Legal Guide: Required Testing in Schools by Elizabeth Shavonne Gowens https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy EDG 6305 Legal and Ethical Principles_Module 7 en-us 2023-07-06 20:34:19 UTC 2023-07-22 18:36:46 UTC hello@padlet.com Slide #1 Professional Perspective ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921185 As a 15 year public educator and future education administrator, it is crucial to know and understand the laws and ethics surrounding Required Testing in Schools.
Now, more than ever, we have more and more district stakeholders questioning the rationale behind all the testing. I selected this topic so I can gain a better understanding of the history behind testing in public education, the rational behind standardized testing, and what we could evolve in to in the near future.]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:03 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921185 Slide #2 Summary of Topic ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921217  Every school year, students of public education are required to take a standardized exam. In the state of Texas, current students in 3rd through 8th grade are annually assessed by the STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) on the Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). The test has had numerous names as the years have gone by and the questions have become more rigorous, but the process remains. As I prepare as a future education administrator, I want to become more familiar with the laws, the progression, the justification, and what I can do as a campus principal. Our schools, teachers, students, and parents deserve to be communicated to as stakeholders and those invested in our school. 

Through the years, laws have been put in place to protect our students as equals. These laws are not limited to but require students to be placed in least restrictive environments, promote differentiation in the classroom to allow all student success, and for students to rise to ever growing standards. Districts continue to try to jump through the new hoops of state requirements, as more and more educators are leaving the profession (they once loved) due to the rise in stress and demanding expectations at the expense of our children. At what point do we allow the well-being of our students take top priority, and what steps need to be taken to ensure that new direction?


]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:10 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921217 Slide #3 Professional Association: Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921250 Association of Texas Professional Education. https://www.atpe.org/

ATPE is a Texas association that focuses on "professionalism, member-owned/member-governed, right to work/oppose strikes, superior services to members, all-inclusive, leadership, collaborative, issues-oriented advocacy, independent association, and local control of public schools" (ATPE, n.d.). As an educator for 15 years I have utilized this association and I plan on continuing it as I transition into the administration/principal role!

This professional organization provides a multitude of resources (educators communicating educators), its own magazine, legal resources, as well as classroom resources.

The ATPE Vision
The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) supports the state’s largest community of educators who are dedicated to elevating public education in Texas.

The ATPE Mission
ATPE advocates for educators and delivers affordable, high-quality products and services that give members the peace of mind needed to inspire student success.

Additionally, the BOD, with assistance from staff, also developed three goals that support the vision and mission statements:
  1. Market—By understanding market conditions, ATPE will attract, engage, and retain members.
  2. Resourcing/Allocation—ATPE will strategically align resources and seek partners to safeguard an efficient, sustainable, and aligned association.
  3. Organizational Responsiveness—ATPE will review, optimize, and modernize components of the organization to ensure responsiveness to member needs.



]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:18 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921250 Slide #4 Current News: Houston Public Media ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921296 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/education/2023/03/01/444946/as-texas-staar-test-goes-fully-online-teachers-feel-defeated-texas-education-agency-projects-confidence/

Teachers and school district administrators across Texas are feeling the frustrations and stress that STAAR brings every year. This year, 2023, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test went to a strictly only online form. Not only did this stress out students and their families, but it also had teachers, and school administrators feeling stressed out. 

As an educator, mother of 4, and future principal I want to be sure to keep the mental health of my students and faculty a priority. This current state assessment does just the opposite. More and more educators are getting out of the profession all together due to the 'hoops' we must jump through to try to help our students succeed.

This article points out how we are expected to uphold our professional duties to ensure that all students needs are met, however the test is completely standardized and now its all digital.]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:30 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921296 Slide #5 Current News: KENS5 ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921347 https://www.kens5.com/article/news/education/some-staar-test-results-now-available-while-others-remain-delayed-texas-education/273-a3f8c170-3b0a-4260-8321-63a4198a1018

This article really presents the frustration of education administration from the standpoint of standardized testing, expectations, and added stressors.

In April/May of this year, students across Texas took the STAAR test on a digital format. The test results were expected in June, however there has been a delay with the majority of the testing results due to the new changes. 
"Educators from across the state will convene in the spring and summer to provide their expert opinions and verify that the cut points and related scale scores are appropriate for the redesigned STAAR assessments. Given this extra activity, the reporting process will be a bit longer this summer," the TEA said on its website.

Now schools are expected to wait. Administrators, teachers, parents, and students must wait on results that can have an impact directly on the students learning. This is not ok.

