You’ve kept your third grader at home all year long during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Now, you’ve received a stern “bully” letter telling you:
“There’s no opt out in Florida and the state requires you to send your child in to take the FSA.”
What CAN you do?
Parents, you are not powerless. Now is NOT the time to send your child into a school, merely to take the FSA.
KEEP YOUR CHILD AT HOME. Ask for a portfolio.
Superintendents understand that, no matter what “the state” says, some parents will simply not be sending their kids in to take the FSA. Increasingly, they are saying on the record at school board meetings, that they will not force families to send children in to test, and that they will work to achieve Good Cause Exemptions for promotion.
Please consider replying with a letter sent in an email, like the one below and letting us know how your district responds so that we can continue to provide the most current information to other parents in Opt Out Florida Third Gradeand in The Opt Out Florida Network.
In Florida, third grade is the only grade requiring EITHER a passing FSA score OR a Good Cause Exemption to be promoted to the next grade, including a portfolio. Only one is required.
This sample letter presumes that you are seeking to have your child promoted based on the merits of their work throughout the year, not to substitute the FSA with another test. It also presumes the your child does not have a reading deficiency.
This is not legal advice. __________
Dear Mrs. Principal,
Thank you for that information.
This is to inform you that I will not be sending (Name) into school for FSA testing.
Because of family who are at high medical risk for COVID, we have kept (Name) home since the beginning of the school year. Please understand that putting our family at risk over the FSA test is simply not something that is going to happen.
I am respectfully asking the district for guidance on how to ensure that (Name) will have a Good Cause Exemption to be promoted to the fourth grade. We have trust in her capable teacher, who has assessed her reading skills and ability throughout the year, all documented in her progress reports and report card on file.
H. REQUIRED PARENTAL NOTIFICATIONS 7. “…A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.”
As (Name) will not be entering the school to take the FSA, she will not have a test score and may be at risk of retention. I am therefore requesting that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.
C. STUDENT PORTFOLIOS FOR PROMOTION TO GRADE 4 To promote a student using a student portfolio as a good cause exemption, there must be evidence that demonstrates the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards in reading is equal to at least a Level 2 performance on the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. Such evidence shall be an organized collection of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. The student portfolio must meet the following criteria:
1. Be selected by the student’s teacher,
2. Be an accurate picture of the student’s ability and only include student work that has been independently produced in the classroom,
3. Include evidence that the standards assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment have been met. Evidence is to include multiple choice items and passages that are approximately sixty (60) percent literary text and forty (40) percent information text, and that are between 100-700 words with an average of 500 words. Such evidence could include chapter or unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum that are aligned with the Language Arts Florida Standards or teacher-prepared assessments.
4. Be an organized collection of evidence of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. For each standard, there must be at least three (3) examples of mastery as demonstrated by a grade of seventy (70) percent or above on each example, and,
5. Be signed by the teacher and the principal as an accurate assessment of the required reading skills.
The school principal shall review and discuss such recommendation with the teacher and make the determination as to whether the student should be promoted or retained. If the school principal determines that the student should be promoted, the school principal shall make such recommendation in writing to the district school superintendent. The district school superintendent shall accept or reject the school principal’s recommendation in writing. (Rule 6A-1.094221, F.A.C., and Section 1008.25(6)(c)2, F.S.)
I am happy to meet virtually with her teacher to work out any details. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important request.
Sincerely…
__________
Once you send your letter, if you still get push back, send it to your superintendent and district Director of Assessment/Accountability as well.
PLEASE NOTE: You are not requesting an alternative test, at least not here. This post is limited to REQUESTING A THIRD GRADE PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT for a Good Cause Exemption and does not include any discussion of the eight state-approved alternative assessments listed in the FLDOE Promotion to 4th Grade Technical Assistance Paper (TAP).
When you request a portfolio, your district’s version of a “portfolio” may be a collection of mini-FSA tests from the state’s test bank. To begin that “test portfolio” now would mean MORE testing for your child. It may contain up to 42 separate assessments, kept secret from teachers, and covers material that may not yet have been taught. That is not the same as the portfolio of schoolwork supported here. Your child has likely already completed a great deal of progress monitoring testing, unit tests, chapter tests, etc., that could be used for their portfolio, and which may already satisfy most of the required standards – because the teachers have been teaching them.
Read about just how much progress monitoring is done here.
If there is insufficient progress monitoring data for a portfolio, you may wish to consider requesting an approved alternative assessment to satisfy the Good Cause Exemption (that post is coming soon!)
Clarification:
You are not asking anyone to do anything for your child, to which she is not entitled.
You are not asking the school to take any action that is prohibited.
You are not asking for special treatment.
You ARE asking the school district, in this unusual and unprecedented time, to be reasonable and to do what is reasonable, within the framework of what is allowed under Florida education statutes to support your child’s education.
The Florida Statute provides alternatives for a Good Cause Exemption when there is no passing FSA score.
Therefore, if your child does not have a substantial reading deficiency, she/he should not be retained.
Parents must be strong advocates for their child. The FLDOE documents made available here are public documents. There is no secret. Use them to protect your children.
Most important links to support authentic portfolio assessment *
When a third grade student in Florida fails the FSA, or opts out of the FSA, they will need a Good Cause Exemption to be promoted to the fourth grade. Parents will need to work with their child’s school to make that happen. The Alternative Assessments allowed by the State for a Good Cause Exemption can be another test, but it can also be a portfolio; a TRUE portfolio, not a battery of secret mini-tests from Florida’s Item Bank and Test Platform.
Kevin Foster is a Lake County father and Administrator forOpt Out Lake County, who opts his child out of the FSA. As a result of advocating for Lake County to include a true portfolio in the district’s Student Progression Plan (SPP), the Lake County SPP now includes language (just one phrase) that supports the use of a true portfolio, for a Good Cause Exemption. A TRUE portfolio is a collection of your child’s work throughout the school year.
Some districts already include this language in their SPP, but some do not. Some districts, which have true portfolio language (which comes directly from Florida Statute) in their SPP, do not comply with that SPP. Only parents can hold their feet to the fire.
Here’s what Kevin shared:
After several unproductive meetings with various Lake County School District administrative officials, my wife and I were invited by Superintendent Kornegay to sit down for a discussion regarding the Portfolio option as a Good Cause Exemption from 3rd Grade Mandatory Retention. We discussed a wide range of topics including participating, but minimally, in the FSA, DOE Rule 6A-1.094221, and the results of the (then recently decided) lawsuit by 3rd Grade parents against the State and several school districts.
