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My professional perspective comes from a classroom teacher in a graduate program for school counselors. My focus is the secondary education setting as I will be seeking to move into a school counselor role on the secondary level. Many conversations have centered around the role high stakes testing has played in rating school proficiency, and their affect on students' ability to obtain their high school diplomas. The padlet is a resource guide for school counselors to inform them of the current status of the laws, and the general pulse of education regarding the laws.

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The National Education association published an article concerning a vote to publicly campaign against standardized testing. The association decided to serve as an oversight committee to the U.S. Department of Education since the passing of No Child Left Behind. The organization states the law has created a toxic learning environment where schools are graded on test scores, and teachers are punished if students do not perform on the assessments. The legislation greatly impacts schools in lower socio-economic situations and does nothing to close the Achievement Gap.

The article supports the growing opinion that mandated state testing should not be the only measure of student learning. The article opens the discussion to finding and adopting new, 21st century methods to assess if students have mastered the required skills to obtain a high school diploma.

Long, C.; & Robertson, S. NEA launches campaign to end 'Toxic Testing'. National Education Association. Retrieved from nea.org/home/59747.html

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The article discusses a pilot program which complies with the Every Student Succeeds Act as an alternative the standardized testing. The program entitled The Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority would allow states to create their own performance based assessments aligned to the state standards.

Assessments must produce a summative score or proficiency level

Pilot program was open to up to 7 states, but only 4 participated

Analysts stated a lack of federal funds and technological supports as a cause in low participation

The Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority attempted to create a uniform version of assessing students' proficiency across the states that would comply with ESSA requirements. Experts believe the original No Child Left Behind created an educational environment with large amount of testing, and the The Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority is attempting to correct this scenario with alternative assessment methods.

Jacobson, L. (2019, July 18). Georgia, North Carolina join ESSA assessment pilot.  Education Dive. Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/georgia-north-carolina-join-essa-assessment-pilot/558980/

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Georgia and North Carolina will join Louisiana and New Hampshire as part of a U.S. Department of Education (ED) pilot program that allows states to use different assessment methods as an alternative to traditional standardized tests, ED announced Wednesday.

Part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) lifts some federal requirements related to testing as long as the model chosen is reliable and can produce a summative score or proficiency level. The results also have to be comparable across districts in a state.

"This pilot program gives states that are willing to try a new approach an opportunity to assess student achievement without sacrificing rigor or skirting accountability," Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said in a statement. "I look forward to seeing the impact this study will have on student outcomes."

IADA was influenced in part by New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education, a network of multiple districts using assessments that are designed by teachers and intended to be more connected to what students learn throughout the school year. Along with efforts to reduce the number of tests students take throughout their K-12 years, the pilot is one effort to correct for what many educators and experts considered was an era of over-testing under the previous No Child Left Behind Act.

"For the benefit of our students, we must all continue to rethink assessment in the state of Georgia," state Superintendent Richard Woods, said in a statement. "I will keep pursuing a change in state law to get state testing requirements in line with the federal minimum, along with a more realistic use of test scores for accountability purposes."

While the pilot allowed for up to seven states to participate, the four approved were the only ones that applied, which experts have said points to challenges of spreading innovative models across multiple districts and, if they are performance-based assessments, giving teachers sufficient time to design them.

"Some education analysts and assessment experts have expressed disappointment that more states did not pursue this opportunity," said a report released last week by Bellwether Education Partners. "Others point to the technical constraints and requirements of the pilot, as well as the lack of additional federal funds associated directly with the waivers."

Giving interim assessments during the year - so the results can be more useful to teachers - is another trend noted in the Bellwether report.

That's the goal of the two new, technology-based approaches that the Georgia Department of Education will be implementing as part of its pilot program. In one model, students will take interim assessments - MAP Growth for Georgia, created by nonprofit assessment organization NWEA - that adapt to their responses.

ED also approved the state's Putnam Consortium, a group of 12 districts using "Navvy," a system of diagnostic tests designed to give teachers real-time assessment data focusing on state standards. Both methods are intended to help teachers adjust their instruction during the year to better respond to students' needs.

The pilot adds to other ways the Georgia Department of Education has been using technology to implement new assessment methods. The state legislature is funding a series of game-based literacy and math assessments for 1st- and 2nd-graders viewed as a more appropriate way than paper-and-pencil tests to gather achievement data on young children.

North Carolina's model is an end-of-year assessment called a "route" that is linked to a student's performance on formative assessments, called " Check-Ins " they take during the school year, demonstrating again the desire schools have had to align assessments more closely with the work students do in the classroom.

