TO SUPPORT THE LETTER CLICK HERE.
TO SEE THE GROWING LIST OF RECENT SIGNATORIES (SINCE MAY 6) CLICK HERE.
TO LEAVE A COMMENT CLICK THE ‘REPLIES’ BUTTON ABOVE.
Recent additional signatories include:
Alfie Kohn (Author and Lecturer);
Robin Alexander (Fellow of Wolfson College, University of Cambridge);
Noam Chomsky (Institute Professor, MIT, rtd);
Juergen Boehm, President of German Realschul- Teacher Association;
Paweł Kasprzak, OFF-Foundation, Poland;
OPEN LETTER TO ANDREAS SCHLEICHER, OECD, PARIS
Dear Dr. Schleicher:
We write to you in your capacity as OECD’s director of the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA). Now in its 13th year, PISA is known around the world as an instrument to rank OECD and non-OECD countries (60+ at last count) according to a measure of academic achievement of 15 year old students in mathematics, science, and reading. Administered every three years, PISA results are anxiously awaited by governments, education ministers, and the editorial boards of newspapers, and are cited authoritatively in countless policy reports. They have begun to deeply influence educational practices in many countries. As a result of PISA, countries are overhauling their education systems in the hopes of improving their rankings. Lack of progress on PISA has led to declarations of crisis and “PISA shock” in many countries, followed by calls for resignations, and far-reaching reforms according to PISA precepts.
We are frankly concerned about the negative consequences of the PISA rankings. These are some of our concerns:
-while standardized testing has been used in many nations for decades (despite serious reservations about its validity and reliability), PISA has contributed to an escalation in such testing and a dramatically increased reliance on quantitative measures. For example, in the United States, PISA has been invoked as a major justification for the recent “Race to the Top” program, which has increased the use of standardized testing for student-, teacher-, and administrator evaluations, which rank and label students, as well as teachers and administrators according to the results of tests widely known to be imperfect (see, for example, Finland’s unexplained decline from the top of the PISA table);
-in education policy, PISA, with its three-year assessment cycle, has caused a shift of attention to short-term fixes designed to help a country quickly climb the rankings, despite research showing that enduring changes in education practice take decades, not a few years to come to fruition. For example, we know that the status of teachers and the prestige of teaching as a profession has a strong influence on the quality of instruction, but that status varies strongly across cultures and is not easily influenced by short-term policy;
-by emphasizing a narrow range of measurable aspects of education, PISA takes attention away from the less measurable or immeasurable educational objectives like physical, moral, civic, and artistic development, thereby dangerously narrowing our collective imagination regarding what education is and ought to be about;
-as an organization of economic development, OECD is naturally biased in favor of the economic role of public schools. But preparing young men and women for gainful employment is not the only, and not even the main goal of public education, which has to prepare students for participation in democratic self-government, moral action, and a life of personal development, growth, and well-being;
-unlike United Nations (UN) organizations such as UNESCO or UNICEF that have clear and legitimate mandates to improve education and the lives of children around the world, OECD has no such mandate. Nor are there, at present, mechanisms of effective democratic participation in its education decision-making process;
-to carry out PISA and a host of follow-up services, OECD has embraced “public-private partnerships” and entered into alliances with multi-national for-profit companies, which stand to gain financially from any deficits—real or perceived—unearthed by PISA. Some of these companies provide educational services to American schools and school districts on a massive, for-profit basis, while also pursuing plans to develop for-profit elementary education in Africa, where OECD is now planning to introduce the PISA program;
-finally, and most importantly: the new PISA regime, with its continuous cycle of global testing, harms our children and impoverishes our classrooms, as it inevitably involves more and longer batteries of multiple-choice testing, more scripted “vendor”-made lessons, and less autonomy for our teachers. In this way PISA has further increased the already high stress-level in our schools, which endangers the well-being of our students and teachers.
These developments are in overt conflict with widely accepted principles of good educational and democratic practice:
-no reform of any consequence should be based on a single narrow measure of quality;
-no reform of any consequence should ignore the important role of non-educational factors, among which a nation’s socio-economic inequality is paramount. In many countries, including the United States, inequality has dramatically increased over the past 15 years, explaining the widening educational gap between rich and poor which education reforms, no matter how sophisticated, are unlikely to redress;
-an organization like OECD, as any organization that deeply affects the life of our communities, should be open to democratic accountability by members of those communities.
