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Ed Department should come in from cold

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Sunday, Mar 09, 2008 - 12:01:48 am CST

The state Education Department needs to bow to reality. It’s time to pull the plug on Nebraska’s maverick experiment in student testing.

Nebraska is the only state in the country with a system that allows local school districts to devise their own tests.

The Legislature last year passed a law requiring uniform statewide testing. But Education Commissioner Doug Christensen chose to interpret the law as allowing districts to continue using the local tests. He protested that he was “following the law to the letter.”

His interpretation was roundly criticized. The Legislative Performance Audit Committee said the education department was not implementing the law the way the legislature intended. Gov. Dave Heineman said the department was “dragging its feet.”

And if Christensen thought clarification was needed, he’s about to get it in unmistakable terms.

The Legislature gave 30-4 first-round approval to a bill designed to remove all doubt that a majority of senators want students in Nebraska to take a common test.

“For the good of teachers out there, we need to bring this to conclusion,” said Sen. Greg Adams of York, a former high school teacher who believes the current system has value but is time-consuming.

Nebraska’s STARS (school-based, teacher-led assessment reporting system) has attracted flattering attention from educators who view it as a preferable to high-stakes testing under No Child Left Behind.

There should be little disagreement that the STARS system has benefited Nebraska students. It provides more accountability than previously existed in the state.

But the weakness of the system is that it makes it difficult to compare the performance of school districts because they are using different tests and even set different standards. The only uniform statewide test is for writing.

LB987 would require a statewide test in reading in 2009-10 for grades three through eight and one grade in high school. A statewide mathematics test would begin the next year and a statewide science test the year after that. The bill also would establish a technical advisory panel with three to five nationally recognized assessment experts to review the state’s plans.

The state Board of Education, which oversees the department, has supported resistance to the statewide tests. On Friday, however, the board finally voted conditional support for the pending legislation and, significantly, agreed to implement whatever is approved by senators.

There’s little doubt that Christensen and other state education officials are personally invested in the STARS system. In some circles, they are viewed as heroes.

But for the good of students, it’s time for Nebraska’s educators to rejoin the rest of the country. It’s taking too much time and energy to continue this solitary battle.


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WWTOD wrote on March 9, 2008 10:07 am:
" The Nebraska Department of Education is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NSEA, the state's teachers union. They love these individual school tests because that way you can't accurately measure performance, which means you can't measure teachers' abilities.

The head of the Education Department, Doug Christensen, has been in their back pocket for too long, at the expense of Nebraska taxpayers and students. This is just the latest example of his inability to provide any type of real leadership for Nebraska education.

Doubt me? Where was he during the Class I schools debate? Nowhere to be found, saying he should just do what the Legislature says, and the schools were closed.

Now, in a total reversal of that logic, he does the exact OPPOSITE of what the Legislature told him to do over a year ago with the testing. And, wow... both of those positions are supported by the teachers union. What a coincidence.

I really hope State Auditor Mike Foley conducts an audit of the Education Department, and soon. I have a feeling Mr. Christensen's lack of leadership is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the Department's wasting of taxpayer money. "

 Overwhelmed in paperwork wrote on March 9, 2008 11:27 am:
" Anyone who can hold a straight face while saying STARS is a good system is not an expert in working with students. Stars is a horrible injustice to students, teachers, and taxpayers. It measures nothing when students are tested so much they no longer care! The system robs teachers and students of learning opportunities and is costly for the benefits received. The are sevearal systems in place already (exp; SRA, Iowa Basic Skills, etc...)! Why is more testing added?

Use the acheivment tests already in place and give the time back to learning for teachers and students. "

 Anthony Canadeo wrote on March 9, 2008 2:24 pm:
" This editorial is more or less on the mark. However, it is inaccurate on one thing, which actually supports the editorial's general point: There is no evidence whatsoever that STARS has benefitted NE schoolchildren precisely because there is no standard of comparison before and after and among districts. For all we know, NE kids are learning less that before. The STARS system, if you can call it that, has been rather elaborate and confusing, even to teachers (ask your local teachers to explain it and its value), and ultimately diverts attention from whether we know NE kids are learning anything except the local standards and what local tests say. Don't local teachers already teach to local tests? If things are so great in NE school, then what in the world is the commissioner afraid of finding out from common tests? "

 T-bone wrote on March 9, 2008 5:01 pm:
" Using the same test in statewide testing is done only for political reasons - politicians like it, but it is bad for schools and teachers.
In contrast, STARS is about learning - learning that is important to the local school district, and to the teachers, students, and families in that district. Why should a testing company decide what your child should learn? "

 Secret? wrote on March 9, 2008 6:59 pm:
" One of the dirty little secrets in education is how testing is manipulated at the "standards, or state and national level". Case in point is the RGDE and WGDE exams given in LPS to "measure" competency in reading and writing. The actual rubric used to evaluate writing is so "high end" in its rhetorical approach to evaluation, that if it was truly held to its exact wording ...well...very few educators could get a high grade of a 4 or 5 (1-5 scale). Furthermore, students are allowed to write and re-write unlimited amounts of times on the same prompt. How realistic is that? Its all about feeding the monster...statistics and end results have more importance than truthful results. Remember, LPS models this sad state of affairs by using Professional Learning Communities to "force" educators to do "Whatever It Takes" (the title of the book that all of the district supports...at least from the district administrative viewpoint) to get the students to pass the class. No teacher is allowed to assign a ZERO for an assignment, and if they do so...they will get reprimanded. Fear dominates the integrity...or the truth. If a state, or district, can manipulate the #'s by hosting their own exams...then of course they will do it....it makes for better public relations. That is what is really happening when the State Department and the Administrators at the District Level of most school districts in the state get together and conspire. "

 Sad wrote on March 9, 2008 8:10 pm:
" I'm sad because the Journal Star has bitten into the testing 'apple' and has become a believer. Comparing test scores between, for instance, Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln High serves no purpose. There are thousands of variables within each school that make that comparison pointless. The only testing that truly matters is the testing that each teacher performs in his or her classroom on a regular basis through the school year. Such testing gives the teacher valid, timely and useful information on each student — and gives the teacher time to help the child improve on lackluster scores. And by the way, if the legislature believes they can do this statewide testing for anything less than $20 million each year, I've got a house and a lot in Lincoln I'm willing to sell. "

 Loco Control wrote on March 11, 2008 2:40 pm:
" Local districts should also be given the authority to set the lengths of their school's football fields. Who knows better than the community what's best for the kids? "

 Mr. Mac wrote on March 13, 2008 9:29 pm:
" At least one important question isn't being addressed by those in charge of the changes to the state assessment system: What will we do with the data from the statewide tests? Lawmakers want to "compare schools" - what does that mean? When we find that some schools outperform others, what will we do? Will funding schemes change? Will student-teacher ratios change? Or will schools simply be labeled as "failing" , deepening the struggles and problems of some schools?
It is unethical and irresponsible to spend student time gathering data that we do now know how to use to improve education for students. "

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