not yet addressed?

When reading the entire master plan a few questions came to mind that I have not seen addressed yet.

MULTIPLE MEASURES are proposed to improve accountability but there is no definition or description of what this would entail.  Too much learning time is already lost to the standardized tests that measure one moment in time and do not inform the instruction of the current students.  If you have ever watched a class take the test, especially a class with English language learners, you have to wonder at what is being measured. Students make simple mistakes, mark the wrong bubble, skip a line of bubbles, give up and start crying.  At the worst, they are forced to take a test in a language they cannot read and are just beginning to understand. We need a very careful dialogue with all the vested players involved in defining multiple measures that inform instruction on a timely basis, and provide accountability.

MOBILITY impacts the learning in many of the schools I work with. Students moving from another country, culture and language background are becoming a larger challenge for California each year.  We have many students move from school to school within a district during a school year.  Their classroom records and testing information often do not follow in a timely manner, much less preceed them.  This results in incorrect placements, retesting, redundant learning, or missed learning.  Students moving between districts is a more challenging problem.  One teacher I worked with in Oceanside was in tears by April.  She had been working so hard to help each child learn but was overwhelmed when she realized that she only had 7 of the 30 children that started the year. 23 children had moved in and out, and were replaced with new students (some several times during the year).  With every child that changed, she had to start back at the beginning with that child.  Standards within our state will help in state moving, but not when students come from other states or countries.