We are writing not only to point out deficits and problems. We would also like to offer constructive ideas and suggestions that may help to alleviate the above mentioned concerns. While in no way complete, they illustrate how learning could be improved without the above mentioned negative effects:
-develop alternatives to league tables: explore more meaningful and less easily sensationalized ways of reporting assessment outcomes. For example, comparing developing countries, where 15-year olds are regularly drafted into child labor, with first world countries makes neither educational nor political sense and opens OECD up for charges of educational colonialism;
-make room for participation by the full range of relevant constituents and scholarship: to date, the groups with greatest influence on what and how international learning is assessed are psychometricians, statisticians, and economists. They certainly deserve a seat at the table, but so do many other groups: parents, educators, administrators, community leaders, students, as well as scholars from disciplines like anthropology, sociology, history, philosophy, linguistics, as well as the arts and humanities. What and how we assess the education of 15 year old students should be subject to discussions involving all these groups at local, national, and international levels;
-include national and international organizations in the formulation of assessment methods and standards whose mission goes beyond the economic aspect of public education and which are concerned with the health, human development, well-being and happiness of students and teachers. This would include the above mentioned United Nations organizations, as well as teacher, parent, and administrator associations, to name a few;
-publish the direct and indirect costs of administering PISA so that taxpayers in member countries can gauge alternative uses of the millions of dollars spent on these tests and determine if they want to continue their participation in it;
-welcome oversight by independent international monitoring teams which can observe the administration of PISA from the conception to the execution, so that questions about test format and statistical and scoring procedures can be weighed fairly against charges of bias or unfair comparisons;
-provide detailed accounts regarding the role of private, for-profit companies in the preparation, execution, and follow-up to the tri-annual PISA assessments to avoid the appearance or reality of conflicts of interest;
-slow down the testing juggernaut. To gain time to discuss the issues mentioned here at local, national, and international levels, consider skipping the next PISA cycle. This would give time to incorporate the collective learning that will result from the suggested deliberations in a new and improved assessment model.
We assume that OECD’s PISA experts are motivated by a sincere desire to improve education. But we fail to understand how your organization has become the global arbiter of the means and ends of education around the world. OECD’s narrow focus on standardized testing risks turning learning into drudgery and killing the joy of learning. As PISA has led many governments into an international competition for higher test scores, OECD has assumed the power to shape education policy around the world, with no debate about the necessity or limitations of OECD’s goals. We are deeply concerned that measuring a great diversity of educational traditions and cultures using a single, narrow, biased yardstick could, in the end, do irreparable harm to our schools and our students.
Sincerely,
Heinz-Dieter Meyer (State University of New York)
and
Katie Zahedi (Principal, Linden Ave Middle School, Red Hook, New York)
SIGNATORIES AS OF MAY 4, 2014
Signatories as of May 4, 2014:
Andrews, Paul- Professor of Mathematics Education, Stockholm University
Atkinson, Lori – New York State Allies for Public Education
Baldermann, Ingo, Professor of Protestant Theology and Didactics, Universität Siegen, Germany
Ball, Stephen J. – Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education, Institute of Education, University of London
Barber, Melissa – Parents Against High Stakes Testing
Beckett, Lori – Winifred Mercier Professor of Teacher Education, Leeds Metropolitan University
Bender, Peter – Professor, Fakulty of Elektrotechnik, Informatik und Mathematik, Universität Paderborn, Germany
Berardi, Jillaine – Linden Avenue Middle School, Assistant Principal
Berliner, David – Regents Professor of Education at Arizona State University
Bloom, Elizabeth – EdD, Associate Professor of Education, Hartwick College
Boland, Neil – Senior Lecturer, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
Boudet, Danielle – Oneonta Area for Public Education
Burchardt, Matthias – Academic Council; Society for Education and Knowledge, Vice-Chair, Cologne University, Germany
Burris, Carol – Principal and former Teacher of the Year, Co-Founder of New York Principals.
