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Another Seattle school is joining Garfield High School teachers in boycotting a district-required standardized test that they say wastes time and resources. (AP Photo/file)

More Seattle teachers support Garfield teachers' boycott of standardized test

BY Jamie Skorheim  on January 15, 2013 @ 9:43 am (Updated: 10:30 am - 1/15/13 )

A group of teachers in another Seattle school are joining Garfield High School teachers in boycotting a district-required standardized test that they say wastes time and resources

The Seattle Times reports eleven teachers at ORCA alternative school in Seattle are also boycotting the test, joining all the teachers of Garfield High School who voted unanimously not to give the tests to their students.

Kris McBride, Garfield High School's testing coordinator, tells KIRO Radio's Andrew Walsh Show that teachers have a myriad of reasons for refusing to administer the test, one of the biggest she says is that it is difficult to prepare students.

"They put out this test but they don't release anything that helps our teachers prepare their kids. So our teachers have no idea what the test is going to look like," says McBride. "They feel like they're standing in front of a dart board with a blindfold on and somebody's saying, 'Good luck.'"

McBride says the test is required in that the district asks them to conduct it, but it is not applied to students grades or part of any graduation requirement. She says all it takes for a student to opt out is a call from a parent.

The district will reportedly begin using the test results as a tool to evaluate teachers. But McBride says the difficulty teachers have in preparing students, along with the fact that she says the content doesn't always match up with what students are being taught under state and district guidelines, has teachers feeling it is an unfair method of evaluation.

Jesse Hagopian, a teacher at Garfield High School, told CNN Tuesday that the MAP test is not a good tool for showing student growth.

"It's not properly aligned to our curriculum," says Hagopian. "Some of my colleagues want to replace this test with a better standardized test. But many of us like myself think we have too many tests."

McBride says some teachers have told her they'd be fine with the school evaluating them based on the other state-required tests given to students, including the HSPE (High School Proficiency Exam) or the EOC (End of Course Exam), but they don't feel evaluation based on the MAP test is appropriate.

"The concern about that isn't because my teachers don't want to be evaluated on how their students are doing. The concern about that is the evaluation tool itself," says McBride. "It's because the test is problematic in and of itself."

According to the Seattle Times, a group of 50 teachers at Ballard High School have also signed a letter supporting the Garfield teachers' decision, but have not indicated they will boycott the tests which are scheduled for January.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (14)


  • Add A Comment

  • doubleogordo wrote...
    If you can't get your students to pass standard exams...
    January 15, 2013 10:23 am
    Just get rid of them!!! P.s. Good luck getting into UW without standard test passing skills.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    once again..another idiot says something.
    January 15, 2013 4:16 pm
    on this sight, you are not alone.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    If the teachers dont do what's required of them, fire them!
    January 15, 2013 10:38 am
    Plain and simple. But we know that wont happen. Our kids are dumber than ever and somehow we still act like the teachers are heros.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    "Our kids are dumber than ever"
    January 15, 2013 4:16 pm
    you may have dumb kids, mine are brilliant.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Concerned US Citizen wrote...
    Good of the Students
    January 15, 2013 10:59 am
    I am sure the teachers will say it's for the good of the students. They are refusing to do their jobs and that is insubordination. FIRE THEM ALL NOW!!!!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • deltta wrote...
    Clearly all tests are unfair!
    January 15, 2013 11:24 am
    It gives an advantage to the smart kids....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    Deltta,
    January 15, 2013 4:17 pm
    I was wrong about you.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    i was ready to say, "fire them, then!" too...
    January 15, 2013 11:24 am
    but, then i read this:

    "McBride says the difficulty teachers have in preparing students, along with the fact that she says the content doesn't always match up with what students are being taught under state and district guidelines, has teachers feeling it is an unfair method of evaluation."

    that's why they're really against it. the test doesn't test the kids on the stuff the STATE mandates they should be taught! WHAT'S THE POINT OF THE TEST THEN!?

    how can kids be sucessful on a standardized test when nobody knows what will be ON the test?

    we're not talking about the SATs here. those happen after teenagers have made it through (or are toward the end of) ALL the education they can go through in regular school.

    these tests are supposed to be specific for EACH GRADE! BUT, if they nobody knows what's on the test AND they don't line up with state standards, it's setting students AND teachers up for failure.

    this is why education is in the predicament it's in. it's NOT teachers! we've ALL had at least a few bad teachers. it's the adminestration and the crazy hoops that they make the teachers and kids jump through!

    how much does the state pay for those tests? i'm sure it's a TON.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Oly80 wrote...
    ugh...
    January 15, 2013 11:26 am
    i need to spellcheck.

    *administration

    **successful

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    ding ding ding - Oly gets it!
    January 15, 2013 4:18 pm
    Lets see if any of you understand what he is saying.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • R L M 456 wrote...
    most of the Seattle teachers
    January 15, 2013 12:08 pm
    Can't spell test

    and "dats da troof

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Peggy Fischer wrote...
    PATHETIC
    January 15, 2013 3:08 pm
    Boycotting a nationwide test because "students can't prepare" and "feel stupid" when taking the test (according to the original article on Garfield) is absolutely pathetic. I left this district for Mercer Island this year because Seattle schools were doing an abysmal job with my sons, who are now thriving in a district that has HIGH EXPECTATIONS and a no BS philosophy. Seattle, get with the program or just give it up already.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    This TEST is a business venture,
    January 15, 2013 4:20 pm
    and the only benefit comes in the form of those who prepare and sell the material to the schools.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    Don't think like a neanderthal.........
    January 16, 2013 6:36 am
    Learn what the teachers are saying. This is not Walmart or a corporation. The Teachers have the kids best interests at heart -so drop the crap right-wingers.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }