This is a SHOUT-OUT to the Deming Public Schools Board of Education, which on Jan. 16, 2014, passed a resolution opposing PED deforms. Thank you Deming Board of Education Vice President Dr. Andrew Hernandez for sharing this with us! DEMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION Resolution Whereas, the current teacher evaluation system is inordinately weighted towards Standards Based Assessment scores, outcomes from End of Course exams, and other testing measures, and Whereas, End of Course exams administered in some subject areas in December 2013 included numerous questions with incorrect information and lacking valid answers, and Whereas, normed end of course scores such as those currently in place are completely incongruent with any responsible standard for effective assessment of student learning, and Whereas, the teacher evaluation system, end of course exam framework, and transition to Common Core standards has resulted in the allocation of millions of dollars in below the line spending by the Public Education Department to out of state vendors who have frequently failed to deliver effective products and services, and Whereas, below the line spending has led to the unequal and inefficient allocation of resources, including the distribution of much needed intervention services such as reading coaches only to the most populous areas of the state at the expense of rural districts, and Whereas, the proposed system for allocating raises disproportionately rewards only a handful of teachers while ignoring the contributions of the overwhelming majority of teachers who have dedicated their careers to the education of their students, and Whereas, popular calls for the return to core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic resonate strongly with the spirit of liberal arts instruction that formed the foundation for systems of education across the breadth of western civilization for more than seven centuries, and Whereas, curricula built on standardized testing fail to nurture the creativity, adaptability and intellectual flexibility that will enable New Mexicos youth to compete in a rapidly changing globalized economy, and Whereas, university faculty within New Mexico and across the nation are beginning to report the damage that a decade of test-driven education has inflicted upon the entrance of a generation of students that has known no alternative since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, and Whereas, the shift away from these standards in education has been modeled on programs in Florida, Louisiana and other states that within a span of only a few years have come to regret their rapid adoption of untried and untested ideas Therefore, be it resolved, that the Deming Public Schools Board of Education asks that the teacher evaluation system be restructured to ensure that testing measures count for no more than 25% of teacher evaluations. Be it further resolved, that the End of Course exam system be reorganized to include a one year trial period during which effective benchmarks for student learning can be determined; that the Public Education Department provide a full, detailed, and itemized public disclosure of payments to out-of-state vendors or be subjected to scrutiny by the Legislative Finance Committee; that the Legislative Education Study Committee conduct an in-depth analysis of the actual time currently shifted away from instruction to the preparation for and conduct of all testing measures; that the proposed system for raises be re-allocated to include equitable raises for all teachers who will receive contracts for the coming fiscal year; that a revitalized liberal arts curriculum centered on math, language arts, science, music and fine arts and the acquisition of foreign language fluency be implemented as the time-tested curriculum that will instill the values, skills, and innovation that will enable them to prosper in the hyper-competitive environment of the twenty-first century; and that the Legislature of the State of New Mexico impose a mandatory two-year period of observation on the program of any potential model state in order to effectively assess the success, challenges, and unintended consequences of any potential new reform model. Adopted this 161 day of January, 2014. W. Bayne Anderson, President Dr. Andrew Hernandez, Vice-President Ruben S. Torres, Secretary Ronald Wolfe, Member John Sweetser, Member
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 03:58:08 +0000
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