We explained our view that opting out, or minimal participation (signing the test and pushing it away without answering any questions), satisfied the statutory requirement that all students participate in FSA testing.
We also pointed out that there was a key part ofRule 6A-1.094221that was seemingly being ignored by everyone, which stated that, “chapter and unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum could be used as part of the portfolio.”
We also explained our view, that it was a waste of precious instructional time to remove a child from the classroom in order to give them a battery of mini-tests from Florida’s Item Bank and Test Platform.
And, we pointed out that the (then) recent Appeals Court ruling against parents answered a key question about who has the final say on promotion to 4th grade. The Court said it was the Superintendent (not the FLDOE). We explained that this meant that the process was intended to be a bottom-up thing, rather than a top-down thing, and that teachers and principals should be allowed to make a recommendation for promotion if they believe the student deserves to be promoted.
At the end of that meeting, Supt. Kornegay asked me directly, “What do you want me to do?”
I replied, “I want you to put this specific language about the portfolio from FLDOE Rule 6A-1.094221 into the Lake County 3rd Grade Progression Plan.”
It said (referring to the portfolio Good Cause Exemption), “Such evidence could be selected from… chapter and unit tests from the district’s/schools’s adopted core reading curriculum.” This may seem like a small thing, but it’s not.
The very next time that the Progression Plan was up for a vote before the School Board, that language was included in the draft version, and the Board voted to approve it. It’s been there ever since. (You can find it on Page 36 of the Lake County Progression Plan which can be downloadedhere.
Well… the Chapter and Unit Tests are the work that your child does throughout the school year. It’s a true portfolio. If your child does well on those chapter and unit tests throughout the year, there should be no (or very little) need to remove them from class to create a portfolio based on the Florida Item Bank and Test Platform. Some of those Item Bank mini-tests may still be necessary in order to round out your child’s portfolio if they don’t have all 3 examples of each of the 22 standards. (Also, keep in mind that they must score at least a 70 for each of those to count as a valid example.)
What if your school insists that they will not start a portfolio for your child until AFTER the FSA has been administered?
As I see it, you have two options. You can either educate yourself about the standards and attempt to collect the portfolio items yourself as they come home from school with your child, or… you could lean on this specific note from the top of Page 37 in the Progression Plan. It’s also in the FLDOE TAP with Rule 6A-1.094221 and Florida Statute cited.
“Note: A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin the portfolio assessment process.”
If you write a letter to your school principal announcing your intention to opt-out/minimally participate in the FSA, that act alone should immediately “identify” your child as “being at risk of retention,” since retention is mandatory without a passing grade on the FSA. I cannot guarantee that this part of the process will work, but if you think about it, it makes a certain amount of sense. Be prepared to fight for that “at risk” identification.
If your child’s teacher agrees to develop a portfolio, you should request to examine it from time to time to make sure it’s being maintained. Parents in other districts have been told that a portfolio would be developed, only to find at the end of the year that it was not. You do not want to get to the end of the year and not have that portfolio documenting your child’s proficiency of the standards.
You should also be prepared to compile the portfolio yourself. If you find yourself in this position, you’ll need to make sure that every “chapter and unit test” which is graded gets sent home to you for your collection. Every one of those “chapter and unit tests” should include a notation regarding which standards are being assessed. Note also that a single question may provide for more than one example, and for more than one standard. (Remember, 3 examples of each of the 22 standards are required.) The sooner you get started compiling the portfolio, the better.
One final reminder: I cannot guarantee that this will work. But, it is the process that I envisioned when I asked Supt. Kornegay to add that specific language to our progression plan.
Remember that opting out is an act of civil disobedience intended to challenge/change the current system. It requires courage and tenacity, but…. if successful, you will have blazed a trail for others to follow.
Good luck. ___________
“The statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment is not the sole determiner of promotion and that additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are available to the child to assist parents and the school district in knowing when a child is reading at or above grade level and ready for grade promotion.” (Section 1008.25(5)(c)6, F.S.)
Teachers’ comment after release of 3rd Grade FSA scores
PARENTS, if your child failed the FSA and you’ve just found the Opt Out network and haven’t read anything about this until now… it will be up to YOU to fight retention. You can.
Get out your highlighter… You have some reading to do.
EVERY third grade parent should familiarize themselves with this document and work through it with the teacher and school to develop a Good Cause Exemption. This is the most current FLDOE Technical Assistance Paper (TAP) on promotion to 4th grade. It spells out the approved alternative assessments and scores required for a Good Cause Exemption.
If you have received a retention notice, this is the document to guide your actions toward promotion. USE IT. Print it out and share it with the school. They’ve probably never seen it.
Please read it from beginning to end.
PRINT THIS DOCUMENT AND TAKE IT TO YOUR MEETING AT SCHOOL. Use it in discussing anything to do with third grade right now.
Also find your current district Student Progression Plan. It’s on the internet. The whole progression plan could be more than 100 pages, so locate and print just the section on Third Grade promotion, retention and Good Cause Exemptions. Take this to your meeting as well.
These documents should be required reading for every third grade teacher and elementary school principal. It’s unacceptable if they don’t know. Parents should not have to provide this info to schools. But if they do, it’s here.
Read the various sections on Portfolio and “Navigating the Threat of Retention.” There’s a LOT of information and you may be overwhelmed, especially if you’ve just found us. Read it all.
No school has an incentive to retain a child, especially one who is not deficient. Most kids will get through this with a Good Cause Exemption. You’re getting mandatory notifications from school now. They are covering their butts. AND YOUR KID’S. SO WORK WITH THEM. NICELY.
That said, YOU have options:
Send an email today to your principal:
“In response to this notice about possible retention, I am requesting a copy of (Name)’s complete academic record, to include all assessments done with results for this school year.
Does (name) have a documented reading deficiency and if so, what is the specific basis for that determination? Because of the timeframe, please provide the copies on Tuesday, so that I can review them before the last day of school, Wednesday.
Thank you in advance for your kind assistance. Sincerely,…..
To compile a portfolio, collect all of your child’s work from the school year and organize it by date order in a 3-ring binder, separated by subject – Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Science and Social Studies can be used to cover the non-fiction reading requirements.
