I'm so glad this issue was raised. The city-produced benchmarks have always been a thorn in the side of good teachers and good teaching and a colossol waste of resources.

Many (Most?) questions are pulled from the publically released MDSE websites, so any good teacher will have used the available material already. Other questions are poorly worded or, as aforementioned, contain several grammatical mistakes.

The benchmarks are long and take up 2-3 days of instruction, and feedback is never given. Teachers are expected to score the writing themselves, but even the multiple choice hasn't been scored this year. Buildings are not equipped with multiple choice scoring materials, so the bubble sheets are sent away and teachers never hear how the students do.

The benchmarks have always smacked of North Avenue feeling the need to justify their existence. They are poorly written and implemented and do nothing to help the students, and, in fact, because it takes away 2-3 days of instruction, actually serves to hurt them. Yet, we are told that principals will be issued a "demerit" if they don't make their staffs administer them.

Perhaps this is where the benefit lies in more independence for principals.

It has been my experience that many students have some degree of test anxiety (which is exacerbated by the emphasis on high-stakes tests). When you cause them to shut down by giving them a poorly constructed test that is "supposed" to help prepare them for the HSAs, you can't expect them to be up for the challenge of the real deal.

Benchmark tests, when well-written and properly presented, can be beneficial. Teachers who are able to analyze the data gathered from such tests can use it to determine their students' strengths and weaknesses, thus tailoring their instruction to meet the needs. Poorly disseminated data from poorly constructed tests does nothing but put our students, and our school system, further into a deficit situation.

I'm proud of these teachers who dared to speak out on behalf of their students. I hope that the "powers that be" will follow their lead.

Perhaps epiphinbalto needs to look at his/her school's implementation of the benchmarks before ripping North Aveune.

First, the BM's use items from the MSDE public release tests because those items are specifically designed to assess objectives and assessment limits from the state curriculum and the HSA. In addition, the pubic release constructed response items are accompanied by anchor papers teachers can use to help them score their students responses - there are no anchor papers for non-MSDE items. I'm personally familiar w/ the Government BM's, and know that they even provide teachers with a scoring guide linking each item from the BM's to VSC objectives, so the teachers can go back and reteach areas where the students didn't do well.

In terms of "feedback never being given," the results of the BM are posted on a Web page that analyzes the data at the district, area, school, class, and student levels. The school district has conducted several trainings this year on how this Web page can be utilized. Perhaps epiphenbalto's school based instructional leaders did not provide her with info. on how to access this information.

In terms of the amount of time spent on the BM's, two of the four tests are designed to double as semester/final exams, and are given during exam weeks, so I don't see where all that much instruction time has been taken away there. A third (which is being administered now) is a full length test, but it is designed to simulate test conditions for the students.

No assessment system is perfect, and I can point to imperfections in the benchmark system, but if teachers and administrators use them correctly, the BM's can provide teachers with data they can use to inform instruction.

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"it's not that bad": what about everything the teachers at the school board meeting said? The poems are too difficult, some are plagarized, the 9th and 10th grade assessments are the same, etc. etc. etc.
You are defending something that teachers across the city have concerns about. No matter how well our IST's hand out the benchmarks (when given about a day's notice), it is still always inaccurate, poorly written, and does not address content standards that have already been covered.
It is instead, arbitrary at best. This is yet another example of a teacher being treated as an idiot. Now, if I had to spend all those years getting a master's degree, what do I have to do to be "capable" of writing my own tests?

I can't defend what was said at the Board meeting, and didn't try to. I was responding to comments made by the epiphiny.

All I can say is that the BM I'm most familiar with has been well thought out and does offer teachers the opportunity to assess their students' performance at different times during the year.

What bothers me is generalizations being made about people at North Avenue working only to justify their positions. A lot of what is done IS well thought out, believe it or not. .

English teachers have had concerns about the benchmarks from their inception. While drawn from public release items, they are seldom proofread and have been sent to schools in the wrong numbers and with errors galore. I understand what benchmarks are designed to do and no one objects to periodic measurements of skills. However, one must be concerned when the tests do not measure curriculum goals but instead mimic the HSA at both the 9th and 10th grade levels. Yes, the scores are accessible on a website but in order to get accurate and immediate feedback, schools must do an additional scoring process as the data on the website takes anywhere from 3-5 weeks to post. At least this year we finally got a website that stayed active and is relatively user-friendly. Students are frustrated by the benchmarks but they are also frustrated by the 3 to 3-1/2 hour long HSAs. For heaven's sake, how many times do you have to ask a student how to combine a sentence to find out if he can do it? There has to be a better way to measure student achievement. We have complained about the length of the tests since they began and NO ONE has listened or has given teachers direct information on how the tests are scored. If I remember from testing protocol, knowing how the test is scored is one of the hallmarks of a "good" test. Maybe the tests aren't that great after all.

