Why are we having this conversation again?
Today, I am going to highlight Paula Drew, who, as the mother of a student with profound disabilities, has run up against bullies who want unnecessary, unrealistic Florida testing. Paula has kindly shared her moving speech to the Sarasota County School Board which you can find below.
Paula’s 15 year-old-daughter, Maddy, has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal. Paula requested that Maddy be exempted from the test. Maddy’s doctor listed reasons, in a letter, why Florida’s State Alternative testing was inappropriate, but Education Commissioner Pamela Stewart denied the request.
At first, Paula was threatened that her child would be removed from her special school if she did not comply and have Maddy take the test. Officials have since changed their minds, or attribute this to a misunderstanding.
Let’s be clear.
There have been, for many years, fair, observational assessments for students with profound disabilities. But that is not what this is about. This is about alternative testing that appears to be solely designed to go after teachers!
Also, students with severe disabilities are capable of learning—a lot. They can improve with speech and physical therapy. They can develop much needed communication and life skills to increase quality of living.
Starting where the student is at and moving forward step-by-step is what’s called for. Parents rely on good, realistic instruction.
It is a challenging job for a teacher, but, also, with the right support, one of the most joyful!
Helping teachers and parents work on behalf of a student with profound disabilities is what’s needed and to also encourage teachers to get the right professional preparation and work in this area.
It is beneath a student’s dignity to be subjected to unnecessary tests. And it is cruel to use students to make teachers look inadequate. It also doesn’t encourage young teachers to want to teach in this critical area.
Also, parents, it goes without saying, who have students with severe disabilities, should not have to endure this kind of treatment.
Citizens in the State of Florida need to have a talk (again) with Education Commissioner Pamela Stewart and her followers about compassion and who the Department of Education should be working for in that state.
Parents of students with severe disabilities should not have to still plead to them to get their students out of testing.
Here is Paula’s moving speech. And it is followed with links about her situation in the news.
My name is Paula Drew and I am Madison’s mom, and I take that role very seriously. As you have undoubtedly gathered, Madison cannot tell you how she feels about being made to take the Florida Standards Alternate Assessment. Madison communicates in various non-traditional ways such as pointing, gesturing, a few signs, and through a communication app on her personal ipad. None of these methods of communication are fool-proof and are often subject to interpretation. Because of Madison’s disabilities, she has limited life experiences and may not be able to identify with certain types of questions on the assessment. I don’t know about you, but I would not want my pay, job security, or school rating based upon what she may say when asked particular questions.
I’d like to borrow a term used in Commissioner Stewart’s letter to teachers dated March 3, 2014, wherein she was defending her actions with regard to harassment of Ethan Rediske and his family while he was on his deathbed. In her letter she states “It would be a moral outrage to deny that opportunity [referring to testing] to any child based on any reasoning, including special needs.” Well, that certainly speaks volumes as to the Commissioner’s morals and compassion and determination to test no matter what the cost! What is a moral outrage is asking special needs children (or any child for that matter) to perform on a one-size-fits-all assessment. What is a moral outrage is ignoring the child’s special accommodations outlined in their IEP. What is a moral outrage is not listening to the parents of said students who find it abusive to subject their special needs children to this assessment for hours on end. What is a moral outrage is using the results of said flawed assessment to rank students, calculate teacher pay, and assign grades to schools…but ESPECIALLY schools like Oak Park who service nothing but children with varying physical, intellectual, and/or emotional disabilities.