While administrators should have ample time to receive scores, give information to parents, and make plans for their campuses, grade levels, and individual student success, they are having to wait.]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:37 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921347 Slide #6 Federal Law: Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88) of 1979- which stems from The Department of Education Establishment (1867) ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921372 U.S. Department of Education (2011). Mission. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/mission/mission.html

U.S. Department of Education. (2010). An Overview of the U.S. Department of Education. https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/focus/what.html#:~:text=The%20Department's%20History,statistics%20about%20the%20nation's%20schools. 

One hundred and twelve years AFTER President Andrew Jackson signed a legislation to create the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Education Organization Act was signed to strengthen, encourage, improve, and promote was was put in place for education years prior! As a current teacher and future principal, I feel like this federal law is important to understand because it gives us a timeline of public education, the changes/lack of changes, and vision the government has for education. 

When President signed the legislation that created the U.S. Department on Education in 1867, it allowed more focus on education. This department began focusing on statistics around the United States education, the funding allocated for education, and how education can be reformed to meet the needs of the students across the nation!
President Andrew Jackson signed a legislation in 1867 that created the first Department of Education. The intent for this legislation was to collect information and statistics from the public schools across the nation, however it was demoted the next year from a Department to an Office due to too much control over schools. Through the years the name has changed:
o   Department of Education
o   Office of Education
o   U.S. Department of Interior
o   U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare
o   Health and Human Services
As different government officials have reviewed and revised the agenda to meet the most current needs of education. The most common trend noticed was the increased number of employees and funding designated toward education.
]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:45 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921372 Slide #7 Statutory Law: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921458 U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=ft 

As a future principal, I applaud President Obama for seeing the need for educational reform. As an educator for 15 years, it's not hard for those of us involved to see and know the constant evolution of education. This Act brought to light the unethical policies in education when it came to the differences of our students and made it a law to focus on differentiation to provide for all student success.

In 2015, President Barak Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act. The ESSA “reauthorized the 50 year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, U.S. Department of Education), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students” (Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)). The ESEA was a civil rights law that President Lyndon B. Johnson signed because he believed that “full educational opportunity should be our first nations goal” (ESSA and ESEA, U.S. Department of Education). 
“As per the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1, sections 4104(a)(2) and 4106(e)(1)(E), TEA is required to collect and publicly report how all LEA Title IV, Part A, Subpart 1 funds are being expended per content areas by Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) and the degree to which progress has been made toward meeting program objectives and intended outcomes (Texas Education Agency, 2022).”
In preparation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015), President Obama collaborated with “educators and families to create a better law that focused on the clear goal of fully preparing all students for success in college and careers.”
ESSA includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools. Below are just a few. The law:

  • Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America's disadvantaged and high-need students.
  • Requires—for the first time—that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
  • Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high standards.
  • Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators.
  • Sustains and expands this administration's historic investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
  • Maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.
]]> 2023-07-06 21:34:52 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921458 Slide #8 Statutory Law: Texas Education Code- § 39.023. ADOPTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF INSTRUMENTS ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921483 Public School System Accountability, Tex. Edu. Code § 39.023
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.39.htm 

When reviewing the instruments included here, an education administrator can gain knowledge on WHO is tested (grade levels), WHAT it's tested (the covered subjects), and HOW it's tested (questions related to state standards). 

Texas Education Code § 39.023 addresses and specifically states adoption and administration of assessments. 
When reviewing Part a) you will find:
o   What is assessed (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills- TEKS)
o   Who is assessed (3rd through 8th grade)
o   Subjects (Reading, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science)
Upon further reading of the subsections of a) it breaks down the above bulleted sections into more precise directives that include:
·         Assessment instruments
·         Student assessment requirements
·         Criterion-referenced assessment instruments
·         Time allocated/restrictions
·         Compliancy with federal laws
When researching Part b) you will find:
·         Appropriate criterion-referenced assessment instruments for students in the special education program
·         Assessment instruments for cognitively disabled students
And Part c) covers:
·         End of course (EOC) assessments
·         What subjects require EOCs
·         Who/grade level 
·         The instrument for assessing the EOC
·         The purpose of the EOC
The remaining Parts d) through p) go through and pin-point commissioner responsibilities in communicating instruments, specific questions, released information, and practice tests/answer keys.
]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:00 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921483 Slide #9 Administrative Law: Texas Education Agency House Bill 3906 ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921520 Texas Education Agency, Assessment Initiatives, House Bill 3906
https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/assessment-initiatives/hb-3906

Texas Education Agency, House Bill 3906, Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot
https://tea.texas.gov/student-assessment/assessment-initiatives/hb-3906/texas-through-year-assessment-pilot 

It's important to know and understand prior, current, and possible future educational assessment laws. I can't help but wonder how many administrators in Texas are aware of HB 3906 and the changes that could be coming to state assessments.