I just have to say that many of the accusations about the benchmarks were full of hyperbole. There were some errors on the exams, but there are often errors on the HSA, and they are corrected with a SIMPLE errata sheet. Teachers are unhappy when the tests are created using public releases and unhappy when they aren't. It is a no-win situation.

In reference to the teachers who violated test security by giving our test to the media and others, I am ashamed OF and FOR them. If they were to do this with the HSA, they would be fired and stripped of their certification. The comment about our students not being able to handle literature from Emily Dickinson was absurd. Our kids can handle anything --if they have exposure and TEACHING!

This is not a perfect process, but North Avenue did not create the benchmarks-----TEACHERS DID! They worked really hard, and they did their best. The bottom line is that our students should be able to answer higher level questions. Are teachers facilitating higher level thinking? I have observed the two teachers who were at the board meeting, and the one who was so upset about our students reading what he called college level texts, teaches in lecture style as if he were teaching at the college level. I have had the pleasure "not really" of observing his class when he rambled on and on about something to which the students were not listening. There was no rigor, no accountable talk, and the kids said very little---except "Pass the chips, soda, and candy." The room was a mess. The real problem here is that instead of trying to fix our system and our students, teachers need to TEACH! If the students are not ready for the benchmark----GET THEM READY! The SATs are right behind them, and they will probably have Dickinson on them.

Finally, I feel strongly that there is a double standard when it comes to African American students. If our students were White, we would expect for them to be able to "handle" Emily Dickinson.

To all who love to complain: Volunteer to write questions for the next test. I'll bet some SAVIOR will tear yours apart as well.

First, the BM's use items from the MSDE public release tests because those items are specifically designed to assess objectives and assessment limits from the state curriculum and the HSA. In addition, the pubic release constructed response items are accompanied by anchor papers teachers can use to help them score their students responses - there are no anchor papers for non-MSDE items. I'm personally familiar w/ the Government BM's, and know that they even provide teachers with a scoring guide linking each item from the BM's to VSC objectives, so the teachers can go back and reteach areas where the students didn't do well.

Yes, but all of this is on the MDSE website already. North Avenue, in my experience, is just re-packaging the questions. I'd already given it as practice, and every single benchmark had recycled questions on it. All of the available you're claiming the system is providing is already being provided by the MSDE.

In terms of "feedback never being given," the results of the BM are posted on a Web page that analyzes the data at the district, area, school, class, and student levels. The school district has conducted several trainings this year on how this Web page can be utilized. Perhaps epiphenbalto's school based instructional leaders did not provide her with info. on how to access this information.

Last year, we went through a training to a website set up by Princeton. It was a horrible setup and very, very slow (so slow that it wouldn't load in my classroom, we had to go to the few new computers for a connection quick enough to load it), and the feedback appeared weeks after the tests were given. This year, I haven't been presented with any training about the benchmarks that I have given, which is fine by me; I don't find weeks-old student data on recycled questions to be that useful.

In terms of the amount of time spent on the BM's, two of the four tests are designed to double as semester/final exams, and are given during exam weeks, so I don't see where all that much instruction time has been taken away there. A third (which is being administered now) is a full length test, but it is designed to simulate test conditions for the students.

Yes, but they're not doubling as semester and final exams, because doing so is really belittling the students. The tests cover only some of the skills needed in the course, and none of the content, and being asked to count them as final exams or midterms is negating everything that has been taught for the course. Therefore, a student who has not attended class all year could just show up on final exam day and get a 90. Unfair and not a measure of what was learned. Therefore, we have never given them as a final, so we have to take time out of instruction so we can give a real final/midterm (i.e. something that covers the course material and skills).

I'm sure there is some good things happening at North Avenue. The benchmarks, however, have never been something that has helped my students. Teachers resent them, because they are ill-planned, seem to show up randomly (sooo many come in mispackaged, so you think you can plan for it), and we're forced to do them under threat (not for the sake of the kids). Kids resent them because they're already over-tested.

Teachers are unhappy when the tests are created using public releases and unhappy when they aren't. It is a no-win situation.

In my experience, the tests have not been made without public release questions, but still: if teachers are being forced to give a disconnected, disorganized test to their students without any input and little feedback, then of course they're going to be unhappy. Or at least the ones who care or work hard on their lessons will be unhappy. And if teachers are unhappy with how things are going, perhaps feedback can be solicited and changes made?

To all who love to complain: Volunteer to write questions for the next test. I'll bet some SAVIOR will tear yours apart as well.

