[Durham INC] SB230: Read to Achieve concerns

Tue Jun 3 16:59:07 EDT 2014

Please see below and consider writing our state legislators to show your support for reducing tests and giving more flexibility to schools in this regard.

Thanks!
Melissa (Rooney)

On Monday, 2 June 2014 10:05 PM, Sharlini Sankaran <sharlinisankaran at gmail.com> wrote:

More read to achieve activism! There's an amendment to the law (to reduce the number of tests, give greater flexibility to schools, and to allow the tests to be spread out). This amendment,  has already passed the Senate and may be up for a vote In the House as early as tomorrow.  If you want to see changes in this law write your representative asap!  Below is a sample letter.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Sharlini Sankaran" <sharlinisankaran at gmail.com>
Date: Jun 2, 2014 9:59 PM
Subject: SB230: Read to Achieve concerns
To:  <larry.hall at ncleg.net>,  <Mike.woodard at ncleg.net>,  <thom.tillis at ncleg.net>,  <phil.berger at ncleg.net>, "will polk" <william397 at aol.com>,  <pat.mccrory at nc.gov>,  <william.cobey at dpi.nc.gov>, "Heidi Carter" <heidi.carter at dpsnc.net>, "Stacey Wilson-Norman" <stacey.wilson-norman at dpsnc.net>, "June Atkinson" <June.Atkinson at dpi.nc.gov>, "Nancy Cox" <nancy.cox at dpsnc.net>

Dear Sen Woodard, Sen Berger
Rep Tillis and Rep Hall,
With SB230 coming before the house again for a vote, we are writing to you yet again as citizens, constituents,  and parents of a 3rd grader who, along with her classmates,  has had to suffer the repercussions of the Read to Achieve law. The level of anxiety among these 9 and 10 year olds has been really high, at a time when they should be enjoying school and fostering their natural curiosity for learning. Our daughter is so anxious about all the testing, she has chewed the skin off her fingertips to the point they are bleeding. 
Even though our child scored higher than the required reading level to exit 3rd grade during the beginning of year assessments, she was still subjected to the thrice-weekly tests for several weeks until parental and teacher pushback caused the state to issue clearer guidelines for exemption from the mini tests. However, even after being exempted from the tests her instructional time suffered as the teacher was busy administering the assessments to the other students in the class and had no time to spare to ensure that our daughter's instruction continued. Moreover, since the last round of budget cuts our school does not have teacher aides for 3rd grade. As a result, our daughter had to sit and read quietly while tests were being administered to the other students whose parents did not ask to exempt from the test or could not be exempted. We are writing to ask you to consider carefully and ask for amendments to ensure the Read to Achieve law helps
 children learn to read, rather than punishing those who can't read or are above grade level. In particular we request: 1) fewer mini assessments. 36 is just too many. 2) That the assessments be spread out throughout the year, rather than 12 weeks. 3) That the parents of children who are exempt from this testing because of being demonstrated above grade level, limited English proficiency, learning disabilities, or other reasons, be given clear notice and instructions of their right to exempt their children from those tests. 4) We also request that resources be restored so that teaching aides or other assistants are available to administer the tests so that teachers can continue to focus on curriculum and instruction. Ideally we would like to see this law repealed altogether but understand and appreciate your efforts to do what can be done to mitigate this law. Our initial concerns to this law are laid out in our email below, which was sent earlier in the
 year. Thank you very much for your service to our state. 
Respectfully yours,
Sharlini Sankaran and Will Polk
Parents of Nisha Polk,
3rd grader, Creekside Elementary,  Durham.
Cc: Governor McCrory
State Education Superintendent June Atkinson
Dr. William Cobey, DPI
Ms. Heidi Carter, Durham Public Schools Board Chair
Ms. Nancy Cox,  Durham Public Schools board member
Dr. Stacey Wilson Norman, Durham Public Schools
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Sharlini Sankaran" <sharlini at alumni.unc.edu>
Date: Jan 26, 2014 8:57 PM
Subject: Concerns regarding NC Read to Achieve and its implications
To:  <Bryan.Holloway at ncleg.net>,  <Linda.Johnson2 at ncleg.net>,  <Jerry.Tillman at ncleg.net>,  <phil.berger at ncleg.net>
Cc:  <Hugh.Blackwell at ncleg.net>,  <Tom.Apodaca at ncleg.net>,  <Chad.Barefoot at ncleg.net>,  <Marcus.Brandon at ncleg.net>,  <Bill.Cook at ncleg.net>,  <rob.bryan at ncleg.net>,  <david.curtis at ncleg.net>,  <tricia.cotham at ncleg.net>,  <Malcolm.graham at ncleg.net>,  <craig.horn at ncleg.net>,  <clark.jenkins at ncleg.net>,  <james.langdon at ncleg.net>,  <earline.parmon at ncleg.net>,  <marvin.lucas at ncleg.net>,  <Louis.pate at ncleg.net>,  <chuck.mcgrady at ncleg.net>,  <dan.soucek at ncleg.net>,  <paul.stam at ncleg.net>,  <Trudy.wade at ncleg.net>,  <brian.brown at ncleg.net>,  <fletcher.hartsell at ncleg.net>,  <martin.nesbitt at ncleg.net>,  <Jeffrey.elmore at ncleg.net>,  <Gladys.robinson at ncleg.net>,  <chris.malone at ncleg.net>,  <josh.stein at ncleg.net>,  <bob.steinburg at ncleg.net>,  <Mike.woodard at ncleg.net>,  <paul.luebke at ncleg.net>,  <larry.hall at ncleg.net>, "Nancy Cox" <Nancy.cox at dpsnc.net>, "Heidi Carter" <Heidi.carter at dpsnc.net>, "Stacey Wilson-Norman" <Stacey.wilson-norman at dpsnc.net>, 
 <pat.mccrory at nc.gov>,  <jatkinson at dpi.state.nc.us>,  <william.cobey at dpi.nc.gov>, "Will Polk" <william397 at aol.com>

