Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganM-STEP Replaces MEAP But Will Be Replaced By Something Else
Sunday , 30, November 2014 Section 16 8 CommentsThere are two reasons teachers give students tests:
- To find out if the students learned the content taught.
- To find out if the teacher was effective in teaching the content.
It has nothing to do with the teacher wanting you to feel stupid or they enjoy torturing kids with tests. There’s important information there that the teacher needs. What happens in the classroom next depends on how well the class did on the test.
Contemporary standardized testing however does neither of these things. These tests are designed to force teachers to teach students how to take the test regardless of learning objectives, and then penalizes the teacher and school who didn’t groom their students to the test in order to earn a proficient score. What does this test have to do with what’s happening in the classroom? Nothing.
Standardized tests are used as weapons today by politicians who want to dismantle the public school system. Education laws such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core State Standards are designed intentionally to make it difficult for schools to effectively do the work they do so well. Corporatists realized the billions spent on education could be making profits for them, and the lobbying checks flowed to politicians who then lied to the American people that public schools are failing. Desegregation in the 60’s and 70’s also contributed to Republicans insisting public schools were broken.
The Michigan State Legislature voted that the state couldn’t use the Common Core aligned test, which caused the Michigan Department of Education to scramble up a new test for this year only. Never mind that the MDE had already spent years and lots of money developing a test to replace the MEAP. The tea party-infested state legislature, you know, the taxed enough already fiscally responsible guys, cost us taxpayers more money when they decided that test couldn’t be used. Because it’s Common Core. Because that’s bad. Even though they have no idea why it’s bad, except they read somewhere it makes kids gay. Yes, that is a parody news website. Apparently the tea party is too stupid to understand parody.
School districts in Michigan will have another new standardized test that will only be used once. The MEAP can’t be used anymore, and the Common Core test is illegal, so what do we use now? M-STEP.
M-STEP stands for Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress. It does not rely on Common Core for testing criteria, required now by the US Department of Education, and the test is taken online. This will be a big change for Michigan schools. While other states in the country have been using an online test for years, Michigan’s antique MEAP test was still a paper test that cost the state millions more than other states to administer. Schools who don’t have the technology available for students to take the new test had until November 21, 2014 to apply for a waiver and receive a paper copy of the test.
The state had 9 months to cobble together what normally takes 3 years to develop. This means Michigan could be in violation of the US Department of Education’s requirements for the 11th grade test, which requires a performance task for students to complete. With M-STEP the performance task will be voluntary.
But wait, there’s more! The State legislature also required a 9th and 10th grade test in addition to the 11th grade test beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, and intermediate tests in grades K-12. So yes, the Michigan Department of Education has to develop another test according to the wishes of the Michigan State Legislature, and it can’t be aligned to Common Core.
Summative assessments take years to develop. They require professional test writers, time to perform field tests and gather data on test results before coding anything into the computer or printing on paper. Michigan schools must administer this test in the spring, but haven’t received anything from the state to prepare students. The results of this unknown test will be used in evaluating teacher and school performance, as required by law, and the state may be in violation with the feds anyway. That means funding for Michigan education could be in jeopardy.
School districts in the state are concerned that the test won’t accurately assess student achievement, that it will make it impossible to track progress in the long term, and the differences in the tests will cause problems with schools being evaluated properly. Anyone who makes a living in statistics will recognize this is a nightmare. Parents frustrated with their local schools can always opt their children out of taking the test. Students frustrated with being tested excessively will have yet another test to take this year, and then a new one for next year. They’re the ones least served with this mess the state created for our schools.
Standardized testing assesses nothing and is designed to punish schools. This is what happens when corporations think they can run schools better than professional educators. The only necessary school reform is where we kick politics and profiteers out of the education system and return them back to what they’re supposed to be – institutions that educate our children.
Open Snowmobiling Season Begins December 1st
Saturday , 29, November 2014 Environment Leave a comment
There’s plenty of snow in the Upper and Lower Northern Peninsulas this weekend to get some snowmobiling in. With two more days of firearm gun season, it’s necessary to observe state-mandated quiet hours and don’t drive on trails over private land.
Quiet hours in the Michigan woods during deer hunting season are from 7 am to 11 am, and 2 pm until 5 pm during firearm deer season and continue for the next two days. The weather will be warmer this weekend, so you’ll want to take advantage of that and spend time outdoors. Unless there is an emergency, keep the woods quiet so hunters who haven’t got their deer yet can get one. Hunters who need to use snowmobiles to get to deer camp are allowed to do so, as long as they observe hunting quiet hours.
State trails that go over private land are still closed until December 1. After that, the trails are open until March 31. For more information, trail maps and reports, visit the DNR website.