I really hate your condescending use of the capitalized, sarcastic "Savior," but enjoyed your comments about Dickinson and African-American students. But who has time to write questions for a testing system that doesn't do anything (again, in my experience) for student achievement? I'm too busy grading 170 essays, constructing rigorous lessons, etc, to write test questions for a system that has never bothered to ask for feedback or address any concerns before. (Heck, these blog comments I think are the absolute first time I've ever heard back from anyone on the other end of the BM system, and I'm not even sure if they really are on the other end.)

We have complained about the length of the tests since they began and NO ONE has listened or has given teachers direct information on how the tests are scored.

Bingo. The tests are faulty, yet complaints are brushed off as if we're just whining. In fact, I'd bet those who aren't complaining are the ditto-makers and paper-pushers, not the real teachers. No, we really care about the kids' success and want to make sure we're doing all we can. No one has ever given any feedback, listened to our concerns, nothing - we're just forced to give them, and they just kind of get sucked up by that giant sucking sound at North Avenue. Perhaps the real issue here is a failure to communicate.

A brief comment to "mytwocentsworth"-- you have quite obviously missed the point of the criticism. The criticism was leveled towards the administration for allowing undocumented, ill thought through and wholly culturally irrelevant material to be used to assess our students.

Your response fails to address this.

Instead, you've shown a reactionary willingness to malign colleagues in a public setting. This demonstrates an unacceptable level of unprofessionalism. Blaming teachers for the poor performance of our students is not the answer. Holding administration accountable to the rigor we expect of our students was the point that was raised.
As a teacher in BCPSS, I daily witness many good teachers challenge their students with higher level thinking skills and accountable talk in their lessons. And we do this under inconceivably difficult conditions. I am glad that for once someone was not apathetic to a fault within the system and instead of just placing blame, acted on it to better the system.

I for one am frustrated. We were not given time to administer the benchmarks all in ONE session (simulating the HSA) and true, the machine scored blanks go out to North Ave into a black hole. We were given user names and passwords to access OARS, but the only time I tried to access this system, it did not work. Training was recently offered at the PD session, but there were other better, more relevant sessions. I had my students fill out a duplicate score sheet so I could quickly score the select response.

This brings me to my real problem. I have 79 students. There are eight essays on the Government benchmark: so that is 632 essays. If I were to cursorily give each essay one minute (which is not realistic-- it takes more than one minute to read student responses)just one minute per essay would be over 20 hours of grading. This is why the HSA results are not being scored fast enough and why the state is abandoning essays.

So-- I will give them-- dutifully-- and read some responses, as markers for progress, but I don't have time to devote 20 to 40 hours extra to read everyone.

Good teachers use there regular assessments to benchmark student progress both whole class and individually; Nice "pre-printed" tool to use; I will probably have students score other students using the rubric anyway. But as far as entering data into the system to manufacture a bunch of scores for North Ave to read all before Good Friday!?!? Good luck. Nobody will be there anyway. Too busy trying to get a job in the schools?

To quickly respond to some of the more negative reactions here. As someone that was at the board meeting and witnessed the presentation, I find it hard to believe anyone here can accuse the teachers here of hyperbole. The errors in question were either read verbatim from the text or cited with page & question number for each benchmark. Furthermore, to say that the poems are or are not difficult to students takes direct experience in the English classroom. If *your* students are capable of reading Dickenson on a 10th grade reading level, having had no exposure to poetry as an organized unit of study (as that unit is 4th quarter and this is the 3rd quarter benchmark) than you are a truly gifted teacher and should be eager to share how you achieved this in lieu of berating other teachers for not being on the same level. I teach 10th grade English in the city, and only have a handful of students who can read on a 10th grade reading level. Asking students to read mistyped, misspelled, or plagiarized texts that are beyond their reading level is irresponsible and wrong, regardless of how you feel about whistle blowing. Lastly, if you had heard the presentation, you would be very well aware that no blame, accusation, or disrespect was given from the teachers to the board. They came to inform the board of a mistake, and did so as a response to the plight of their students. Stop blaming these teachers for their avoidance of apathy, and appreciate that kind of professionalism in a system that thrives on throwing others under the proverbial bus.

Comment to B-More Teach: I really do not think the teachers who complained acted to better the system by demeaning our students and school system in front of the media. Is maligning our students and this system less important?Also, I have a hard time understanding how students are on a 4th grade reading level, yet they have a 92 in the course. If these students are truly reading on a 4th grade level, they will pass the English II course with honors and fail the HSA. I'd like to see the type of prescriptive instruction these teachers are providing that has helped students earn a legitimate "A" in the course. If they truly wanted to better the system, the complaints first should have gone to the curriculum and instruction office so that the teachers who worked on the benchmark could have learned from the process. Instead, they went for the whistle- blowing glory of presenting in front of the board. This was not helpful, it was self-serving and ridiculous. It would have been helpful if these people had volunteered to write, gave critical feedback about student behaviors during the test, discussed areas of confusion with students after the test and provided this feedback to the item writers, etc. Needless to say, there were a lot of ways to be helpful.