Educators use data from the Check-Ins "to determine which 'route' or cluster of items students will take at the end of the school year on the final test," Tammy Howard, the director of accountability services for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, said in an email. "Using test items already taken to determine subsequent items to administer is an acceptable practice utilized on some assessments."

According to the Bellwether report, the state's goals have been "reducing test time and increasing transparency for students, teachers, and families."

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Georgia, North Carolina join ESSA assessment pilot

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Georgia and North Carolina will join Louisiana and New Hampshire as part of a U.S. Department of Education (ED) pilot program that allows states to use different assessment methods as an alternative to traditional standardized tests, ED announced Wednesday.

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Protests to standardized testing and legislation to change

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Protests to standardized testing and legislation to change

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The article discusses the wide spread dislike of state testing, and the measures taken to change the procedure.

No Child Left Behind (2001) created an environment of high stakes testing and the punishments for schools that do no reach adequate progress

Every Student Succeeds Act (2016) overhauls No Child Left Behind to allow flexibility for schools in assessing student proficiency

Massachusetts passes Protect Out School Act of 2017 ensuring the measures placed in ESSA are carried out on the state level

The article focused on educators' distrust of the current assessment system, and highlighted the changes to the law. This should prove beneficial for school counselors in providing alternatives to the high stakes testing for graduation purposes. One such alternative is the IGC process for students who have struggled with  the STAAR test and qualify for an assignment reviewed by the committee.

Walker, T. (2018). Educators strike big blow to overuse of standardized testing in 2017. NEAToday. Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2018/01/04/educators-strike-big-blow-to-the-overuse-of-standardized-testing/

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protects against discriminating on the basis of race, creed, or national origin.

the burden of proof would come from the nature of the test.

Courts will side with the test makers due to the inherent trust in the test makers to make tests that will not hinder the progress of a student based upon those factors.

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Amendment XIV

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

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All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.

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Outlines assessment requirements for the states

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Outlines assessment requirements for the states

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Every Student Succeeds Act outlines the states requirement to administer an assessment

To measure the average years progress in Reading, Math, and Science.

The bill allows for the states to administer a single test, or multiple tests to meet this requirement.

states may administer a nationally recognized assessment if certain requirements are not met by state testing.

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Mrs. Neal's role in the school is the oversight of academics on campus. Mrs. Neal described how standardized testing affects the placement of students. The campus uses the RTI model to assist students for remediation purposes and helps the school administration place teachers. STAAR test results impact graduation results, so Mrs. Neal stays up to date with the latest policy on testing with personal research and through updates provided by the district.

Best Practices:
Mrs. Neal provided the following best practices concerning state testing policy:
1) Schools must be in compliance when administering tests to special populations as it pertains to providing 504 and Special Education accommodations.

2) Schools must be diligent in obtaining records for testing from outside school districts because items that the state would consider testing irregularities come from late records.

3) Administrators should constantly review the TEA website for testing procedures and policy to promote compliance to the state standards.

Emerging issues
Mrs. Neal spoke briefly about working through Title 1 issues even though the school is not identified as a Title 1 school. The demographics of the student population are changing, and the school has to begin managing issues revolving around federal requirements. Students classified as having English as a Second Language are enrolling at higher rates. This enrollment impacts the state rating system as schools are graded on their ability to show these students are making adequate growth as measured by state testing.

(N.Neal, personal communication, October 4, 2019)

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The Fifth Circuit court ruled students could not be held from graduation based on the results of  a standardized test.

Black students were failing state testing at higher rates in 1978, and failure of the test was preventing them from graduating.

The students argued they were being denied their right to due process since they were not notified of the requirement of the condition.

The court ruled the state testing requirement lifted until 1983 so the students could matriculate in an integrated school and receive proper notification of the state testing requirement.

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debra p. v. turlington: due process
enters the classroom

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but how far?
lee d. gunn*
florida twelfth grade public school students brought a class action
suit' in federal district court challenging the florida state student
assessment test

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part ii (ssat          11)2 on constitutional and statutory
grounds.3 in     an  effort to   increase educational accountability

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' the
state of florida made passage of the test a mandatory requirement
for receipt of a diploma beginning in the 1978-1979 school year. the
* university of florida law school

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474 f. supp. 244 (m.d. fla. 1979). the court certified three classes
of plainiffs:
class a are all present and future twelfth grade public school students in the state of flor-
ida who have failed or who hereafter fail the ssat ii.
class b are all present and future twelfth grade black public school students in the state of
florida who have failed or who hereafter fail the ssat h.
class c are all present and future twelfth grade black public school students in hillsbor-
ough county

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who have failed or who hereafter fail the ssat h. id. at 246. the
defendant