January
26, 2014
To:
The Honorable Senator Phil Berger, President Pro-tem, NC Senate
The Honorable Representative Thom Tillis, Speaker, NC House of
Representatives 
The Honorable Representatives Brian Holloway, Linda Johnson, and Senator
Jerry Tillman, 
Co-Chairs, Joint Education Oversight Committee
Dear
Representatives Tillis, Holloway, Johnson; Senators Berger, Tillman:
We would like to share
with you the immediate impact of the North Carolina Read to Achieve law on our
3rd grader and her cohort at Durham Public Schools. We can all agree
that every North Carolina third grader should be proficient in reading and be
given assistance to reach proficiency if they are not. However, we are afraid
the impacts of this law and the burdens it places on students, parents,
administrators, and teachers will have the opposite result of the original
intent. With this letter, we have included a small sampling of paperwork that
we received from our school explaining the additional testing and assessment
burden wrought by this law.[1]
Our concerns fall into
several categories:
1)       There is already a barrage of testing to establish
reading proficiency and the additional tests seem redundant. As a result of
this law, 3rd graders in Durham Public Schools and other districts
across the state will be required to take 36 mini-tests spread out over 12
weeks. That is 3 tests per week, in addition to already existing tests such as quarterly
assessments, beginning of grade and end of grade tests, M-class reading assessments
(which are already being implemented in schools and is also required by the
Read to Achieve law), and not to mention an equal number of tests for other
subjects such as math. In addition, the results of the test portfolio will only
be one of the measures used to assess proficiency – if the other existing
assessments can be used to prove proficiency, then why add these unnecessary
tests at all?
2)       The 36-test portfolio process was just
established and released by NC Department of Public Instruction in January,
which means that schools have to scramble to compact the entire required
testing for the academic year into three months rather than spreading out
throughout the year. The haste with which this law is being implemented means
that current 3rd graders and their teachers will have an undue
testing burden placed upon them due to the compacted time frame. Why are this
year’s 3rd graders being penalized into bearing the burden of haste
and uncertainty?
3)       The additional testing takes away from
instructional or reading time that could be used to improve proficiency in
those that need it. Those most affected by the lack of instructional time will
be children that are already at risk of falling behind academically – creating
a vicious cycle of testing and more testing for those children who are failing
to read. There will not be enough instructional time to devote to improving
reading proficiency if 90 plus minutes per week are devoted to these additional
tests for three months of the school year.
4)       There is not sufficient funding set aside to
help schools and local districts implement this law. Already, our school does
not have teacher aides in 3rd grade. Class sizes have increased this
year because of funding cuts, and due to the recent cuts in textbook funding,
teachers have to take on additional duties such as gathering their own text
materials. Who will bear the burden of the increased effort to administer 3
tests per week per child, grade them, analyze the data, report progress, and
formulate and implement a remedial plan? Teachers only have so many hours in a
day to accomplish all the tasks they are asked to do. Local districts can only
provide so much support if their funding is already stretched.
5)       According to our conversations with local
and district officials, there is not sufficient funding set aside for the
reading summer camps that are required under this law. Again, with our public
education budget already having seen decreases over the past few years and the
upcoming diversion of taxpayer money to charter schools and vouchers for
private schools, where will the funds come from for personnel, facilities, and
administration to administer these summer camps? 
It seems to us that this
law is destined to fail our children and fail our state, as written and
currently implemented. We implore you to amend or repeal the law immediately to
address our concerns, even if that entails a special session. Alternately or in
conjunction, we request that additional funding be identified and deployed as
soon as possible to fully implement the portions of the law that require
additional personnel and facilities expenses. We support our public schools and
want all North Carolina children to succeed academically. Please consider the
ramifications of this law and do what you can in your capacity of elected
officials who represent all of us, to eliminate redundancy and to effect
meaningful change. We look forward to your response.
Most Sincerely,
Sharlini Sankaran, Ph.D.: sharlini at alumni.unc.edu
William M. Polk, Attorney at Law: William397 at aol.com
5902 Barbee Chapel Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27517(Durham County)
919 918 4028 (home)
Parents of Nisha (3rd grade) and Rubin (Kindergarten) Polk,
Creekside Elementary School, Durham.

Cc:
Governor Pat McCrory
Members of the Joint Education Oversight Committee
Sen. Mike Woodard, NC Senate District 22
Rep. Paul Luebke, NC House District 30
Rep. Larry Hall, Minority Leader, NC House of Representatives
Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Minority Leader, NC Senate
Dr. June Atkinson, Superintendent, NC Department of Public Instruction
Mr. William Cobey, Chair, State Board of Education
Ms. Heidi Carter, Chair, Durham School Board
Ms. Nancy Cox, Member, Durham School Board
Dr. Stacey Wilson-Norman, Area Superintendent for Instruction, Durham Public Schools

________________________________

[1]Additional information regarding the implementation of the Read to Achieve Law
can be found at: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/850102
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