Cauthen, Nancy – Ph.D., Change the Stakes, NYS Allies for Public Education
Cerrone, Chris – Testing Hurts Kids; NYS Allies for Public Education
Ciaran, Sugrue – Professor, Head of School, School of Education, University College Dublin
Conneely, Claire – Programmes Director, Bridge21, Trinity College Dublin.
Danner, Helmut – Private Docent, Nairobi, Kenya
Deutermann, Jeanette – Founder Long Island Opt Out, Co-founder NYS Allies for Public Education
Devine, Nesta – Associate Professor, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Dodge, Arnie – Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, Long Island University
Dodge, Judith – Author, Educational Consultant
Farley, Tim – Principal, Ichabod Crane School; New York State Allies for Public Education.
Fehlmann, Ralph – Coordinator, Forum for General Education, Switzerland
Fellicello, Stacia – Principal, Chambers Elementary School
Fleming, Mary – Lecturer, School of Education, National University of Ireland, Galway
Fransson, Göran – Associate Professor of Education, University of Gävle, Sweden.
Giroux, Henry – Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University
Glass, Gene – Senior Researcher, National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado at Boulder.
Glynn, Kevin – Educator, co-founder of Lace to the Top
Goldstein, Harvey – Professor of Social Statistics, University of Bristol
Gorlewski, David – Director, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, D’Youville College.
Gorlewski, Julie – PhD, Assistant Professor, State University of New York at New Paltz
Gowie, Cheryl – Professor of Education, Siena College
Greene, Kiersten – Assistant Professor of Literacy, State University of New York at New Paltz
Gruschka, Andreas – Professor, Educational Sciences, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Germany
Haimson, Leonie – Parent Advocate and Director of “Class Size Matters”
Hannon, Cliona – Director, Trinity Access Programmes, Trinity College Dublin
Heinz, Manuela – Director of Teaching Practice, School of Education, National University of Ireland Galway
Hoefele, Joachim – Department of Applied Linguistics, University for Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland
Hopmann, Stefan Thomas – Professor, Institute for Educational Sciences, Universität Wien
Hughes, Michelle – Principal, High Meadows Independent School
Jahnke, Thomas – Institute of Mathematics, Universität Potsdam, Germany
Jury, Mark – Chair, Education Department, Siena College
Kahn, Hudson Valley Against Common Core
Kastner, Marie-Theres – President of League of Catholic Parents, Germany
Kayden, Michelle – LOTE Teacher, Linden Avenue Middle School Red Hook, NY
Kempf, Arlo – Program Coordinator of School and Society, OISE, University of Toronto
Kilfoyle, Marla – NBCT, General Manager of BATs
Kissling, Beat – Psychologist and Education Science, Gymnasium and University Instructor, Zürich, Switzerland
Klein, Hans Peter – Chair, Didactics of Bio-Sciences, Goethe Universität Frankfurt
Kraus, Josef – German Teacher Association, President, Germany
Krautz,Jochen – Professor, Department of Art and Design, Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Labaree, David – Professor of Education, Stanford University
Lankau, Ralf – Professor, Media Design, Hochschule Offenburg, Germany
Leonardatos, Harry – Principal, High School, Clarkstown, NY
Liesner, Andreas – Professor, Educational Sciences, Universität Hamburg
Liessmann, Konrad Paul – Professor, Institut für Philosophie, Universität Wien
MacBeath, John – Professor Emeritus, Director of Leadership for Learning, University of Cambridge
McLaren, Peter – Distinguished Professor, Chapman University
McNair, Jessica – Co-founder Opt-Out CNY, parent member NYS Allies for Public Education
Meyer, Heinz-Dieter – Associate Professor, Education Governance & Policy, State University of New York (Albany)
Meyer, Tom – Associate Professor of Secondary Education, State University of New York at New Paltz
Millham, Rosemary – Ph. D., Science Coordinator, Master Teacher Campus Director, SUNY New Paltz
Millham, Rosemary – Science Coordinator/Assistant Professor, Master Teacher Campus Director, State University of New York, New Paltz
Oliveira Andreotti, Vanessa – Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequality, and Global Change, University of British Columbia, Canada
Mitchell, Ken – Lower Hudson Valley Superintendents Council
Mucher, Stephen – Director, Bard Master of Arts in Teaching Program, Los Angeles