IF you have enough of your child’s classwork to show that he passed the required standards, you may be able to compile a portfolio that can be certified by a teacher or principal as meeting the required standards for promotion to 4th grade.
If the school or the district refuse to assess your child’s portfolio, you can withdraw your child from school, register him as a home school student, get his student portfolio of classwork certified as passing by a certified teacher and re-enroll in 4th grade. If not… keep reading.
(NOTE: if your child is in a charter school or a magnet outside of your school zone, your child could lose their place if you withdraw him/her.)
You also COULD try to push the district to promote based on the report card – which the Florida Statute allows …
But THAT would require you suing the district to comply. Can you say “attorney fees”?
State-approved list of alternative assessments. Student must pass just one assessment to earn a Good Cause Exemption for promotion to the 4th grade.
From the list above, some districts allow the use of any of the assessments listed. Other districts limit which assessments may be used. This should be listed on the district’s current Student Progression Plan (SPP), searchable on the internet.
Most teachers like the SAT10, because it accurately represents the standards taught and does not include trick questions and test distractors. It’s a good, fair assessment with shorter reading passages, more age-appropriate vocabulary and most kids do well on it.
IF you request the SAT10 and your district won’t administer it, you can ask HOW they would accept it from an outside testing company. Hernando County accepts SAT10 results from an outside testing company. Here is a letter that you can share with your school:
Hernando County Schools letter about SAT10
If a student needs some time to prepare for the SAT10, parents can order the workbook online, or they can help their child online. You can check out the SAT10 here: www.setontesting.com
Some helpful information from teachers:
SUMMER SCHOOL Some schools are telling parents that they can only administer the SAT10 AFTER summer school. The State does not require summer school before the SAT10 may be administered. So if parents want the SAT10, they will have to ask the school or district to show where it is written that they must complete summer school first.
There are some students, who would benefit from summer school before going on to 4th grade. Some programs are terrific, with low student:teacher ratios and fun built in. Hopefully they’ll even get to read some real books!
There are kids who would be better off going to 4th grade and getting the appropriate support then.
There are also kids who can read just fine and just need to pass a test to satisfy the system.
But seriously. They don’t call it summer SCHOOL for nothing. It’s still MORE SCHOOL, with the specific purpose of getting them ready to pass yet one more test. If their reading skills improve as well, we’ll call that a freebie.
Brandy Paternoster is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to make #180DaysCount in school. Her compelling address at the Broward County Public Schools’ Board meeting yesterday, is an indictment of the district’s position and their appeal of Judge Karen Giever’s Court ruling on August 26.
Watch as she holds the Broward County School Board accountable for their failure to do what is right for students (beginning at 0:50):
“This board must learn to start trusting teachers. Give them guidelines and set them free to teach. You have the ability to stop playing games with children’s lives. I urge you to stop supporting the DOE in its endless attempts at stalling the Third Grade lawsuit.”
____________________
Here is a transcript of Brandy’ Paternoster’s address:
“Good afternoon. My name is Brandy Paternoster and these are my 4th grade twins, Dylan and Jadyn. They have attended Manatee Bay Elementary in Weston since the first grade. They passed the 3rd grade last year …according to their teachers and according to their report cards, but the district says they must be retained.
My children met test participation requirement by signing the FSA test booklet and breaking the seal. At no time was I ever notified that either child has a reading deficiency. Two days before school ended, the principal advised us that without a test score, both children did not meet criteria to be promoted to 4th grade. I requested that a portfolio of their school work be compiled to prove proficiency as outlined in state Administrative Code and was told that such a thing does not exist. I demanded that my children be promoted based on their report cards per Florida Statute 1008.25 (6)(b)7.c)1. which clearly states:
“Requests for good cause exemptions for students from the mandatory retention requirement… …shall consist only of the existing PMP, IEP, report card, or student portfolio.”
I was ignored. The principal stated that it was coming down from the district and that without a test score, her hands were tied.
“Let’s get them to 4th grade” she said. “That’s where they should be! Just have them take the SAT-10 test and this can all be resolved!”
I refused any additional testing because test participation requirement had already been met and our children are more than a test score!
As part of the school board’s case against us in the “3rd Grade Retention Lawsuit” the principal filed an affidavit. Here is a quote:
“18. Based on the above information and my numerous years as an educator, I do not believe either student has the reading ability to complete 4th grade material.” -Heather Hedman-DeVaughn, Principal – Manatee Bay Elementary
This is a direct quote from the principal’s sworn statement. Let that sink in. Back in June, all they needed was a test score to promote. Now, all of a sudden, they are not even proficient? You see, in addition to providing the facts and dates and emails and documents as required of her in her affidavit, this “educator” made a choice. Her statement could have read, “Because they did not meet the state requirement…” or “Because they don’t have a test score…” and though I don’t agree with either statement, they would still have supported the districts stance without crossing any lines. But she didn’t. She made a choice. For a test score.
“I do not believe either student has the reading ability to complete 4th grade material.”
She chose to lie. I don’t know if her statement was influenced by her supervisors (I suspect that it was) or if she chose those words all by herself. We may never know, but make no mistake, she made a choice.
Mrs. DeVaughn made a choice to NOT stand up for children who were present in the classroom for 180 days of work, who do not have a reading deficiency and who clearly are on grade level. She chose not to support her teachers, whom she hired, or their ability to teach and grade students effectively and accurately. She chose not to trust in their teaching certificates or their degrees or their most basic moral character. She chose not to back her own school or the systems she has put in place to ensure her wards navigate the education system successfully.
Mrs. DeVaughn chose to support a testing system that is broken and in doing so betrayed it all. Her statement says that her school failed to catch, not one, but two students who supposedly can’t keep up but passed all subjects. It says that her hiring practices failed. It says that two good teachers are incompetent liars. It says that two amazing children are failures.
For a test score.
Mrs. DeVaughn chose to sacrifice 2 children to the gods of “The Test” presumably to garner some unimaginable favor. She chose wrong. And you, as school board members, chose wrong when you decided to appeal Judge Gievers’ ruling. Her ruling untied your hands and gave you the opportunity to say, “Ya know what, we screwed up, but we’re gonna fix it now,” but you didn’t.
I leave you with one final thought.
