Despite protests, local students will take controversial test
SEATTLE -- Local students are back to taking a controversial standardized test, but it's not being given to them by their teachers.
Teachers are Garfield High School unanimously voted to refuse to give what's called the MAP, or Measure of Academic Progress test. Those teachers are standing their ground, but administrators and substitute teachers are now administering the test.
"They pulled me out of class and said I had to take it, so I guessed on all the questions and went back to class," said student Antoine Patton.
Freshman at Garfield sat in front of computer screens on Tuesday taking the MAP test, which covers math, science and language arts.
"Well, I just guessed on the entire question because it doesn't count for your grade or anything, so basically it's a waste of time," said freshman Torrey Brittingham.
Garfield teachers gained local and national support last month when they stood united in their refusal to give the test, and Tuesday's move didn't sit well with many of them.
"I think it shows a callous disrespect for the teachers at Garfield High School to try to go around our will and to try to go around our professional judgment," said teacher Jesse Hagopian.
Hagopian said teachers met with Superintendent Jose Banda on Monday. He said they were told that administrators or substitute teachers would take their students out of class to administer the test.
"We believe that MAP is valuable, or some type of assessment is valuable, to show students where they are through the process of the year," said Teresa Wippel with Seattle Public Schools.
Students were given a flyer Tuesday morning informing them they could opt out of the test without disciplinary action.
"I didn't take it because it doesn't count against your grade and lots of people don't find it to be useful anyway, so it was like I didn't see the point in taking it," said freshman Zakiyah Fredie.
Even though the test is being given, teachers still refuse to administer it and could still be disciplined for that decision. At first, Banda said the teachers could be slapped with a 10-day suspension without pay.
"At a meeting with him yesterday, he verbally said that was too far. Right, so that's a victory, but it's only a part of the struggle because the real victory will be when we get bad assessments out of the Seattle public schools," Hagopian said.
The protests will continue, and district officials say they'll look at each teacher's case individually.
Wednesday is the national Day of Action in support of the MAP protest. There will be a rally at 3:20 p.m. At Chief Sealth High School.
Teachers are Garfield High School unanimously voted to refuse to give what's called the MAP, or Measure of Academic Progress test. Those teachers are standing their ground, but administrators and substitute teachers are now administering the test.
"They pulled me out of class and said I had to take it, so I guessed on all the questions and went back to class," said student Antoine Patton.
Freshman at Garfield sat in front of computer screens on Tuesday taking the MAP test, which covers math, science and language arts.
"Well, I just guessed on the entire question because it doesn't count for your grade or anything, so basically it's a waste of time," said freshman Torrey Brittingham.
Garfield teachers gained local and national support last month when they stood united in their refusal to give the test, and Tuesday's move didn't sit well with many of them.
"I think it shows a callous disrespect for the teachers at Garfield High School to try to go around our will and to try to go around our professional judgment," said teacher Jesse Hagopian.
Hagopian said teachers met with Superintendent Jose Banda on Monday. He said they were told that administrators or substitute teachers would take their students out of class to administer the test.
"We believe that MAP is valuable, or some type of assessment is valuable, to show students where they are through the process of the year," said Teresa Wippel with Seattle Public Schools.
Students were given a flyer Tuesday morning informing them they could opt out of the test without disciplinary action.
"I didn't take it because it doesn't count against your grade and lots of people don't find it to be useful anyway, so it was like I didn't see the point in taking it," said freshman Zakiyah Fredie.
Even though the test is being given, teachers still refuse to administer it and could still be disciplined for that decision. At first, Banda said the teachers could be slapped with a 10-day suspension without pay.
"At a meeting with him yesterday, he verbally said that was too far. Right, so that's a victory, but it's only a part of the struggle because the real victory will be when we get bad assessments out of the Seattle public schools," Hagopian said.
The protests will continue, and district officials say they'll look at each teacher's case individually.
Wednesday is the national Day of Action in support of the MAP protest. There will be a rally at 3:20 p.m. At Chief Sealth High School.
Talking about education....all parents and the schools should work together as a team,
we don't push,kids won't learn.If you look at China how they teach their kids,we are much
slack off !!!!
I've been using MAP results for many years. I use the data by conferencing with my students and helping them to set academic goals. The data helps me to decide how to plan for my own instruction. It helps me to see overall and individual weaknesses so I can tailor the learning. My only disappointment is that we only get to MAP 3 times a year. I am so confused as to why this has become a debate. The only thing I can think is that the Seattle school district has not trained their teachers on how to use the data to help drive instruction and motivate themselves and their students. I just don't get it... Can a teacher comment and explain to me why this is an issue? There must be more to this story.