We have a problem that is spreading each year with people who have been teaching for 5 minutes, yet they can figure it all out quickly and become master teachers in a single school year. These people can diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of our system, but fail to diagnose the strengths and weaknesses in our students' reading, writing, and test-taking skills.

Yes, we must take responsibility for our students' failures. We would certainly take responsibilities for their successes.

I know there are teachers who are working hard every day. I am in a school and I see it. Working harder is not necessarily working smarter, and I know that we all (including myself) have to be more creative, more reflective, and more strategic in a difficult circumstance. A poor teacher hurts a student much more than a poor benchmark. We should be working to improve both.

As a parent, I want my children to be able to handle Dickinson and any other author whether culturally relevant or not. If they can't, I am not going to be looking in the faces of the test item writers; I will be looking in the faces of the teachers, and I will also be looking at my role in their success. Right now, I am teaching them that in the event that the HSA does not have any "culturally relevant" questions, they better keep that book open and push through it.

In response to “Mytwocents”: If you have observed my classroom, than I must assume that you are (or were) someone in a supervisory position. If my classroom management and/or lessons were as sub-par as you claim, than it fell under your responsibility to inform and educate me on the matter. Having never received a negative review or evaluation, you have failed in your responsibility to me. If this is the person who I think it is, for you to characterize my teaching style on three 5 minute visits to my classroom seems unreasonable and unfair. If you are not the person I am referencing, than I can only assume you are an internet troll who is abusing the anonymity of the internet to cowardly fabricate facts that support an otherwise ridiculous claim in order to create a flame war. With regard to your racial comment, it does not even deserve a response except to say that such comments are often thrown out as a way of distracting people from the real issue.

If they truly wanted to better the system, the complaints first should have gone to the curriculum and instruction office so that the teachers who worked on the benchmark could have learned from the process. Instead, they went for the whistle- blowing glory of presenting in front of the board. This was not helpful, it was self-serving and ridiculous.

Complaints and comments are constantly suggested to the curriculum committee, to no end. No feedback is ever - to our knowledge - reviewed, and certainly nothing is communicated back to the teachers.

The teachers who brought this to the board did every single teacher and student in this system a great service. North Avenue has proven time and time again that it does not value the opinions of teachers regarding these benchmarks, and, for the first time, we're talking about it.

WHOA - Ms. Neufeld has hit a mine field with this issue! Let me preface my comments by saying this: I was a BCPSS Middle School Science Teacher during my years in BCPSS, so I never had to ADMINISTER the exams, but I did have to deal with my Students' FRUSTRATION afterwards when they came to my class. Today, I felt compelled to write about three items:

1. With regards to test items being culturally relevant, I must agree with MyTwoCents - we do a disservice to our students by providing an "out" from accountability by simply stating that test items weren't relevant to their lives. The whole POINT of an education is exposure to ideas and viewpoints and experiences that you wouldn't necessarily otherwise experience. So our kids don't know about a farm? Big flippin' deal - the questions don't ask them to describe a farm from memory - just to answer questions about a farm from a passage. They should be able to do this as a Critical Thinking Skill.

2. This whole chain of command business is silly. We are all ON THE SAME TEAM here! Who cares whether the teachers reported to the Curriculum Committee or to Dr. Alonso - there is no reason to take offense to this. Our number one priority is the children. So regardless of who, the issue should be the what - and in this case, we have a diagnostic exam that truly needs some serious tweaking to make it more useful to the educators in how best to reach their children. That's it! The issue of who to report this too is moot - because we are all in this together, fighting for the same cause.

3. Overall, we need to think of the BCPSS as one big team - administrators, teachers, North Ave, etc - we are all in this together. Berating colleagues is not productive, serves no purpose and doesn't deserve a place in productive discourse. As a Baltimore community, we must rise together to ensure the best possible education for our children. I know this sounds warm and fuzzy, but no substantive change will occur unless we stop pointless infighting and stand united.

I would like to suggest that individuals take great care in what they post online. The area of internet libel is quite new, but there have been cases where the post author, and/or the blog/forum owner, has been held responsible for libelous posts.

To Mr. Arvenson - cut and paste the defamatory post, take a screen shot and call your lawyer.

This is a really fascinating discussion, but the only helpful info I have to add is that I teach in a respected college prep private school and we don't give Emily Dickinson to our students until 11th grade, and even then they have sometimes have trouble. Our students are, for the majority, white middle-to-upper-class students. I can't imagine trying to teach her work to a large class of 9th graders who are not all at grade level skills.