washington Post today is an illustration of high-stakes testing triage, describing what happened in January in Wood Middle School in Rockville, Maryland:

Principal Renee Foose told teachers to cross off the names of students who had virtually no chance of passing and those certain to pass. Those who remained, children on the cusp between success and failure, would receive 45 minutes of intensive test preparation four days a week, until further notice.

Jennifer Booher-Jennings has documented the same behavior in a school in Texas, along with language I thought was only my invention ("bubble" referring to "teams on the bubble" for the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection process), and these are only the best-documented cases of what happens across the country.

Note what did not happen: kids' being targeted for instruction based on need. Instead, only those "on the bubble" received extra attention, and it is very clear that in this school, triage was for test-preparation purposes.

Making sure that the testing environment is distraction-free? Sure. Making sure that kids are familiar with the test format? Absolutely. Spending 3 hours a week on test preparation unconnected with the curriculum? Nuts.

More about Sherman Dorn

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from GTLiaisons - Gifted and Talented Listserv

Gt Liaisons:

I read the article this Sunday, have read both Fred and Diane’s reactions, have a child who goes to Wood, have been in the past active on the PTA as former GTL and former MCCPTA co delegate, and have to say, I have some conflicting thoughts and mixed feelings about this article and incident. It is of the sort, damned if you do; damned if you don’t.

First, I believe the NCLB is at fault for this effort. It is an untenable mandate that has put all our principals and schools in untenable situations, who have at times had to resort to unpalatable solutions. ( Not all of them got on page one of the Metro section of the Post but I am sure, they are rampant.) We all know the schools teach to the tests ( MSAs; MSPAP in the past) and have wished for years that the teachers could just teach ; and the principals could just direct. With NCLB, the rules changed and it hurts us all.

While it does not sound desirable, I can imagine how, with little time to prepare a student body, a school leader might try to be pragmatic and focus upon the group most likely to benefit. I know in a public school we cannot say, that one has no chance to passing; let’s concentrate on another group. I believe the school and staff were trying to do their best to raise the scores. Of course, as educators, we do not give up on anyone, but with short turn around time, who among us might not focus of those you can most help. But of course the public school has to be everything to everyone, and frankly, sometimes it fails. If you were principal, what would you do to help every child pass their MSA, whether or not that student could speak or read in English?

Has anyone ever looked out how predictive scoring well on an MSA is to doing well in life? Or in college? How about just learning to write persuasive essays and paragraphs and ignore the tests, just letting the kids do their best, reflecting what they have learned? Isn’t that the point of a test, to measure true learning—not how well can you outfox this test? However, the fact that schools money, resources, ratings, and evaluation depends on the MSA skews efforts toward bringing the kids who won’t do well enough up. This has put unreasonable pressure on schools, teachers and principals and has eroded some basic autonomy of each group. This single measure of “accountability”—the MSAs—is not fair to school, nor is it the most reliable or valid measure, but it is what we are all stuck with for now..

I have always thought, where does that leave GT kids? Left behind, since they already score well above the minimum threshold. So there are no SIP objectives to measure AYP on GT yearly progress, and hence, no impetus to offer GT programming. That is not equitable. I have to say, as the parent of a GT child who sat through days and weeks of whole- class practice on MSAs last year at a different school, I am (selfishly) personally grateful my GT kid is not this year subjected to whole-class focus on ad nauseum MSA prep meant more specifically for with the kids who are below grade level and needing targeted attention..

On the other hand, those kids who were having difficulty with MSAs might be having difficulty in those classes too, and with classes just 45 minutes each, it would be daunting to make up missed work. A better time to do MSA prep might be after school.

I think the principal was making her best effort with good intentions but it backfired. Although it does not sound good and can be easily criticized, I want to hold judgment and do what listserv rules guide us—assume everyone is doing their best, has good intentions, makes mistakes in trial and error, and can get beyond calling any one names or assigning labels. People who don’t have good intentions don’t tell the truth; they hide their intentions. She was just trying to help those kids she thought in her best judgment needed help that could be helped.. Maybe the judgment was not the best, but have not we all made errors in judgment?

As a parent at this school, interested in GT issues; and as GT cluster coordinator, there are other current, rather controversial issues I care more about than MSAs. Inequity for some outliers—both highly able and those well below grade level-- small pockets of students is not something new at MCPS.