Whooping Cough Continues To Spread in Grand Traverse County
Friday , 28, November 2014 Community Leave a comment
The health department in Grand Traverse County reports as of November 26 there were 37 confirmed cases of Pertussis in the county. School districts affected by the outbreak are Traverse City Area Public Schools, Kingsley Area Schools, Elk Rapids Schools, The Children’s House and for-profit charter school Grand Traverse Academy.
County officials report that in the past three weeks they have taken over a thousand calls from residents asking for help and information about Whooping Cough. The infection originated at Grand Traverse Academy with the first 12 cases. The outbreak was widespread enough that less than 70% of student enrollment reported to school, forcing it’s closing for an entire week.
18% of the children attending GTA enrolled in the school with immunization waivers in their school records. Pertussis spreads quickly from unvaccinated people to vaccinated people through airborne contact. The Grand Traverse County Health Department urges everyone to get vaccinated and keep their immunizations up to date to help stop the spread of infection.
We Should Do This Every Day: Why I Am #Thankful
Thursday , 27, November 2014 Community Leave a comment
I am thankful for William S. Burroughs, for being more relevant than ever.
I am thankful for this secular holiday that any person of any religious faith may celebrate.
I am thankful for our Founding Fathers, who in their eternal wisdom did everything possible to create a secular nation based on reason and laws.
I am thankful for the Republicans who completed their 8th investigation and found once again that all the conspiracy theories about the consulate attack in Benghazi are completely false. RIP Vilerat
I am thankful for books, so I will have something to do while everyone else watches the Lions lose.
I am thankful that next week Steve Ingersoll will finally begin to get what he deserves. May he be the first of many for-profit charter school grifters.
I am thankful for the six years America has been blessed with the most successful president since Bill Clinton.
I am thankful for the Affordable Care Act, because having health care again is really sweet.
Enjoy your day.
Subversive? But you were sent the link directly. Can’t argue with that logic.
The United States has enjoyed cheaper prices at the pumps for over a month thanks to falling oil prices world-wide. Paying less for fuel means people will have extra cash to spend on other things like holiday meals, parties and gifts.
But while we’re giving thanks and anticipating less money spent at the gas station, the reason why gas prices are so low may have you wondering; Why it’s happening, and more importantly, how long will it last?
That all depends on Saudi Arabia.
Oil prices began to drop earlier in this fall. Some people thought perhaps the United States’ new shale oil boom was the reason, others were curious how it could be happening when one of the larger oil producers in the world, Russia, has been in conflict with Ukraine most of the year. They invaded Crimea, forced annexation at gun point, and currently lead an invasion force into Eastern Ukraine that began in the Spring. As much as it would be nice to think Saudi Arabia is increasing production and exports to drop the price and stick it to Russia and Iran, that’s collateral damage to the real target – The United States.
America’s rapid push into fracking has made the nation a leading producer of oil. Of course, we’re destroying our land, air, and water to accomplish that with an enormously expensive process, but who needs clean drinking water when there are profits in the ground? By the way, are you interested in selling the mineral rights to your land yet?
If Saudia Arabia gets their way and the price of oil drops further, then there will be no profits for the frackers and KXL pipeline pushers. Saudi Arabia’s target is $70 a barrel. That would be low enough to make fracking financially pointless in the United States.
Don’t think this means the oil companies are going to give up. They’re already figuring out ways to drive prices up so the oil companies currently fracking still have a viable reason to stay in business. So far, Saudi Arabia is winning the battle, and the price of oil keeps dropping. If you’re wondering how much a barrel of oil needs to cost to keep America’s frackers in the black, it’s around $100 a barrel. See why $70 a barrel could mean the death of the American shale oil boom? The oil companies won’t be able to afford to stay in business, and we will continue to buy gas made from Middle Eastern oil.
And that’s just the way the Saudis want it.
Dear Michigan Department of Education: Where Is The Embezzlement Investigation On For-Profit Charter School Huckster Steve Ingersoll?
Monday , 24, November 2014 Dr. Ingersoll, Section 16 1 Comment
Miss Fortune has a new story that asks the question, just where is the embezzlement investigation on Steve Ingersoll, Smart Schools LLC and Grand Traverse Academy?
Republicans really do believe they are an entitled class of people. They dip their hands into our tax dollars like it’s their own personal piggy bank, then insist they did nothing wrong when they get caught.
Not only did Steve Ingersoll steal money from the people of Michigan, but it looks like GTA may have tried to cover up his crime for him. The Michigan Department of Education has not done their job and Michigan’s public schools are at risk.
No one should ever forget that one of the leaders in the profits before kids charter school movement is Hillsdale College. Their brand of for-profit charter schools which they call, “Classical Education”, is a nice way of saying Christian conservative education that bears little relevance to what students actually need to be prepared in a modern workforce and world. Hillsdale College last year took some much needed criticism university president Larry Arnn commented that the state had come to investigate whether Hillsdale College had enough “dark ones” enrolled.