My tax dollars, your tax dollars are paying for lawyers to fight against children who are clearly proficient, as defined by the letter of the law – to punish me for standing up and saying “NO” to a flawed testing system. Our tax dollars are being used to appeal the judge’s ruling, that was in our favor, that said, “Yes, the FDOE and the Broward County School Board did indeed act unlawfully”; to make an example of us for daring to have a voice and to ensure that no one else will ever be brave enough to do the same.
Let me be clear. I will not go quietly into the night.”
I stand here for our teachers.
I stand here for our children.
They are more than a test score!
Thank you.”
____________________ Sincere thanks to the members of the Broward Teachers Union for supporting Brandy and Trudy by yielding their time so that they could properly address these issues with the Broward Board.
____________________
The plaintiff families are fighting to hold the FLDOE and school districts accountable to the PUBLIC. They are fighting for all children in Florida public schools.
I recently posted a checklist for a statutory portfolio, created by certified teachers, that meets the State’s requirements for a portfolio assessment, using not a series of test bank items, but third grade classwork, which, by the way, includes tests.
What’s going on right now?
Many schools have been welcoming and accommodating, but others have resisted and even pushed back. Some schools have gone so far as to declare that students with no prior history of reading difficulty suddenly have a reading deficiency…. OK… isn’t this the perfect reason why a portfolio should be maintained?
Like many others, I’ve successfully opted my ten and twelve year old children out of testing for the past four years, without incident. The path will be much clearer after the judge rules on the state’s and districts’ appeals and we are all anxious for resolution, but in the meantime, here are some suggestions:
STEP 1:
Develop a relationship of respect with your child’s teacher. It will go a long way to
fostering mutual trust all year long. Necessary. Your request for a portfolio can wait until AFTER Open House. There is too much going on at Open House and you need to have a one-on-one conversation.
AFTER Open House, email and ask for a brief meeting, before or after school to address some concerns and observations.
Print this brief letter out, bring it with you to give it to the teacher at your meeting. E-mail a copy to the teacher and principal after the meeting to maintain a record of your request.
Date:
Dear Ms. Crabtree,
I have concerns about (name)’s performance on testing, which could put him at risk of retention. I am therefore asking respectfully, that a portfolio of classwork be maintained for him.
In order to make this as simple as possible for you, I have attached a sample Third Grade Portfolio Checklist with Portfolio Instructions that meets the state’s portfolio requirements. Other teachers have found it extremely helpful.
Thank you, in advance for your kind cooperation. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you and if you have any questions. We’re looking forward to a great year in your class!
Sincerely,
That’s it.
____________
Your own checklist of items to print and bring with you to meeting:
Brief letter requesting portfolio – 2 signed and dated copies
Step 2: The meeting
Be respectful of the teacher (and students). Be on time. You can be frank and let the teacher know that you see and feel a lot of emphasis put on making sure the kids pass a test that isn’t even for another seven months. Tell her you have concerns that although your child is a good student, that you are concerned that he isn’t consistently a great test-taker and one bad day could be a disaster, putting him at risk of retention, so you are requesting that she, please, maintain a portfolio.
Present your letter and let her know that it is not your intention to create more work for her, so you have taken the liberty to share the portfolio checklist with her. The extra copy of the letter is for the principal.
You can choose to discuss opting out of the test or not at this time. I would suggest that unless you feel the teacher will be supportive, that you hold off on this, as long as you know that a portfolio will be maintained, you got what you came for. There is plenty of time to notify the teacher and school that you will be opting out.
If you feel you must advise the school about opting out, let them know that you have done your homework and have considered this carefully. You are taking a stand because you see how testing drives everything in school.
Let the teacher know that you trust her professional judgment and ability to teach and assess your child on a daily basis, far more then you trust a single test on a single day to tell you if your child is learning and developing appropriately and whether your child is fit for promotion or not.
Step 3: If your request for a portfolio is refused.
No need to raise the specter of opting out just yet. If the teacher or principal still resist the portfolio after this, then you can go into more detail.
“To clarify – if you are refusing to maintain a portfolio for Matthew, I’d like to point out that per FS 1008.25(5)(c)7.,
“…A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.”
In the interest of making sure that Matthew is able to demonstrate mastery of the standards at the end of the year, please let me know if I can be of help in organizing his portfolio.
Thank you for your understanding.”
This also applies if the school tells you that the portfolio tests are the only acceptable portfolio. It simply isn’t true.
Step 4: Maintaining your own portfolio at home
If you choose not to fight the school and want to compile your child’s portfolio, then you will still need to collect ALL work completed at school to get it all organized.
“As you are not maintaining a student portfolio for Matthew, as I requested, I am formally requesting that you notate the standard(s) assessed on each assignment completed in class and return to me weekly, so that I may keep a portfolio that will demonstrate that he is fit for promotion at the end of the year.”
If you are maintaining the portfolio, all you need is a 3-ring binder and a few dividers. Separate the work into subjects (Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies) and save them in date order.
____________
The threat of retention can cause anxiety for many families, but I’d like to ask you to put yourself in the teacher’s shoes for a moment. A curt, demanding letter from a parent can be intimidating and is, at the very least, off-putting. It’s possible for this process to take a few weeks of communicating back and forth, especially if the school invokes the powers of the district. It could be a very simple one time conversation, but it could also be challenging. Be patient. If you start early, you should have ample time.
NOTE
Many teachers are still unaware that districts were taken to task by Judge Gievers for not doing a portfolio as parents requested early on. They may be unaware that going forward, such refusal may be considered a violation of Judge Gievers’ Court Order.
Feel free to print out these sections of the Judge’s ruling for your child’s teacher if you feel you need the back up:
Summary of Rulings #18, p 13 of 51
Summary of Rulings #40, p 24-25 of 51
Rulings #5, p 49 of 51
This may be all that’s needed, though I’d hate to start the year off this way. Based on your relationship with the teacher, it’s a judgement call on your part.
Try to keep it as simple and as cordial as possible. You CAN assume the best and give teachers and staff the benefit of the doubt, unless they prove you wrong. There is no need to put anyone on the defensive. Smile.
YES – How can we work together in the best interests of my child?
NO – Why won’t you do this for me?
Consider for just a moment, that most teachers are not even aware of “Activist World.” Most teachers stay up late grading tests and assignments, working on lesson plans, answering emails from PARENTS. Many teachers sacrifice precious personal time with their own families so that they can do their best for other people’s children.
