Recently the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has barred Philadelphia teachers from administering the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) test to their own students. The PSSA is a series of tests given to students in grades three through eight and grade 11. The assessments are in math, reading, writing, and science.

This development of teacher exclusion surfaced after an ongoing statewide investigation of cheating on the PSSA. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer the scandal involves 53 Philadelphia public schools and three city charter schools. In a recent Philadelphia Notebook article, PDE spokesman Tim Eller said that even though hundreds of schools in Philadelphia have not been flagged for any suspected testing irregularities, "The Department believes it is necessary to apply the policy districtwide."

I don’t believe that makes sense at all. I never understood the concept of spreading the consequence amongst all. Cheating wasn’t found district-wide so there is no reason to affect all for the actions of some. Once again, band-aid solutions prevail whilst overlooking the root of the problem.

Cheating wouldn’t be a problem if this kind of testing wasn’t so high stakes. Students and teachers spend lots of time preparing for tests that have serious implications if scores are low. When schools get low scores they don’t make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), a measurement to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to standardized test results. When this happens consistently, the consequence can be devastating. Low scores can put schools in a position where closure and other interventions look like better alternatives to continued poor performance. The amount of stress on both teachers and students is an unnecessary burden. Teachers and students have to worry about how test scores may hurt the existence of their school. The reality of losing their school, their job, and their students is exactly what drives teachers to cheat. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer article “extraordinary security measures have been imposed on city schools, including requiring teachers administering the tests to sign statements acknowledging that criminal penalties may be sought if wrongdoing is found.” The real criminal act is that standardized tests shortchange the educational opportunities of both students and their instructors.

Teachers and students spend far too much time preparing for a test which will essentially make or break the foundation of a school community. Furthermore, passing a standardized test doesn't show any applicable skill-set other than you can do well on a test. It doesn't require a critical mind to complete. It doesn't show what knowledge students possess. Its all about filling in bubbles and giving responses. I can only ponder what real knowledge our students take into the future if all they know is test taking. The exclusion of teachers that students have been preparing for the PSSA with really isn’t the solution to the issue at hand. Students and teachers will still feel the pressure to get high scores.

On Thursday February 16th The School Reform Commission of Philadelphia (SRC) voted to suspend a portion of the Pennsylvania Public School Code that requires a three-month window between an official public hearing on proposed public school closures and a vote to make them official.

According to legislative functions pdf available on the School District of Philadelphia website “The SRC may, upon a majority vote, cause to suspend at any time the operation of a SRC policy, provided the suspension does not conflict with legal requirements.” Thus granting them power to change the school code when they deem it necessary.

Regardless of why they have the authority to change the school code, the suspension of school code grants the SRC the power to close schools without any opposition from the public. We are looking at a major abuse of power and a complete disconnect from the SRC and the community. The SRC’s change in policy effectively shuts the door in our faces and is a blatant issue of accountability and transparency.

School reform cannot exist when the community is disenfranchised from the process. Who checks and balances the SRC’s power to silence us from school closings? We don’t appoint them. The governor chooses three members and the mayor chooses two. None of our parents or students sit on the commission so I don’t see how the SRC could go through with a major shift in policy like this without allowing our voices to be heard.

Community members were showing up in opposition to school closings, it wasn’t as if they weren’t showing interest. The community made it a point to be at the 21 community meetings around the issue of school closure.  As recently as March 4th, parents, students and other members of the Philadelphia community showed up on a Saturday to voice their opinions against school closings. The SRC’s abrupt change of school code hurts the community’s ability to be involved in the school reform process.

I know the SRC has a code of ethics which should have influenced its membership to make a more sound decision than to suspend such an important portion of school code. According to its code of ethics the SRC is supposed to include stakeholders in all communications, distribute relevant information about the district, as well as lead with respect and take full responsibility for SRC activity and behavior. However, actions speak louder than words and while members of the SRC may say it wasn’t a move to completely disregard the public’s persistence what else could it be viewed as?

In the meantime I hope for the well being of our students at the schools on the closing list. Where will they go? How will they feel when their schools are no longer available to them? Our students deserve better than this and our community needs to be central to the SRC’s decisions. The community can look back and say they did everything they could to keep the doors open but can the SRC?

Recently the School Reform Commission voted in approval of the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact which represents a handful of things for Philadelphia.

To be eligible to receive a grant from Gates, schools districts must agree to his vision of school reform and pledge cooperation by signing a compact which is essentially a contract.

In other words if the School District of Philadelphia wants money from Bill Gates it must follow his vision.

According to the official draft of the Philadelphia Great Schools Compact, the vision for Philadelphia is to strengthen its link between the School District and the charter school community in hopes to expand and simulate the best performing schools while eliminating the lowest performing schools (approximately 50,000 seats) by 2016-17. It will also align the District with the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools and the Philadelphia Charters for Excellence, two of the largest charter school umbrella organizations in the state of Pennsylvania.

I recognize that the Philadelphia School District is still trying come back from its $630 million budget deficit but is this really the path that they should steer Philadelphia education?

I would feel better if this process included more community voice. However this process was orchestrated without opportunity for Philadelphians to weigh in on the proposal and its decision. The plan was completed in a weeks time and was done behind closed doors.

Successful education reform in Philadelphia and abroad has to set aside time and input from the people most affected, the people that navigate through the education system.

We have to engage the entire community when taking measures on education.

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