Shelagh smith
Parent
Wood MS

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from BarnsleyNet - Lucy V. Barnsley Listserv

After listening to other parents, I wanted to add to my earlier postings on this subject. As described in the Washington Post, the process for identifying students who need tutoring assumed that certain children were "stupid until proven smart." If your child is African American, Hispanic, special ed, low-income, or learning English, they were on a list for possible extra tutoring. Teachers had to specifically say they would probably pass the MSAs. If the child was white or Asian, etc., the assumption was that they would pass the MSAs. This is probably driven by the way No Child Left Behind defines adequate yearly progress, but it is clearly wrong. I think it would also make parents of children in those groups wonder if their children will be seen as "stupid until proven smart" when they go to school.

There are many simple ways to identify students in need of help that do
not involve racial profiling. For example, you could make a list of all students who failed the MSAs last year plus those with low scores and go from there. You could use MAP-R scores and take the below grade-level students - the test is designed to predict success on tests like the MSAs. You could use math unit assessments and take students who are not on grade-level - again, the curriculum is designed to fit with the state curriculum.

Of course, it is still possible that the process was not exactly as described in the Post. This is something MCPS needs to find out about and report back to the community as soon as possible.

Diane McHale

[Howard Hartman]

In an earlier e-mail I indicated that websites were to follow. These relate to issues associated with an article in Sunday’s Washington Post. Attached are some extracts from the websites that may help inform. Thoughts
regarding 3 issues are below. Websites with brief descriptions:

1. MCPS Middle School Reform Initiative Mission Statement:
   http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/i...g/mission.shtm
   
   
2. MCPS Guide to the Middle School Program. Probably the MCPS Middle School Course Brochure (orange) referred to on the Wood registration forms:
   http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum...msbrochure.pdf
   
   
3. MCPS and BOE policy listing and actions. Policies available on menu:
   http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/
   
   
4. E.B Wood MS 2006 report card. Scores available on menu:
   http://mdreportcard.org/menu.aspx?K=150820&WDATA=School
   
   
5. EB Wood at a glance. Contains 2005/6 data. Categories are of value. See 3. above for 2006 report card:
   http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/d...ools/03820.pdf
   
   
6. Sample MSA questions:
   http://www.mdk12.org/mspp/k_8/looklike.html
   

Issue # 1 Lists grouped by NCLB (see end of attachment), MDSE (see 4 or 5 above) and MCPS mandates. This is a quote found in both MCPS documents at 1 and 2.

“There will be a specific focus on addressing the achievement gap of African American and Hispanic students, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students impacted by poverty.”

Please compare this MCPS policy/goal with the first paragraph of the WP article.

Issue # 2 Teaching the MSA test.

The website at 6 above contains sample question from the MSA. Recommend reviewing these samples and the explanation of the skills tested at the information tab. Possible considerations:

a. Are the skills tested important?
b. Do the questions require a student to have mastery of the skill to
consistently get a correct answer?
c. Can you teach the test without teaching the skill?
d. How much test taking technique applies to MSA tests?
e Should test taking techniques be taught?

Issue # 3 MSA as part of a student’s performance

I just received “A Parent’s Guide to Achievement Matters..Maryland’s Plan for preK-12 Education, dtd Jan 2007. I got it at Wood during the Parent Information Night in February. A pertinent quote on page 7:

“MSA scores alone provide only a partial picture of your child’s academic performance. But together with your child’s classwork, homework and other test scores, MSA results will give you a better understanding of your child’s performance.”

The MCPS policy quote mirrors the discussion documented in the Dec 12, 2006 Wood PTA meeting. Dr Foose indicated that she did not intend to promote students who were not prepared for the next grade (social promotion is a term noted in the minutes.) MSA test results are a factor in that determination.

Roy Broussard
WOOD PTA Cluster and Middle School Reform Representative

[Howard Hartman]

Reposted from RAMSNet - Rockville High School Listserv

I no longer have children at Wood, and I don't know what is actually happening there as far as tutoring is concerned, but as a teacher in a PG County School, I would like to offer the following information:

When reporting on MSA school performance, The Maryland State Deparment of Education breaks the data down by race, ethnicity, gender as well as need for special education services. All subgroups (ESOL, Special Ed. etc.) contribute to whether or not a school makes Adequate Yearly Progress. Subgroups are expected to at least show a specified amount of progress, which increases from year to year and is usually unrealistic. For more information, go to http://msde.state.md.us.

As for refusing to administer the tests, Fairfax County in Virginia is protesting the federal mandate to have limited-English students take the same type of high-stakes test as native speakers since non-native speakers will almost invariably fail. Such failure will in turn prevent schools from making Adequate Yearly Progress under the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act. As a consequence of refusing to administer the test, thus not meeting the requirements of NCLB, Fairfax schools risk loosing federal funding. For more information check washingtonpost.com for Fairfax vs. "No Child" Standoff Heats Up (01/10/2007).

Paola Foster
RHS parent and PG County teacher