In 2014, as a result of the State’s harassment of families like the Rediske’s, Senate Bill 1642 was passed. That law restored a little bit of compassion and common sense to the State’s overzealous testing regime. That Bill allows for the exemption of medically complex children from taking standardized assessments. Even though I made my position known 10 months ago, it was just last week that we were given the procedure on how to apply for such an exemption with only four days to gather the documentation from a physician and hold an emergency IEP meeting. I requested a permanent exemption for my daughter as her condition will not change, and I already have enough paperwork and hoops to jump through on a daily basis just to address her basic needs. I do not want to repeat exemption process every year. The Commissioner will have to grant the exemption. I was told that she most likely will not given her past history denying most exemptions and the tone of her March 2014 letter. I would also like to note that I was told that Madison could be removed from her specialized school if I refused to allow her to be tested should the exemption be denied. If the exemption for my daughter is denied and/or she is removed from her specialized school, I am hereby putting the School Board and Department of Education on notice that I intend to do whatever it takes to see that this law is adhered to.
In summary, I know that Madison will never go to college, get a job, or leave home. I’m okay with that. All of the education and testing in the world is not going to change the fact that she’s severely disabled. But, you know what, she’s happily disabled and because of that, I’m okay. Yes, she’s somewhat educable, but not to Florida’s “Standards”. She goes to school to learn life skills. She goes to school to get social interaction. Madison is anything but standard!
Thank you, Paula!
Webb, Shelby. “Sate denies FSA exemption for disabled student.” Herald-Tribune. February 28, 2016.
Julie Borst says
This has to stop. I’d love to see Florida’s numbers that are reported to USDOE. What is their actual exemption rate? This is just disgraceful.
Nancy Bailey says
I cannot believe it. Like they didn’t learn a lesson?! Wrong on so many levels.
Jim Katakowski says
And they say Florida is ahead of Michigan, not really.
Nancy Bailey says
Sad to say, Jim, both had decent education systems once upon a time…. I lived in both states.
Paula Drew says
In 2015, the Commissioner granted 11 of these exemptions.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you, Paula.
Roxana Marachi, PhD (@ConnectEdProf) says
Thanks Nancy, for this post. The FSA is the same exact test as the “SmarterBalanced” and has been documented to be invalid and fraught with many problems (both with technological barriers and design flaws). Here is an article documenting how new tools meant to help special education students to take the tests actually made them harder: http://sco.lt/8SdJXV (assuming this is the same version of the FSA students are taking in Florida, just with a different acronym/name). More on the tests are at this collection: http://bit.ly/testing_testing and for folks interested in detailed critiques of the SBAC, see the Open Letter and Featured Post of Critical Questions on http://EduResearcher.com.
Nancy Bailey says
Thank you, Roxana. Strange they think every child can master the same material within a narrow framework. And here is what happens.
“Of the more than 300,000 students with disabilities who took the tests in California, 88% did not meet achievement targets in English language arts and 91% did not meet targets in math, according to data on the state’s testing website. Among California’s general education students, 52% failed to meet achievement targets on the exam in English language arts and 63% failed in math. Students with disabilities across the country similarly had lower scores than their peers on the new tests.”…
Paula Badger says
This is another outrageous example of an education system run by politicians with disdain for professional educators!
Nancy Bailey says
I’ll say! Thank you, Paula!
Laura Oosse McCrary says
Thank you for speaking up for Children with disabilities. This write-up is so much appreciated. Pam Stewart has no compassion for kids with disabilities. Much appreciated from Florida.
Nancy Bailey says
Perhaps she just doesn’t get it. Either way, after the situation with Ethan Rediske, as Paula points out, she should be better informed.
Thanks, Laura. You’ve got some troubling issues there.
Gayle Mullins-Shurling says
I cannot speak for what Pam Stewart thinks or feels. She may think testing is an “opportunity” as in passing the plate of cookies around to everybody in the group. If you want a cookies, take one. If not, just say “No thanks.” Maybe she thinks it isn’t okay not to offer. But these children cannot speak. They can only look at you and think, “No thanks.” Opt your child out. Do it ASAP.
Nancy Bailey says
Thanks, Gayle. I agree about opting out.
Pamela Stewart seems pretty draconian when it comes to testing kids. This from Diane Ravitch a few days ago.
http://dianeravitch.net/2016/03/03/florida-superintendent-to-schools-opt-out-is-not-permitted/