“House Bill (HB) 3906, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019, addresses several components related to assessments and administration, including expanding input from educators and providing more flexibility at the campus level for test administration” (TEA, House Bill 3906, 2019).
HB 3906 sheds light on changes in the education system and the requirements of assessing our students. There are 4 main components that are bringing hope to the educators, students, and parents across the state of Texas:
1.    STAAR Redesign- a redesign that includes changes such as:

  • Transitioning to online assessments by the 2022–23 school year
  • Adding new item types and capping the percentage of multiple-choice items
  • Eliminating stand-alone writing assessments for grades 4 and 7 and incorporating cross-curricular passages to assess new reading language arts Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
2.      Assessment Educator Advisor Committee- In collaboration, a committee comprised of experts in curriculum and instruction, higher education and school leadership, and individuals with experience supporting special populations meets regularly to advise the commissioner and the TEA to determine appropriate state assessment.
3.      STAAR Interim Assessments- a ‘free, optional online tool’ required by HB 2906 are available through TEA to a STAAR tested grades and subjects.
4.      Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot (TTAP)- this happens to be my favorite! TEA states that the TTAP ‘has the potential to eventually replace the single summative assessment model.’ This newly launched pilot program made its debut in designated participating schools across Texas during the 2022-2023 school year, it will add more schools the 2023-2024 school year, and will use the feedback from the participating schools to determine a plan moving forward. TEA has stated that benefits will include ,but are not limited to (TEA, Texas Through-year Assessment Pilot, 2023):
  • Multiple Testing Opportunities - Students will have three opportunities to demonstrate mastery of TEKS over the course of the school year. TTAP assessments serve as a viable replacement to locally adopted benchmarks and are 100% TEKS aligned. 
  • Timely Student Reports - After each testing opportunity, teachers will receive individualized student reports, which include data such as performance levels, prediction to the STAAR, and in-year growth. These reports can be used in discussions with students and parents to share progress.
  • Flexible Training Options - Teachers will receive training on accessing and interpreting student results to form instructional groups and support classroom instructional decisions. In Year 2, TEA  will continue to offer synchronous and asynchronous training options, along with additional training supplements for optional access.
  • Additional Online Platform and Item Type Exposure - All TTAP progress monitoring opportunities will be administered on the same online platform as STAAR, giving students additional chances to interact with the system’s functionalities. TTAP participants will be also able to interact with different question types that are now used on the redesigned STAAR test.
]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:08 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921520 Slide #10 Local Laws: ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921559 Crosbyton CISD. (2022). Student Handbook P. 90-92. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/613/Crosbyton_CISD/2295501/22-23_CCISD_Student_Handbook_Revised.pdf

Pages 90-92 of the Student Handbook cover required school assessments in grades 3-12. It communicates that the school district follows state laws according to assessments.

The sections include, but are not limited to:
  • Standardized Testing
  • STAAR
  • Failure to Perform
  • Standardized Testing for Students in Special Programs
  • Growth/Graduation Plans
  • EOCs

]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:19 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921559 Slide #11 Ethical Principle ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921580 https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=19&pt=7&ch=247&rl=2

 (1) Professional Ethical Conduct, Practices and Performance.
(G) Standard 1.7. The educator shall comply with state regulations, written local school board policies, and other state and federal laws.

Testing irregularities happen, some minor and some major. It is the duty of the campus administrator to know, follow, and make sure that staff are properly trained to avoid those irregularities. ]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:25 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921580 Slide #12 Non-Law Source: National Education Association ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921621 (2020). ESSA and Testing. National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/essa-and-testing

This is a quick overview of the purpose of ESSA and testing. It's a great resource for administrators and educators to review for information about provisions included to make sure that public education focuses more on the students learning and growth, and less standardized testing.]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:31 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921621 Slide #13 Best Practices for Compliance ebrock19 https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921646 Thinking as a future educational administrator, it is crucial that I keep in mind best practices for my students and staff. By doing so I would include following the laws while trying to maintain a healthy, transparent, and growth mindset.

Best practices include:
  • Staying educated and up to date on laws.
  • Keeping my students and facutly's mental health at the forefront of all decisions.
  • Understanding law requirements.
  • Speaking up and out for the students, their families, and district stakeholders.
  • Making sure that our campus is properly trained- local region center, district policies, and state laws.
  • Communicating expectations with staff and sending them updated information.
  • Following TEA recommendations and requirements.
 
]]> 2023-07-06 21:35:36 UTC https://padlet.com/ebrock19/e9wpxgekkpy9e5fy/wish/2639921646