Speeches
FCCPTA's Testimony to the 
State Board of Education

Good Evening.  The Fairfax County Council of PTAs salutes the state Board of Education for its desire to improve teaching and learning throughout Virginia.

We know it is a thankless task trying to design an effective assessment program.   However, given the insights we have garnered concerning what constitutes a quality assessment program, we caution the BOE not to rush to publish the definition of "proficiency" before the SOL assessments have been deemed valid and reliable.

The following concerns guide our comments:

First, the assessments methods do not appear to be appropriately developed in ways which accurately or fairly assess learning achievements of all children, regardless of background, disability, race, ethnicity, language or learning tendencies. 

Second, reporting a simple assessment score, such as a "39," fails to specifically communicate what each child knows and is able to do; his academic progress; nor, does it accurately or fairly define the quality of education he is receiving.

Third, teaching now appears to be eroding into providing a narrowly focused curriculum in order to help our children achieve higher scores on SOL tests - while ignoring the competencies our children will need to effectively understand and address the realities of our complex and ever changing world.

I'd like to address six (6) comments we believe are among the most critical issues:

A.  Accountability must be across the spectrum.  Not only do we hold teachers and principals responsible for raising student achievement and providing essential feedback and credible results; we believe the SOL test designers and administrative decision-makers must be held publicly accountable, too.

B. The BOE can attain its mission and avoid inadvertently forcing teachers to stress superficial memorization  -- by adapting state of the art assessment methodologies.

C. The goal of the BOE must be to reduce differences in academic achievement between groups of students, while increasing excellence for all.   We believe excellence and the assurance of equity can only be achieved when: (1.) a student's academic achievement is appropriately assessed; (2.) a portfolio of data is collected and comprehensively analyzed by school faculty; and, (3.) an effective action plan is prescribed and implemented. 

D.    We are acutely concerned about students with special needs, the intent of the special education laws; and, whether or not VA State assessments will accurately assess their academic achievement - not highlight their disability.

E.    The question of WHEN the assessments are given is important.
Assessments should be timed at the end of a course; or, at the school year to give students the maximum amount of learning time.

F.     We worry about stigmatizing  schools and students.   The solution for a student or a school that is not achieving has to be remediation - not humiliation.

Let me end with this:  We would support a rigorous multifaceted assessment program, if it were designed by the educational professionals who were members of the eight Standard Setting Committees.  To do so, would in fact, give our children the first-class education the BOE is promising them; and moves far beyond measuring and reporting achievement with an outdated, third-rate assessment tool.   We are urging  you take our comments and concerns under advisement; and, to take the time to create an accountability system worthy of the Fairfax public schools' proud past and promising future.  We stand ready to help.