From the NRC listserv----you might find it of interest. >Date: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 11:44:04 -0500 >From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Follow the money. >Sender: NRCEMAIL <[log in to unmask]> >http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/1999/11/08/testing/index.html > > > Grilling our young > > The SAT test coaching > > industry goes after > > kindergartners. Little blank slates > > mean great big bucks. > > > - - - - - - - - - - - - > > By Jonathan Fox > > > Nov. 8, 1999 | Six years ago, MichaelHasty > > was just another anxious parent whenhe wrote > > a study guide to help his son pass the > > sixth-grade math portion of the Texas > > > Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). He > > produced the homemade guide in frustration > > after school officials told him there were few > > tools designed to help kids pass the TAAS, a > > battery of standardized tests that determine > > graduation, grade promotion and school > > rankings -- and set the agenda for nearly all > > school-reform efforts -- in test-happy Texas. > > > At first, Hasty didn't consider his do-it-yourself > > math guide more than a family tutoring aid, but > > when a racquetball partner offered $100 for a > > copy to help his son prepare for the TAAS, it > > didn't take him long to smell a market. Soon > > after, the Test Masters Company was born, and > > Hasty, a property tax consultant, was selling > > thousands of guides nationwide to worried > > parents, teachers and principals. > > > Test Masters has since diversified to the > > Internet, where parents as far away as South > > Africa pay $25 and school districts pay $1,000 > > a month to access practice exams and receive > > instant results. About 1,000 people take exams > > through the site every day. Today, Hasty > > considers his work a public service -- albeit a > > profitable one. "It's designed to help children > > pass the standards, but it's also designed to help > > children learn math," he says. > > > But not everyone considers his line of business > > so benign. > > > The runaway success of Test Masters has fired > > up the mammoth SAT coaching industry, > > already blamed for exacerbating inequality in > > college admissions and feeding test score > > hysteria. In the coming months, Kaplan and > > Princeton Review, the majors of test prep, will > > launch Web sites and publish printed guides > > aimed at children as young as kindergartners. > > They now see the K-12 test prep market as a > > rich vein of ore worth mining: Kaplan, for > > example, has funneled $25 million into product > > development and marketing for its new Web > > site. > > > This big-money march on the lower grades has > > sparked wrath from critics who say that tests > > encourage schools to dumb down their > > curriculum to fit multiple-choice tests that > > don't measure real learning. They liken > > test-focused education to a plague of locusts > > that leaves in its wake nervous kids, badgered > > teachers and a black hole where classroom > > innovation once existed. > > > Even worse, say opponents of test prep, the > > products of test coaching companies are > > accessible mainly to wealthy parents and > > schools. The massive expansion of companies > > like Kaplan and Princeton Review will come at > > the expense of the poorest schools, they say, > > which will suffer flak from politicians and lose > > public support when they can't raise test scores > > as fast as well-heeled counterparts. SAT > > coaching has already deepened the divide > > between haves and have-nots; with test prep in > > early grades, critics predict the gap may > > intensify sooner and doom lower-income > > students before they even leave elementary > > school. > > > "Schools will get the educational steroid that > > coaching makes possible," says Robert > > > Schaeffer, public education director for the > > National Center for Fair and Open Testing > > (Fairtest), "but they won't necessarily get any > > better, and gaps between rich and poor > > communities may grow." > > > For now, that warning is lost in the din of > > voices demanding higher educational standards, > > which currently means a lot more tests -- and by > > extension, a lot more test prep. Under the > > Clinton administration, "high-stakes" testing > > has proliferated. Currently, every state except > > Iowa has grade-by-grade standards detailing > > what students must know in English, math, > > science and social studies. Poor scores on tests > > aligned to new standards increasingly result in > > students being retained at their grade level, sent > > to summer school or denied diplomas while > > principals are fired and teachers get poor > > evaluations. > > > Proponents have seized on Texas and North > > Carolina, two test-busy states that have raised > > state and national test scores