So parents, please think twice before storming the castle, waving the judge’s orders and demanding portfolios. Parents absolutely have a right to ask for, and to receive a portfolio. But let’s first think of how we can help teachers to understand that we want to work WITH them, that we are doing this because we have more faith in them than we do in a single high stakes test and we support them as the experts.
Teachers should be aware that you are HELPING to make sure that your child is promoted, not retained, which one would also assume could ultimately affect his/her evaluation.
Until now, I have felt that some of the most successful opt outs are done quietly in schools, where there is no disruption caused to your child’s classmates and school.
But is DISRUPTION what is needed to cause an entire paradigm shift?
Disruption in your child’s school (not OK) is different from disruption in the community (very OK). Disruption doesn’t have to be “in your face” with your school. It can be simply you sharing what you know everywhere. It can look like this car in the carpool line every day. This one happens to belong to a former teacher.
Or it could look like a parent sharing Opt Out flyers at Saturday soccer. (Updated flyers will be available soon after the judge rules on the state’s appeal.)
Disruption could also look like parents addressing genuine concerns at public school board meetings. We must hold those in positions of authority accountable. We can do that by being a voice for our children with those who make the decisions affecting our children’s daily experience in school. If parents are to have an authentic voice in their child’s education, they must not only be informed, but they must help others to be informed as well. That includes school board members, legislators, etc. When you inform them at board meetings and legislative delegation meetings, it’s a public record and you take away their ability to claim, “I didn’t know.”
If we are to take our classrooms back for real teaching and learning, imagine this…
If your child’s teacher knew that none of her students would be taking the FSA, what would be the point of ANY test prep? She would be free to teach authentically and your child would be free to LEARN. Imagine just one classroom like this all year long. Now, imagine all classrooms like this, all year long, across our entire state.
When I asked my son’s teacher to do a portfolio a few years ago, she said it was no problem, because she had already started to do it for a few kids in class, who she felt were struggling. This is nothing new. It has been done, is being done and you have a right to ask. So ask. Nicely.
For years, school boards have been telling parents how much they sympathized and empathized with us, as we have pleaded and protested to make a year of school count for more than one test. There are districts doing right by the children and promoting them, as the law specifies. However, immediately following Judge Gievers’ ruling last Friday, effectively “untying the hands” of all school districts in Florida to do as parents have requested and use a portfolio assessment (not the same as the state’s portfolio test bank), Orange and Hernando Counties filed their already prepared appeals. It’s clear now, that the boards’ chants of, “Our hands are tied” were just excuses to not do better. Sadly, yesterday, Broward and Seminole Counties followed suit, in defiance of the judge’s orders.
In response to the districts’ motions for appeal, this “Open Letter to Florida School Boards” was penned by parent activist, Jinia Parker of Pinellas County. We couldn’t have said it better and we are sharing it here with permission:
____________________
Dear Florida School Boards,
Parents, educators and activists have reached out to you for years, asking for your help and guidance. Again and again we got the same messages.
“Our hands are tied.” “We must follow the law.” “We wish we could do things differently, but…”
The order issued last week by a Florida Court finally freed those hands completely as the judge’s order made it clear that the districts had not been following the law (as directed by the purposely absent hand of the FLDOE).
I waited for the celebration from the districts. Finally! Those hands were freed and with them, so too, our kids. Finally! School boards were free to follow the statutes plain language AND with the support of the court. Finally! You could authorize superintendents and principals to promote all those proficient students to fourth grade, saving tax dollars & reducing the harm already done to them under your authority. Finally! School boards could recognize, as it was demonstrated plainly in court, that the FLDOE does not have your back. Finally! The focus of school districts would be our students, not serving the illegal mandates of the FLDOE.
That isn’t what happened.
First, Orange County Public Schools appealed the judge’s ruling, followed by Hernando, Broward, and sadly, Seminole Counties. The FLDOE’s appeal is expected, but I’d rather the districts hadn’t raced them to do so. Though it shows us who is who.
This speaks volumes about those districts, demanding free hands to continue harm against students. If you think parents won’t be aware, you are wrong. I believe the impeachment of any elected official, seeking to continue harm to children by refusing to follow a court order is not only appropriate, but the only appropriate action. I’m asking that they resign right now. I have little hope of that, given the complete lack of honor with which these districts (and therefore school Boards) have approached the last school year (and more) on this subject.
I will not accept “our hands are tied” ever again. Throughout history, “I was following orders” has been the excuse of cowards and those who lack honor.
I’m not asking for anything extraordinary. I am asking that school boards in Florida do the right thing.
These families, including children, chose to be honorable and brave. You should try it.
Out of patience,
Jinia Parker #180DaysCount
__________________
==>> TAKE ACTION: Use #180DaysCount
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On Friday, August 26, 2016, Florida Circuit Court Judge, Karen Gievers ruled as follows:
Even before last Friday’s court ruling affirming what we have long believed, The Opt Out Florida Network had been inundated with requests from parents, who want to know how to make sure that their children’s 180 days in school aren’t laid to waste by a single State test, that could send their child back to the third grade, even after they have proved mastery of the required standards.
Certified teachers have created a portfolio checklist, with all of the State’s portfolio requirements outlined in Florida Statute, Florida Administrative Code and a FLDOE Technical Assistance Paper. At the risk of redundancy, multiple sources are cited throughout this post in order to assure parents, teachers, administrators and school districts that the checklist offered here does indeed meet ALL of the State’s required guidelines for a portfolio used as an alternative assessment.
In an ideal world, proof of competency, proficiency and mastery would be demonstrated in an authentic portfolio of work completed independently in a classroom, under the guidance of a trusted, professional teacher.
TO BE VERY CLEAR – As far as The Opt Out Florida Network is concerned, an authentic student portfolio would include various types of student work samples: artwork, creative writing, evidence of deep understanding, evidence of critical thinking, independent projects, etc.
It appears that the stance of the FLDOE has been that no parent should expect that an authentic portfolio would be used for promotion in any Florida public school, even with all of the “honor and privilege” of a teacher’s degree and certification behind it. Because we just can’t trust teachers. But we can trust a glitch-ridden, developmentally inappropriate, not fully validated, multiple choice test with “fluid” cut scores.
