Post by Moses on Mar 10, 2005 0:57:19 GMT -5
Parents of 59 Students Boycott CSAP
Ohanian Comment: The director of the student assessment unit has an inordinate disresepect of parents, an inordinate disrespect for teachers' ability to evaluate, and an inordinate respect for standardized tests.
Beth Celva, director of the student assessment unit at the Colorado Department of Education, said when parents keep their child from participating, the message is they "do not care to know how (their children) are doing in reading, writing or math."
The parents of nearly 60 Crawford Elementary School students on Monday protested a plan to end Aurora Public Schools' only dual-language program by boycotting a state exam.
Altogether, 59 students submitted "parent refusal" letters, advising the school not to administer the Colorado Student Assessment Program test to their children.
"We thought it would be more effective," said Lupe Gonzales, whose son is in the 4-year-old dual-language program.
The parents' strategy may hurt the school's academic ranking. Schools get an "unsatisfactory" score for each student pulled from the test.
"They are wanting to sort of get their point across by having us sit up and take notice," said principal Debbie Gerkin. "I'm disappointed."
District officials announced in January that this year would be the last for the program, citing low test scores, difficulty in finding dual-language teachers and an excess of native Spanish-speaking students.
Parents have submitted a proposal that the district continue the program another year while they assist the district in finding more native English-speaking students and recruiting bilingual teachers.
Unlike traditional English-as-a-second-language programs, which immerse English learners into the traditional classrooms, the dual-language program teaches native English-speaking and native Spanish-speaking students to become fluent in both languages.
To work, there must be a 50-50 mix of students from each language.
Superintendent Robert Adams is reviewing the parents' proposal and should have a final response early this week, said Georgia Duran, spokeswoman for Aurora Public Schools.
Beth Celva, director of the student assessment unit at the Colorado Department of Education, said when parents keep their child from participating, the message is they "do not care to know how (their children) are doing in reading, writing or math."
CSAP testing began across the state in February and ends April 15.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
— Karen Rouse
Denver Post
2005-03-09
Ohanian Comment: The director of the student assessment unit has an inordinate disresepect of parents, an inordinate disrespect for teachers' ability to evaluate, and an inordinate respect for standardized tests.
Beth Celva, director of the student assessment unit at the Colorado Department of Education, said when parents keep their child from participating, the message is they "do not care to know how (their children) are doing in reading, writing or math."
The parents of nearly 60 Crawford Elementary School students on Monday protested a plan to end Aurora Public Schools' only dual-language program by boycotting a state exam.
Altogether, 59 students submitted "parent refusal" letters, advising the school not to administer the Colorado Student Assessment Program test to their children.
"We thought it would be more effective," said Lupe Gonzales, whose son is in the 4-year-old dual-language program.
The parents' strategy may hurt the school's academic ranking. Schools get an "unsatisfactory" score for each student pulled from the test.
"They are wanting to sort of get their point across by having us sit up and take notice," said principal Debbie Gerkin. "I'm disappointed."
District officials announced in January that this year would be the last for the program, citing low test scores, difficulty in finding dual-language teachers and an excess of native Spanish-speaking students.
Parents have submitted a proposal that the district continue the program another year while they assist the district in finding more native English-speaking students and recruiting bilingual teachers.
Unlike traditional English-as-a-second-language programs, which immerse English learners into the traditional classrooms, the dual-language program teaches native English-speaking and native Spanish-speaking students to become fluent in both languages.
To work, there must be a 50-50 mix of students from each language.
Superintendent Robert Adams is reviewing the parents' proposal and should have a final response early this week, said Georgia Duran, spokeswoman for Aurora Public Schools.
Beth Celva, director of the student assessment unit at the Colorado Department of Education, said when parents keep their child from participating, the message is they "do not care to know how (their children) are doing in reading, writing or math."
CSAP testing began across the state in February and ends April 15.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
— Karen Rouse
Denver Post
2005-03-09