in recent years, as > > evidence that standards and tests work. Yet > > Texas still has the fourth lowest high school > > completion rate, and both states, which started > > out low or average in national rankings to > > begin with, have enacted other reforms that > > could account for the gains, such as lowering > > class sizes and raising teacher salaries. > > Meanwhile, other test-intensive states haven't > > shown improvement. The testing juggernaut, >supported by > > campaigners George W. Bush and Al Gore, has > > flourished under the pretense of bipartisanship: > > After all, who can be against "higher > > standards"? Politicians prefer tests as a reform > > of choice since they are cheaper than, say, > > addressing the root causes of low achievement > > or increasing the capacity of low-achieving > > schools through investments in teacher > > recruitment and high-caliber instruction. > > > Along ideological lines, conservatives like the > > "back-to-basics" thrust of standards and tests, > > while liberals hope that setting uniform > > benchmarks will focus attention and resources > > on poor kids. It's not clear whether that is > > happening, but kids are definitely taking more > > tests. State investment in tests will grow from > > $165 million in 1996 to a projected $330 > > million in 2000, according to Achieve Inc., a > > partnership of CEOs and governors that leads > > the standards movement. > > > Having been shown the money, the SAT test > > prep industry is moving full throttle to develop > > products targeting children as young as third > > grade. This month, Kaplan launches > > eSCORE.com and will publish study guides for > > tests in the populous states of Massachusetts, > > Texas, New York and Florida. Its rival, > > Princeton Review, this month launched > > Homeroom.com, which will soon become a > > full-service site after pilot testing is finished. > > And many more players will stake out ground > > online. "We've just seen the tip of what's going > > to be a huge iceberg," says Fairtest's Schaeffer. > > > To no one's surprise, the companies > are targeting the insecurities of vulnerable parents > > and beleaguered educators. Homeroom.com > > says it can help ensure that "our children have > > every possible edge in achieving academic > > success." The Virginia-based edutest.com, > > which offers incentives for PTAs to sell its > > wares, warns on its Web site that "many state > > school systems are unable to meet these > > standards ... and risk losing accreditation." > > > Not surprisingly, testing foes are aghast. "These > > tests are squeezing the intellectual life out of > > schools, so it stands to reason that some > > vultures want to make a buck off them," says > > Alfie Kohn, a former teacher and author of the > > anti-testing tome "The Schools Our Children > > Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional > > Classrooms and Tougher Standards." > > > Schaeffer is more pragmatic; he says the > > companies are simply filling a niche > > inadvertently created by lawmakers. Indeed, > > idealistic advocates of standards didn't > > anticipate an industry would latch onto their > > reforms. "I certainly didn't hear about it at the > > little powwows I've sat at over the years," says > > Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, > > a group seeking to improve education for poor > > children. > > > The lack of foresight doesn't surprise Schaeffer. > > "As so often happens," he says, "liberal > > reformers don't think about the likely > > consequences of their reforms nor heed the > > damage they have done." Many conservative > > backers of standards, he speculates, seek to > > make public schools look bad and build > > support for vouchers. > > > Kaplan and Princeton Review insist their K-12 > > offerings won't resemble their SAT ventures, > > which stress "strategic teaching" or "gaming" of > > tests through sleights of technique. "Why > > would you have a third grader try to game a > > test?" asks Photo Anagnostopolous, managing > > director of Homeroom.com. "You would really > > be doing a disservice to that child. And if you > > look at these tests, they're not like the SAT." > > Where the SAT features analogies and math > > puzzles, she explains, many K-12 tests gauge > > mastery of a distinct body of knowledge and > > skills. > > > But Schaeffer deems this assurance naive. He > > predicts K-12 test prep will include gaming > > tricks such as pacing, knowing which items > > appear regularly, strategic guessing and > > formulaic essay writing. "If they don't teach it, > > they'll be run out of business," he says. Indeed, > > soon-to-be published Kaplan test prep books > for the third grade TAAS and New Yorkis > > fourth grade exam advise students on all of > > those "tricks." > > > Yet Anagnostopolous' point addresses the > > debate on the merits of testing, which