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was the florida commissioner of education.
2 the ssat h was originally called the florida functional literacy examination. because
failure of a test so named lead to connotations of functional illiteracy

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the state board of
education adopted the name: state student assessment test i[ (ssat ii). id. at 258-59.
the ssat il is designed to measure satisfactory application of the basic skills of reading

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writing and arithmetic to practical situations of everyday life. rules and regulations of the
state of florida

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chapter 6a-1.942(2)(a) (1978) reprinted in 474 f. supp. at 259 n.22.
s plaintiffs-appellees based their challenge on three claims. the first was that defendants
have either designed or implemented a test which is racially biased and therefore violative of
either the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment

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20 u.s.c.  1703 equal educa-
tion opportunities act (eeoc)

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or any combination thereof. the
first claim related to all classes.
the second claim contended defendants provided inadequate notice of the ssat ii as condi-
tion precedent to award of a diploma in violation of the fourteenth amendment. the second
claim related to all classes.
the third claim asserted that use of the ssat h in conjunction with fla. stat.  236.088
(remedial class requirement) operated to desegregate the schools in violation of the fourteenth
amendment

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and title vi. id. at 246-47.
4 debra p. turlington

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400 (5th cir. 1981).
5 fla. stat. ann.  232.246 (west supp. 1980) is set out in its entirety in n.1 of debra p. v.
turlington

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400 (5th cir. 1981).
the statute sets out three requirements for high school graduation: mastery of minimum
0275-6072/82/1104/573-012$1.85/0
573

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Debra P. v. Turlington: Due Process Enters the Classroom, but How Far 11 Journal of Law & Education 1982

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Debra P. v. Turlington: Due Process Enters the Classroom, but How Far

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Students may obtain a high school diploma if they have  have failed no more than two end-of-course assessments by meeting satisfactory requirements of an individual graduation committee.

If the student has not at least attempted the end-of-course assessments, the student may not receive their high school diploma by satisfying the individual graduation committee requirement.

The exception to this law is for the English 1 end-of-course assessment. English language learners can receive an exception to the English 1 test if they meet requirements outlined in  § 101.1007 of the title.

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(a) Beginning with students first enrolled in Grade 9 in the 2011-2012 school year, a student must meet satisfactory performance on each end-of-course (EOC) assessment listed in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.023(c), except in cases as provided by subsections (b), (e), and (f) of this section and §101.3021(e) of this title (relating to Required Participation in Academic Content Area Assessments), in order to be eligible to receive a Texas diploma. The standard in place when a student first takes an EOC assessment is the standard that will be maintained throughout the student's school career. (b) A student who was administered separate reading and writing EOC assessments under the TEC, §39.023(c), for the English I or English II course has met that course's assessment graduation requirement if the student has met the following criteria: (1) achieved satisfactory performance on either the reading or writing EOC assessment for that course; (2) met at least the minimum score on the other EOC assessment for that course; and (3) achieved an overall scale score of 3750 or greater when the scale scores for reading and writing are combined for that course. (c) Exceptions to subsection (a) of this section related to English I shall apply to English language learners who meet the criteria specified in §101.1007 of this title (relating to Assessment Provisions for Graduation). (d) If a student failed a course but achieved satisfactory performance on the applicable EOC assessment, that student is not required to retake the assessment if the student is required to retake the course. (e) Effective beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, a student who has taken but failed to achieve the EOC assessment graduation requirements for no more than two courses may receive a Texas high school diploma if the student has qualified to graduate by means of an individual graduation committee under the TEC, §28.0258. (1) A student may not graduate under an individual graduation committee if the student did not take each EOC assessment required by this subchapter or an approved substitute assessment in Subchapter DD of this chapter (relating to Commissioner's Rules Concerning Substitute Assessments for Graduation) for each course in which the student was enrolled in a Texas public school for which there is an EOC assessment. A school district or charter school shall determine whether the student took each required EOC assessment or an approved substitute assessment required by Subchapter DD of this chapter. For purposes of this section only, a student who does not make an attempt to take all required EOC assessments may not qualify to graduate by means of an individual graduation committee. (2) A student who is an English language learner (ELL) and qualifies for the English I special provision in §101.1007 of this title may graduate without an individual graduation committee if the student achieves satisfactory performance on the remaining EOC assessments that the student is required to take. (A) The qualifying ELL becomes eligible for individual graduation committee review by failing to achieve satisfactory performance on the English I EOC assessment and one other EOC assessment or by failing to achieve satisfactory performance on no more than two of the remaining EOC assessments if the student achieved satisfactory performance on the English I EOC assessment. (B) If a qualifying ELL does graduate by means of an individual graduation committee, the student is required to complete individual graduation committee requirements for each course in which the student did not achieve satisfactory performance on the EOC assessment for that course. (3) Notwithstanding any action taken by a student's individual graduation committee, a school district or charter school must provide a student an opportunity to retake an EOC assessment under the TEC, §39.023(c), if the student has not previously achieved satisfactory performance on an assessment for that course. A student is not required to retake a course in order to be administered a retest of an EOC assessment. (4) Provisions of this subsection expire September 1, 2019. A student may graduate by means of an individual graduation committee if the student has qualified for an individual graduation committee under the TEC, §28.0258, and that individual graduation committee convened prior to September 1, 2019. (f) A student who is receiving special education services or has been dismissed from a special education program under the TEC, Chapter 29, Subchapter A, is subject to the provisions of this subsection. (1) A student receiving special education services is not subject to the requirements in the TEC, §28.0258. As provided in §89.1070 of this title (relating to Graduation Requirements) and §101.3023 of this title (relating to Participation and Graduation Assessment Requirements for Students Receiving Special Education Services), a student's admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee determines whether a student is required to achieve satisfactory performance on an EOC assessment to graduate. (2) A student dismissed from a special education program who achieved satisfactory performance on an alternate EOC assessment while enrolled in a special education program is not required to take and achieve satisfactory performance on the general EOC assessment to graduate. A student who took an EOC assessment while enrolled in a special education program is not required to retake and achieve satisfactory performance on the EOC assessment if the student's ARD committee determined that the student was not required to achieve satisfactory performance on the EOC assessment to graduate. A student dismissed from a special education program must achieve satisfactory performance on any remaining EOC assessments that the student is required to take. If the student fails to achieve satisfactory performance on no more than two of the remaining EOC assessments, the student is eligible for individual graduation committee review under the TEC, §28.0258, and is subject to the provisions of subsection (e) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §101.3022 adopted to be effective May 29, 2012, 37 TexReg 3827; amended to be effective July 3, 2013, 38 TexReg 4183; amended to be effective March 25, 2014, 39 TexReg 2077; amended to be effective September 6, 2015, 40 TexReg 5458; amended to be effective December 5, 2017, 42 TexReg 6794