I stand by the teachers and the students. These tests are stupid. Enough already. We test far too much.
@Bellevue Scott If we don't assess, how do we know how we are doing as educators? How will the student know where he/she stands in regards to their learning? How will we know if what we are teaching is helping our students gain learning and understanding?
I find this so totally frustrating and appalling. I hear teachers complain that the tests aren't fair because it evaluates THEIR performance.  If a student can't answer certain questions it should indicate to the teacher their student needs work in that particular area.  If a student doesn't understand the work at any given level it will make it harder, if not impossible, for them to understand continued studies in that area of learning.  Comprehension of basic math is paramount to success in understanding higher levels of math.  I'm not a scholar but I've raised 5 children and I know how important it is for each child to understand the work at each stage along the way. It would be nice if we could count on parents to make up for what teachers lack time for in the classroom but that's not always the case. How many parents today look at a student's homework and don't understand what they're looking at. Subjects like math are not taught the same why they were when we went to school. It can be frustrating for everyone involved. I won't even bring up the issue of parents who don't give a hoot about their child's homework or progress in school.  I'm not belittling teachers. I have great respect for good teachers. I do however have issues with teachers who say..."I have tenure"...."I don't have time"...."don't question my performance". Â
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On the KOMO TV news segment I heard several students say they just guessed at answers because the tests had no meaning, didn't affect their grade, and was a waste of their time. Gee, I wonder who told them that!!!!!!  I'd fire every last one of them and bring in the subs.Â
Don't test my children. They are too stupid to pass any stinking test. Just like me.  Let us graduate even if we can't write our own names. We don't need no test to get benefits.
"We believe that MAP is valuable, or some type of assessment is valuable, to show students where they are through the process of the year," said Teresa Wippel with Seattle Public Schools.
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Really? "...or some type of assessment is valuable...?" Well, there's a rousing endorsement.
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Administering this test constitutes an ethics violation. It was introduced to the Seattle schools by somebody who secretly worked for the testing company. Every day that it's still in use is just one more day that some clever attorney can sue the school district for violating its own ethics rules.
I bet the test shows that the teachers are utter failures at Garfield.
Hear that quite a few of the kids are just blazing through the tests and not worrying about getting any of the answers right. Thats the right thing to do, play the game. Time to start teaching kids things they actually need to know to help them out in the real world. A lot of the history they've always taught is fake. Way too much emphasis on math. Public schools need to move more towards teaching kids an occupation.
 @Blindman "Way too much emphasis on math." Seriously? You live in Washington, home of Boeing, and you're saying math isn't important? Really? This is why the Chinese are kicking American kids' butts in academics.Â
 @Blindman "Thats the right thing to do, play the game."
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Yes, that attitude will serve them well when they get to college or get a job.
In the mid 70's whe I left teaching out of frustration, I was saying to anyone who would listen that thre was a conscious effort NOT to teach children. Here is is nearly 40 years later and guess what? We have dropped to one of the lowest in the ranks of educational excellence in the world from the first. They - whoever 'they' are - do NOT want an educated populace.
 @Alikelystorey Absolutely! The goal is to have a nation of non-thinkers that blindly obey whatever they are told by the elite ruling class. We're close to achieving that goal.
Next step is show these free loading teachers the front door....
"I think it shows a callous disrespect for the teachers at Garfield High School..."
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That sums up my feelings for these (hopefully soon to be unemployed) teachers.
This has everything to do with the teachers protecting themselves and nothing to do with the best interests of the students.Â
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The teachers don't want to give these tests because they can be used to evaluate their own teaching performance.Â
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Wake up people. This isn't about the kids. The test doesn't affect their grades and is simply there to gauge educational progress.Â
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The teachers are shamelessly using their own students as an excuse, when this is about them and protecting themselves.Â
lakeview, you are PARTLY right. But this is NOT about the teachers protecting themselves. The teachers realize and have expressed that this test is a huge waste of time. It is NOT about the students, and it does nothing to educate the students. Yes, the tests could be used to evaluate the teachers, but so do a lot of other factors. Most educators recognize that this test has extremely limited usefulness, and that is why these teachers are protesting it. The problem is administration. The U.S. USED to be ranked highest in the world in education. Now we're not even on the board, our standards are so low. And Washington State is among the lowest of all states in education. The MAP test is NOT a solution. It is merely an excercise in redundancy to attempt to justify the existence of a bunch of underqualified and overpaid school administrators, from school principals to school board members to superintendents to Olympia. THEY are the problem, not the teachers! This school system in this state (ESPECIALLY Seattle) is seriously broken. Wasting time giving an irrelevant test is merely the tip of the iceberg.
now the kids need to step up and tear up the test too.