The State says that report cards are meaningless and have therefore created test bank items that may make up a “test portfolio.” The law does NOT require parents to accept a portfolio comprised only, or in any way, of these test bank items.
Adopted Core Reading Program – consists of end of chapter or unit tests; and
Teacher, school or district-prepared assessment examples.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
NOWHERE does it say that a portfolio must utilize ANY content from the IBTP. _________________________________________________________________
Many teachers have reported that the portfolio assessments are even more developmentally inappropriate for the average third grader than the FSA practice test. If a parent refuses the alternative testing offered and insists on a statutory portfolio, it would be made up of the assessments (assignments, projects, reports, quizzes, tests) done in school throughout the regular school year.
Parents should be aware that these may now include competency-based education, such as progress monitoring (predictive testing) from iReady, STAR, Accelerated Reader and so on. Some parents allow their students to take these tests, not knowing that they have a choice. Many parents successfully refuse these tests and ask that their child be given reading or other work of the teacher’s choosing. There is no State mandate for these additional tests, no matter what a school district may tell you. If you are told that they are mandated, you should be asking “By whom?” and you should also be asking for the statute mandating such testing. The ONLY State-mandated test is the FSA.
One of the most important statements we make in refusing these tests is that we trust that our teachers are trained professionals. We have more trust and confidence in their ability to work with our children all year long, to teach and to assess them, than we do in any single test.
For the purposes of clarity here, we will distinguish between an “authentic portfolio,” the state’s “test portfolio” and a “statutory portfolio”, which is the one we offer help with here. To this end, certified teachers have created a checklist to to help track the development of a statutory third grade portfolio throughout the school year, that would meet the requirements of Florida law as well as that of the Dept. of Education.
Parents may ascertain that their child’s work will count for SOMETHING by requesting that a portfolio of completed classwork be compiled and maintained to assure a more meaningful record of a student’s work throughout the year, than the state’s series of portfolio tests.
The checklist is a user-friendly, expandable table in a word doc. It has been tested by a third grade teacher, who recently used it to certify a retained student’s portfolio.
In her words,
“This is a wonderful tool!
The idea to have the standards broken up into clusters and space to list the examples underneath each cluster came from my recent experience of validating a retained child’s body of work from scratch. It was helpful in keeping everything organized. To be sure, many assignments landed in more than one area. When I was finished, however, I ended up with a nice list of each standard with three examples. This way I could also tell if there was enough evidence for each standard easily.
This was what worked for me. If a teacher keeps up with the portfolio throughout the year and is fairly organized, it may not be necessary. But, I really liked having a list of assignments under each standard- it was useful “at-a-glance”, which may also be helpful for teachers who may be responsible for multiple portfolios. It should be simpler if it is collected and documented throughout the school year. This tool really helped me. Thank you so much, everyone, for creating it.”
The requirements* for a “statutory portfolio” are summarized:
3 assessments per standard
Each assessment is multiple choice
Each must have a score of 70% or higher
60% Literary Text passages, 40% Informational Text passages
Passage word counts must be between 100 – 700 words, the overall average word count of the passages is to be 500 words.
This is far from an authentic representation of all of the work your child will do for 180 days with their teacher in the Third Grade. But following these guidelines should fulfill the state’s portfolio requirements in order to avoid what so many families are enduring now.
_________________ Guidelines to school districts from the FLDOE are repeated in FLDOE Technical Assistance Paper (TAP) Third-Grade Student Progression – Oct 24, 2014 (Pages 5-7) The criteria for a Statutory Portfolio are spelled out in the above referenced TAP, as well as in (Florida Administrative Code) FAC 6A-1.094221*
Excerpt: (3) To promote a student using a student portfolio as a good cause exemption there must be evidence that demonstrates the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards in reading equal to at least a Level 2 performance on the grade three statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. Such evidence shall be an organized collection of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade three statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. The student portfolio must meet the following criteria:
(a) Be selected by the student’s teacher,
(b) Be an accurate picture of the student’s ability and only include student work that has been independently produced in the classroom,
(c) Include evidence that the standards assessed by the grade three statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment have been met. Evidence is to include multiple choice items and passages that are approximately sixty (60) percent literary text and forty (40) percent information text, and that are between 100-700 words with an average of 500 words. Such evidence could include chapter or unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum that are aligned with the Language Arts Florida Standards or teacher-prepared assessments.
(d) Be an organized collection of evidence of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade three statewide English Language Arts Florida Standards Assessment. For each standard, there must be at least three (3) examples of mastery as demonstrated by a grade of seventy (70) percent or above on each example, and,
(e) Be signed by the teacher and the principal as an accurate assessment of the required reading skills.
_____________________
Should a parent be told that the portfolio tests are the only acceptable portfolio, they should know and share with their school, that per FS 1008.25(5)(c)7.,
“…A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for a portfolio.”
As Judge Gievers’ ruling reinforces:
and finally,
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Judge Gievers did not “order” what we think of as a teacher-developed portfolio. She said a portfolio or report card was allowed by law. She stopped short of differentiating between a test portfolio and one that is more representative of what is actually produced daily. That definition will have to be challenged in a separate case. What we have provided (the portfolio checklist) will satisfy the law, but you do need to work with your teacher on this. There is no guarantee that your school will go along with this, but there is also no reason for them not to. (Updated 9/8/16)
A complete copy of Judge Gievers’ ruling and Court Order can be found here.
To learn more about the lawsuit to fight mandatory third grade retention, follow the hashtag #180DaysCount on Facebook and Twitter.
In Just Read Florida’s Read to Learn, the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is clear:
“The purpose of retention is to give children who have substantial reading deficiencies more time and the intensive instruction they need to catch up in reading.”
There are decades of solid research and scholarly articles about why third grade retention is not only not beneficial for students, but is, in fact, harmful. Therefore, if a student has no documented reading deficiency, it is even more obvious that no one is served by retaining a child simply because they are lacking a single test score. Not teachers, not schools, and most importantly, not the student. The opt out movement seeks permanent change for all children, with research-based decisions. Third Grade retention goes against all accepted scientific research about the best practices in education.
Florida law is clear:
FS 1008.25(5)(c)6. 6. That the statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment is not the sole determiner of promotion and that additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are available to the child to assist parents and the school district in knowing when a child is reading at or above grade level and ready for grade promotion.
