As written into a recent article in the Albuquerque Journal, an Albuquerque, New Mexico Public School Board member publicly, but in many ways appropriately, unleashed her frustration over the use of standardized tests and VAMs in Albuquerque’s public schools.
This is a “must watch” video that can be watched in just over two minutes here.
At one point she said that she is “so goddamn grateful she (her eldest of four children, a high school senior) is leaving the public schools” system at the end of the school year, although she still has three children left in the system.” Hence, her outrage, but also her call to her fellow board members to delay, or rather suspend indefinitely the use of the state of New Mexico’s new Common Core tests and to suspend the use of such test scores in teacher evaluations using VAMs, also suspect as per the board. In the state of New Mexico, test scores are to make up 50% of all test-eligible teacher’s evaluation scores. She also cited the American Statistical Association (ASA) recently released Position Statement on VAMs (discussed here and directly accessible here).
A fellow board member criticized Kort for her language choices that he defined as “poor.” He and a few other members also criticized her for not wanting to continue to work with the state that is pushing VAMs as working and negotiating with the state is in their best interests. Thereafter, “[t]he board passed a resolution calling on itself to draft a resolution addressing its concerns with the PARCC exam and its role in teacher evaluations and school grades. The board is looking to get feedback from parents and teachers before drafting its resolution.”