advocates > > promote as a legitimate learning tool. "Good > > tests are worth teaching to," says Robert > > Schwartz, Achieve's president and a Harvard > > University education professor. "This means > > tests that require writing andthinking that can't > > easily be prepared for." > > > Bad tests, he says, "drive instruction downward > > toward drill and kill." To many reformers, the > > TAAS is the most hellish test of all. "If this > > were all about the TAAS, I would want to slit > > my throat and stick pencils in my eyes," says the > > Education Trust's Haycock, who nonetheless > > credits Texas for improving poorer schools. In > > fact, the tests Schwartz praises are rare, found > > only in a handful of states. Marylandis test, for > > example, has students explain in writing how > > they solved tough math problems and > > performed science experiments in a group. But > > most other states and big cities use bubble tests > > that Schwartz says he disdains. > > > Herein lies a major rub of the standards push: > > The Clinton administration and groups like > > Achieve claim to support better-quality tests > > and the use of measures like grades and teacher > > feedback in addition to test scores when making > > high-stakes decisions such as gradepromotion > > and graduation. Then they laud reform efforts > > in Texas and cities like Chicago, which employ > > shoddy tests and rely on test scores alone in > > making crucial decisions, a tactic even test > > developers deem unfair. > > > Schwartz also worries that a successful test > > prep industry will "tilt the playing field even > > further." After all, how many low-income > > parents will have access to shiny new test prep > > sites on the Internet? Schwartz says he is > > heartened that Princeton Review, like Test > > Masters, will target parents and schools for > > Homeroom.com. "To the degree these > > companies try to come into the school market > > rather than the rich parent market, it's good," he > > says. > > > For now, the larger Kaplan is sticking to the > > rich parent market. It plans to draw millions of > > visitors to eSCORE.com next month with an > > extensive TV, radio and print advertising blitz. > > > To be sure, online test prep costs much less > > than tutoring at a "bricks and mortar" center, > > which averages $400 a course. Homeroom.com > > will cost schools less than $10 per student, and > > $30 to $60 for monthly parent subscriptions. > > eSCORE.com, on the other hand, will charge > > $75 for online counseling and $20 to $50 for > > test "readiness appraisals." Edutest.com gives > > discounts to some strapped schools and has > > several clients in rural Virginia, says Steve Hoy, > > vice president for sales and marketing. > > > Equity watchdogs dismiss what they see as > > sporadic acts of charity and say that any costs > > create inequities. "Even if they target schools, > > poor schools don't have a lot of bucks," > > Schaeffer says. "When you're talking about > > schools that don't have enough money to buy > > paper, $2,000 is unreal, but it's nothing to a > > suburban school." > > > Eventually, critics say, a pervasive K-12 test > > prep industry may challenge the standards > > movement by prompting parents to question > > whether the tests measure things worth learning > > and by highlighting the snares of high-stakes > > testing for all children, regardless of their > > income level. > > > "You're going to have kids throwing up on test > > day," says Gerald Bracey, an educational > > consultant and Virginia's former testing > > director. "You're going to have more kids > > turned off by schooling." > > > The question, then, is all about timing. How > > long will the side effects of our latest education > > fad fester before we establish system that truly > > fosters high standards for all? > > salon.com | Nov. 8, 1999 > > > > >Grilling our young | page <A HREF="index.html">1</A>, <A HREF="index1.html"> >2</A>, 3 >>From Salon magazine >salon.com | Nov. 8, 1999 > > > > > > > >Related Salon stories > > > > <A HREF="/books/it/1999/10/18/strivers/index.html">Striving to stay alive</A> > With the disavowed Strivers program, the Educational Testing Service tried >to rebuild a failing business and badly damaged product -- the SAT. > > >By Claire Barliant 10/18/99 <A >HREF="/news/feature/1999/09/17/education/index.html">Surprise: Bush could be >the "education president"</A> A longtime school reformer says the Republican >front-runner might be the best hope for low-income and minority students at a >time when you can't talk about "poor kids" -- to Democrats. > > > > > > > ********************************* Norman A. Stahl, Acting Chair Department of Literacy, Intercultural and Language Education GH 223c Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115 Telephone: (815) 753-9032 {office} (815) 753-8563 (FAX) Email: [log in to unmask]