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(a) Beginning with students first enrolled in Grade 9 in the 2011-2012 school year, a student must meet satisfactory performance on each end-of-course (EOC) assessment listed in the Texas Education Code (TEC), §39.023(c), except in cases as provided by subsections (b), (e), and (f) of this section and §101.3021(e) of this title (relating to Required Participation in Academic Content Area Assessments), in order to be eligible to receive a Texas diploma.

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This section in the Burleson ISD Student handbook outlines the district policy regarding end-of-course assessments and their role in graduation requirements.
This section of the handbook explains the required tests for graduation, and it outlines the substitutes for the end-of-course tests. The SAT, ACT, TSI can replace the STAAR assessments under the specific circumstances (Burleson Student Handbook, 2019).
Satisfactory performance also grants special note on transcripts and can provide automatic admission to Texas public colleges and universities.

Burleson ISD. (2019). Standardized Testing. Retrieved from https://www.burlesonisd.net/Page/1518

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Policies & Procedures / Student Handbook & Code of Conduct

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The principle states school counselors "identify gaps in college and career access and the implications of such data for addressing the intentional and unintentional biases related to college and career counseling (ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors, 2016).

This principle connects to standardized testing because school counselors must make students aware of all the options available to them regarding graduation and possibly attending college. Students must be made aware of all the tests and testing alternatives so students can make the best decisions regarding their education. Some students may not be made aware of all the alternatives because of incorrectly perceiving a student's ability to perform satisfactorily on the assessment.

American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Ethics/EthicalStandards2016.pdf

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Students must be allowed accommodations as outlined by their Special Education and 504 documentation

Students must be made aware of the possible substitutions for state testing, such as SAT, ACT, and TSI

Students must be made aware of the individual graduation committee final project as a substitute for up to two of the end-of-course tests

Parents must be made aware of the lack of opt out policy for the such tests.

Parents must be made aware of how student records when changing schools can possibly have an effect on their graduation, and should take steps to ensure current records are available.

Parents of students who are English Language Learners can receive an exception to the English 1 STAAR test as result of the language proficiency.

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"The Test" by Anya Kamenetz provides a helpful tool for parents to help them understand the current educational environment around standardized tests.
The book provides:

the history of testing in the United States

Strategies to help their students cope with the testing environment

Stories from other families navigating the educational system

Describes a future with better testing and hopefully healthier children

Kamenetz, A. (2016). The test.Public Affairs: New York.