We Have An Assessment Problem
2 min read
The Civil Rights Project has an updated report on rates of suspension in schools that came out on February 23rd. The report has some great details that show the scope of the issues facing us as we attempt to dismantle the school to prison pipeline.
But as I read about disproportionate rates of suspension based on race, I also think about the increased use of School Resource Officers, which place a beat cop in many schools. This results in school discipline issues becoming criminal justice issues.
This all takes place against the backdrop of the growing pushback against Common Core aligned assessments. Getting into the full scope of these arguments is not the focus of this piece, but there are a range of organizations and groups actively opposing the state-level implementations of both PARCC and SBAC tests.
Frequently, opponents of standardized testing decry how these tests narrow the curriculum - and while that has some merit, the rationale provided by Xian Barret has more substance.
Which brings me to our assessment problem: standardized tests produced by outside organizations will not reflect or represent community norms - this should surprise absolutely no one. Teacher developed assessments are frequently held up as the antidote. But, I think about the discipline referrals leading to disproportionate rates of suspension among students of color, and that these discipline referrals started with teachers. The disproportionate rates of suspension in our schools point to larger bias issues within schools. It's hard to see how this entrenched bias would not seep into locally designed assessments.
