Joe Cadillic writes:
The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), is planning on assessing students social and emotional “mindsets” like “grit,” “desire for learning,” and “school climate.”
According to the NAGB, school kids from 4th-12th., grades will be given ‘mindset assessments.’
Unfortunately, student assessments have been going on since 1990, students across the country at grades 4, 8 and 12 are being given reading, mathematics, writing, science, U.S. history, geography assessments.
Indoctrinating students and assessing their mindset was a hallmark of Nazi Germany. Our kids are being assessed from grade school through college. This should scare the crap out of everyone, why is the mass media silent as our gov’t assesses kids?
Read more on MassPrivateI.
Joe and I have had a fascinating debate about the rest of his post. We agree in principle that mindset assessments are just wrong for so many reasons, but we wound up in some gentle disagreement over the legality under federal laws. I think that districts may be able to get away with these if they obtain prior parental consent. I hope that if asked, parents do NOT consent, but that’s another story.
As I wrote to Joe in one of our exchanges today, I am actually all for academic assessments that can tell us whether children are ready for the next stage of curriculum or if they need additional rehearsal or remediation for. I don’t want children being pushed through the system, and such assessments can be used by parents to argue for more help and services for their child. But:
I draw the line at social-emotional assessments, which I think schools should ONLY be doing if: (1) they have empirically validated tools (which they generally don’t have) and (2) parental consent in advance, and (3) adequate data security and privacy protections (which they generally don’t have).
Go read Joe’s post and then reply either there or here to let us know what you think of this issue.
Sadly this is what needs to be one of the issues of the opt out movement should also be about. Too much emphasis on teacher evaluations and over testing but many parents do not realize it is also about data mining and giving third party vendors ( for profit companies) info to use kids as guinea pigs. I am afraid if districts give informed consent to have their child socially/ emotionally evaluated, a lot of personal information will be given to companies who made the computerized tests.
There is absolutely no reason to even consider this for schools. Empirical Evaluations and assessments have been used for years by teachers, counselors, psychologists, etc with using multiple modes of quantitative and qualitative assessment tools.
I think this is another attempt to make money through children by dangling carrot top money saying they are really trying to help.
If they really want this to go to fruition, I think a petition and protesting in insisting that an advisory board of experienced mental health professionals and educators to give input on what a real evaluation would be like. I am not agreeing with thks new idea but I am about speaking up to tell policy makers how it is really done ( not that they care what experienced professionals think in their field )
I’ll share my social-emotional mindset about this new assessment: i feel thatm it sucks.
Maxine, I am inner channeling the same feeling social emotional mindset .. 🙂
Trump Proposes, ‘Ideological Test’ For Some Visitors And Immigrants:
“In addition to screening out all members of the sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes towards our country or its principles or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law,” Trump said. “Only those who we expect to flourish in our country and to embrace a tolerant American society should be issued visas.”
http://www.npr.org/2016/08/15/490120381/trump-proposes-new-ideological-test-for-some-visitors-and-immigrants
I doubt if he’d pass any screening for individuals who would “embrace a tolerant American society,” so maybe some screening wouldn’t be such a Bad Thing? 🙂