“As superintendent of Pasco County Schools, I want to make it clear that I have no desire to retain third graders who clearly demonstrate that they have mastered state standards. Retaining students not only has questionable long-term benefits for the retained student, it also adds to the cost of educating them.”
And yet, as the school year has ended and satisfactory report cards have been sent home, many third grade students across Florida, whose report cards proved them proficient, but whose parents opted them out of testing, have been either retained (here, here and here), scheduled for summer school or further testing (SAT10, IOWA) before their districts will promote them. These children minimally participated in the FSA by sitting for the test, but did not complete the test and received no test score.
Throughout this post, I will refer to “portfolio tests” and “student portfolios.” This is an important distinction. The state has seen fit to “help us” by creating a bank of test items, which they call a “portfolio” (don’t forget the air quotes). That is not a portfolio. It is a series of tests (in some cases as few as 15 in Seminole or as many as 42 in orange), which cover the requirements to meet the required standards.
Some districts have promoted students without test scores (see here), confident that the children’s (satisfactory to excellent) report cards are evidence that they met the required standards to prove their mastery of third grade. Some children are in retention limbo, waiting for their districts to make final decisions to promote them or to continue this farce of retaining proficient children. Other districts, having foreseen this exact predicament, administered the state’s portfolio tests, some from the beginning of the school year, and were able to satisfy the good cause exemption from retention. Still other districts administered the SAT10 or the IOWA, post-FSA, both with and without parental knowledge, and promoted some of the children.
Parents, who opted out of the Third Grade FSA are testing the system and have also refused all manner of standardized testing. They are demanding that the districts promote their children based on their work, done throughout the school year. These courageous parents are not afraid of tests. A portfolio may contain many different kinds of tests and assessments done throughout the year. They object to the standardized tests which are used, not in service of their children’s education, but for the data used to rank and sort their children, teachers and schools, adding to the culture of incessant test prep which eats up valuable instruction time all year long. They object to promoting (or retaining) their children by a single test score, which denies teachers’ professional integrity and their children’s hard work. Reliance on a single test score denies the worth of a year of teaching and learning in the classroom.
Children with no FSA scores and NO reading deficiency are STILL at risk of retention. Many of us in the opt out movement believe strongly, that without evidence of a documented reading deficiency, a report card should suffice to promote a child from the third to the fourth grade. Most school districts either don’t agree, disbelieve this or they dismiss it. From our perspective, the only acceptable alternative assessment is the assessment of a student portfolio – a collection of a student’s independently completed work from the classroom, done throughout the school year.
“…nowhere in the state law does it say that a child with a poor score, or no score, must take an alternate test to the Florida Standard Assessment before seeking a portfolio option. In fact, the law offers a portfolio as an equal good cause exemption to an alternate assessment…”
In the absence of an FSA score, and in spite of having administered the IOWA twice in the year, Seminole County remains adamant about using only the SAT10 or the state’s portfolio tests for good cause exemption, instead of an actual portfolio of independently completed work, which, if the standards have been taught in this stellar district (7th out of 67 districts), all students should have. There should be no reason why the work would not match the standards.
In Seminole County, third grade students are among the most heavily tested in the state and are subjected to:
FSA – March through May
IOWA – October and April/May
Trimester exams – every 12 weeks
Progress monitoring Assessments – 3 times/year
Scholastic Reading Inventory – 4 times/year
This is in addition to Accelerated Reader, used to derive Lexile scores and all of the computer adaptive competency-based online tests, such as iReady and SuccessMaker, among others. Why insist on the portfolio tests, which is really just MORE testing, about which teachers have said repeatedly that very few third graders can pass because they are above grade level?
If schools are teaching the standards, a student portfolio would be proof that required standards are met. What reason then, could a district have for not using such a portfolio?
Consider…
If a teacher is not meeting the statutory requirements from their unit assignments or chapter tests, this begs the question: Why not? If a teacher does not have at least three pieces of evidence of students’ mastery for each standard, what is the teacher doing? If a teacher is concerned that the assignments they give through the year may not satisfy this requirement, that’s another question entirely. If a teacher says: “This is too hard” or “This is more than what I’m doing”, we can respond by asking: “Then, what exactly, ARE you doing?” Remember, our teachers are teaching the standards. And if they are not, that is where the Principal comes in. That’s a conversation to be had with the Principal and the Teacher.
The assessment of a student portfolio is, without question, the best test of a teacher’s and a district’s accountability, which is what the opt out movement supports. The student portfolio is the best evidence of a child’s work, on good days and bad, under the guidance and direction of a trained professional for all 180 days in school. When parents opt out of allowing the FSA to be the sole determiner of their child’s fitness for promotion, they entrust the authority of assessment where it belongs: in the teacher’s hands.
“What’s happening in third grade and throughout the state is we’re devaluing our teachers in third grade by saying it really doesn’t matter what you think, it doesn’t really matter what you say if they fail this test,” MacIsaac said.
The opt out movement is the strongest grassroots advocacy movement supporting teachers’ professional autonomy and authority, stronger than the PTA (where’s the T?), stronger than the two national teachers’ unions (NEA and AFT), which, in the past, have repeatedly avoided partnership opportunities to defend their own teachers’ classroom authority. Many teachers don’t even realize that this movement supports them, nor do they clearly understand how we do so. This is a reminder that the Florida Education Association has posted informational resources from The Opt Out Florida Network on the FEA website for teachers (also here).
Florida statutes and the Oct 24 2014 Student Progression Technical Assistance Paper both state that parents can choose a student portfolio as an alternative assessment and that a student need only pass ONE assessment to be promoted to the fourth grade. Nothing in Florida statute or the Student Progression Plan states that parents may/shall/must be denied the option to use a student portfolio as a good cause exemption – for any reason. AND the FLDOE has said there is no hierarchy of good cause exemptions, therefore, none is more or less valid than any other.
The FSA validity report said that the FSA does not fully align with all the required standards. (The DOE did counter by saying that almost every question did match a standard… just not necessarily the one it was claimed to match.) Since the requirements for a student portfolio do match the standards, a satisfactory student portfolio actually exceeds the standards tested by the FSA. A student portfolio is superior evidence of a student having mastered third grade requirements.
A portfolio is not simply a collection of a students work. A satisfactory portfolio must meet State requirements, and the requirements are not a breeze. The FL DOE clearly details the requirements for a student portfolio here:
B-2. When should the teacher and students begin the third-grade student portfolio?