Larry Arnn’s racist comment is nothing compared to the scandal his predecessor left behind, but personal conduct or horrendous bigotry has nothing to do with running a Christian conservative college, or fostering charter schools around the country.
Or does it?
Downstate near Holly, Michigan, lives a man named Pasquale “Pat” Battaglia. Self-labeled as a Christian husband father grandfather, he wants to open Hillsdale College-style charter schools in Southeast Michigan. Currently, he is working on securing a building to open a school in Brighton and another is projected to open in Warren in 2015. These schools according to him are based on the Hillsdale Academy model, which the college publishes reference manuals for $100 a pop so you too can run a for-profit charter school cleverly disguised as a Christian private school that fleeces public tax dollars.
He’s written impassioned letters on nearby local tea party websites asking people to help him open up new charter schools so he can bring back real education to American children based on what the founding fathers would have wanted.
The letter begins with an obvious dog whistle:
I guarantee to you folks that the kids that we see who are in the process of completely soiling the tenants of our Western Civilization are a products of the government run school systems, kindergarten thru grad school. What do we do?
Apparently write letters with glaring spelling and grammatical errors. That will show people you’re the guy who’s qualified to operate a school.
We can get a clear picture of what kind of person Pat is from looking at his online presence. Remember that bit about kids soiling the tenants of our western civilization attending public schools? What kids could he be talking about?
Oh of course he means those kids. What else does he have to say about certain people soiling western civilization?
Not quite as dog whistlely there. It’s okay to hate Muslims openly in western civilization. Being a tea party supporter, what could he have to say about the president and first lady?
Haha! See what he did there? By ‘paraphrasing’ Plato you’re not supposed to know he just riffed on Obama for being inferior to him! Praise Jesus for the Southern Strategy! In fact, throughout Battaglia’s post history, you will see him refer to President Obama as “Potentate O.” That’s because he doesn’t consider the president to be a real president.
As for Battaglia’s opinion of the First Lady:
And finally, here’s an exciting conversation Battaglia had with a scientist about climate change. Guess which side of that debate he’s on?
Heaven help us indeed.
Here’s the problem with the notion the schools we had 200 years ago were better than what we have now. Most children never went to school, and if they did manage to get a year or two of education, it was at a dame school being run in the neighborhood or a few years in a writing school. Only about ten out of every one hundred people graduated from any formal education setting. It was simply too expensive for most people to send their children to school. Is this really what Pasquale Battaglia wants to do to American education? Somehow it seems unlikely, or his for-profit charter schools won’t stay open for long.
Pasquale Battaglia wants to open schools that according to him teach proper “western civilization” values, but in reality would be taxpayer-funded hives of racism that perpetuate hate onto the next generation. School choice is a dog whistle for segregation.
The Indianapolis Star published this cartoon, then pulled it after many complaints.
Because there were no undocumented immigrants at the first Thanksgiving.
Fake Upper Peninsula Fish Shop Part Of Secret Federal Investigation
Saturday , 22, November 2014 Environment Leave a comment
For 14 months the Up North Fish Shop bought and sold fish from local fisherman in L’Anse, Michigan. What people didn’t know until recently is the shop was part of a federal investigation into illegal fishing in the upper Great Lakes.
In a federal search warrant unsealed in court in Marquette, the operation was part of a two year investigation into illegal fishing in Northern Michigan and Northeastern Wisconsin. The fish shop in L’Anse on US highway 41 was set up by the US Department of Fish and Wildlife Management. The operation designed to catch people selling illegally caught fish reported 400 transactions.
The fish being caught illegally included trout, walleye and sturgeon. The US Department of Fish and Wildlife Management says that trout populations in the Great Lakes are very low due to overfishing and lamprey eel infestations.
So far, Michigan and Wisconsin businesses that have been affected by the federal investigation includes Peterson’s Fish Market in Hancock, Beaver Island Fresh Fish Market, and in the Lower Peninsula John Cross Fish Market in Charlevoix. A fish distributer in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin was also raided.
The Justice Department issued a statement on November 5, 2014:
On Nov. 5, 2014 , U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service agents executed search warrants at various locations in Northern Michigan and Northeastern Wisconsin holding wholesaler records of fish taken from lakes Michigan and Superior. The searches are pursuant to an investigation into potential violations of the Lacey Act.
U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles, Jr. – the chief federal prosecutor for the Western District of Michigan including the Upper Peninsula – and representatives of the Justice Department Environment and Natural Resources Division are communicating with state, tribal and fed. law enforcement representatives and look forward to working with them as partners in maintaining and safeguarding a healthy fishery.
Given the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further comment will be offered at this time.
The investigation is ongoing and designed to stop the illegal commercial sale of Great Lakes fish.