A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the school year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for the portfolio.
B-3. Are there guidelines provided by the state for the third-grade student portfolio?
Yes. As provided in the updated Rule 6A-1.094221, F.A.C., to be accepted as meeting the portfolio option for demonstrating mastery of the required reading skills, the student portfolio must:
Be selected by the student’s teacher;
Be an accurate picture of the student’s ability and only include student work that has been independently produced in the classroom;
Include evidence that the standards assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts assessment have been met. Evidence is to include multiple choice items and passages that are approximately 60 percent literary text and 40 percent information text that are between 100-700 words with an average of 500 words. Such evidence could include chapter or unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum that are aligned with the Language Arts Florida Standards or teacher-prepared assessments;
Be an organized collection of evidence of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts assessment. For each standard, there must be at least three examples of mastery as demonstrated by a grade of 70 percent or above on each example; and
Be signed by the teacher and the principal as an accurate assessment of the required reading skills.
Additionally, note that the Just Read, Florida! Office has begun creating an updated Third-Grade State Portfolio.
B-4. Do the same portfolio guidelines apply to ESE students? Yes. The state portfolio guidelines apply to all students, including ESE students.
B-5. Is the student portfolio the only tool used for good cause exemption and/or promoting a third-grade student to fourth grade in the middle of the year? No. The student portfolio and an alternative assessment are the two state-approved options for good cause exemption and mid-year promotion. The student must be offered both options. However, the student must only demonstrate proficiency on one of the options in order to receive a good cause exemption or be promoted midyear.
B-8. Can grade 3 English Language Arts items from the Florida’s Item Bank and Test Platform be used as part of a student’s third-grade portfolio for good cause exemption or mid-year promotion? Yes. Items used in a student portfolio must meet the specifications stated in question B-3 Rule 6A-1.094221, F.A.C. NOTE: B-8: “…part of a student’s third-grade portfolio…” School districts have mistakenly turned Florida’s Item Bank and Test Platform (a series of tests) into the entire “portfolio.” This is a mistake, it’s lazy and parents should not accept this.
A student portfolio and portfolio test items are not interchangeable, nor were they intended to be. There is nothing in the state statutes, which supports having to use the state’s portfolio tests over a student portfolio. AND – Parents have the right to request it. No district can legally deny that option to parents, if it is requested.
Adopted Core Reading Program – consists of end of chapter or unit tests; and
Teacher, school or district-prepared assessment examples.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
NOWHERE does it say that a portfolio must utilize ANY content from the IBTP.
At the June 14 Orange County Public Schools board meeting, Vice Chair, Nancy Robbinson provided a strong statement of support for the use of an authentic portfolio to promote children who have no test score. (Watch from 2:07:39)
Nancy Robbinson stated:
“At our last board meeting, several weeks ago, there were some comments made that implied that… parents were harming their children by having them minimally participate and not take the FSA. And I just have to defend those families. It’s their choice to send their child to public school to begin with; their choice to have their child participate in all the different things we offer. I understand that in the Third Grade, state requirements says that they have to take the FSA, but there are other options.
If you read the statute, there’s are other options. There’s a portfolio statute, that you can start at the beginning of the year. Up until recently, it used to be that the portfolio was really there for teachers, for students that they felt wouldn’t be promoted, because they might not pass the test.
But through this little bit of crisis we went through, going back and forth like Mr Katz said, where the DOE threw the school boards, the districts under the bus, through that, I think we’ve all determined, if you really read the statute for what it really says, and it’s very clear – The teachers CAN choose the portfolio items that they want their students to have. And we’ve found that some of the teachers did a really great job of providing the proper work. When several of those families came in (I didn’t work with every family. I only worked with 8 that came to me. There were some that already been worked with through the same dept.) They came in and their work was so phenomenal that they just went tick, tick, tick, tick and met all the standards. It was really phenomenal.
So that led me to think – Why can’t we use the statute that the DOE is saying is our prerogative to do and be a little more proactive, now that we know this is available, rather than having to be reactive and scramble at the last minute? Why don’t we put out the information at the beginning of the school year – to the third grade parents, to the third grade teachers, to the principals, to the reading coaches and explain the statute – explain what their options are and explain what it looks like?”
Why indeed?
Some schools have said that they are not allowing the use of a student portfolio (not portfolio tests) because it is too time-consuming for the teachers. Some have said that the work alone does not show clear evidence of having met the standards. If the standards are what are being taught, then this should not be possible and that is not a problem solved by more testing.
Numerous teachers, including my children’s teachers from years ago, have stated that creating a portfolio as the work is done, is really just a matter of marking the standards required and assessed in school and saving the work in a simple folder. Social Studies and Science can be used to cover the informational text requirements.
Compiling a portfolio is not new and it is not rocket science.
This doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Parents need only request early on in the school year, that a portfolio be maintained because there is a risk that their child may be retained, and they need to request to examine the portfolio from time to time. This is necessary because in numerous instances, parents have been told that a portfolio was being maintained at their request, and then too late, found that it was not the case.
Parent and high school teacher, Joshua Katz spoke compellingly at the same board meeting and addressed the fact that his daughter, Abigail was promoted to the fourth grade without a test score by using a portfolio as her good cause exemption.
Wouldn’t a portfolio be a far more authentic, effective and informative assessment of a student’s progress than a one day snapshot? It would certainly provide immediate feedback for teachers and students – and it is there for immediate reference.
Three years ago, when my son was in the Third Grade in Orange County, I quietly asked my son’s teacher at the start of the school year, to maintain a portfolio because I would not be allowing him to take the FCAT. She said that it was no problem as she had already started a portfolio for a few students in the class, who she felt might be at risk. She was kind enough to ask if there were any other tests I wanted him not to take. I opted him out of iReady, AR and benchmark testing. I remember being concerned that there might not be enough “data” to promote him. A veteran Third Grade Teacher reassured me that there wasn’t any “data” that could be gotten from the online assessments, benchmark tests, etc. that my son’s teacher wasn’t able to get in the course of the day. She further reassured me that the data the teacher would get would be higher quality data, with which to immediately inform her instruction of my child.
My son was promoted without incident. There was ample evidence of his mastery. Because his teacher knew that he would not be taking “the test,” she was free to really teach him outside of the test prep box… and he was free to really learn.