Naison, Mark – Professor of African American Studies and History, Fordham University; Co-Founder, Badass Teachers Association
Muench, Richard – Professor of Sociology, Universitaet Bamberg
Nielsen, Kris – Author, Children of the Core
Noddings, Nel – Professor (emerita) Philosophy of Education, Stanford University
Noguera, Pedro – Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, New York University
Nunez, Isabel – Associate Professor, Concordia University, Chicago
O’Toole-Brennan, Kathleen – Programmes Manager, Trinity Access Programmes, Trinity College Dublin
Pallas, Aaron – Arthur I. Gates Professor of Sociology and Education, Columbia University
Parmentier, Michael – Museum Pedagogy, Göttingen, Germany
Peters, Michael – Professor, University of Waikato, Honorary Fellow, Royal Society New Zealand
Pongratz, Ludwig – Professor, Institute for Pedagogy, Technische Universitaet Darmstadt, Germany
Pugh, Nigel – Principal, Richard R Green High School of Teaching, New York City
Radtke, F.O. – Professor (em), Education Sciences, Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt
Ravitch, Diane – Research Professor, New York University
Reitz,Tilman – Junior Professor, Sociology, Universitaet Jena
Rekus, Juergen – Institute for Vocational and General Pedagogy, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), Germany
Rivera-Wilson, Jerusalem – Senior Faculty Associate and Director of Clinical Training and Field Experiences, University at Albany
Roberts, Peter – Professor, School of Educational Studies and Leadership, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Rougle, Eija – Instructor, SUNY Albany
Rudley, Lisa – Director: Education Policy-Autism Action Network
Saltzman, Janet – Science Chair, Physics Teacher, Red Hook High School
Schirlbauer, Alfred – Professor, Institute for Education Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria
Schniedewind, Nancy – Professor of Education, Suny New Paltz
Schopf, Heribert – Professor, School of Pedagogics and Education, Vienna, Austria
Silverberg, Ruth – Associate Professor, College of Staten Island – CUNY
Sperry, Carol – Professor of Education, Emerita, Millersville University
Sjøberg, Svein – Professor (em), Science Education, University of Oslo, Norway
Spring, Joel – Professor, Education Policy, City University of New York
St. John, Edward – Algo D. Henderson Collegiate Professor, University of Michigan
Suzuki, Daiyu – Teachers College at Columbia University / Co-founder Edu 4
Swaffield, Sue – Senior Lecturer, Educational Leadership and School Improvement, University of Cambridge
Tangney, Brendan – Associate Professor, School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin
Tanis, Bianca – Parent Member: ReThinking Testing
Thomas, Paul – Associate Professor of Education, Furman University
Thrupp, Martin – Professor of Education, University of Waikato
Tobin, KT – Founding member, ReThinking Testing
Tomlinson, Sally – Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths College, University of London; Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University
Tuck, Eve – Coordinator of Native American Studies, State University of New York at New Paltz
VanSlyke-Briggs, Kjersti – Associate Professor, SUNY Oneonta
Vohns, Andreas – Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, School of Education, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
Wilson, Elaine – Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
Wittmann, Erich – Professor of Mathematics Education, Technical University of Dortmund
Wrigley, Terry – Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Ballarat, Australia
Zahedi, Katie – Principal, Linden Ave Middle School, Red Hook, New York
Zhao, Yong – Professor of Education, Presidential Chair, University of Oregon
ADDITIONAL SIGNATORIES AS OF MAY 6, 2014
Bogdanov, Alexander – Ph.D., Teacher of Mathematics and Physics, Ricarda Huch High School, Brunswick, Germany
Böhm, Jürgen – Vorsitzender des Verbandes Deutscher Realschullehrer
Brell, Andrea, Studiendirektor, Herder-Gymnasium Minden
Brinkmann, Malte- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, General education/philosophy of education, Institute of Educational Studies
Dammer, Karl-Heinz, Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg
Damtsheuser, Axel; teacher at Melanchthon-Schule Steinatal, Hessen, Germany
Dartenne, Corinna Maria, Academic Assistant, Leuphana University Lueneburg
Gerwig, Mario, Vorstand des Vereins LEHRKUNST, Switzerland
Graupe, Silja, Chair of Economics and Philosophy, Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences
Greve, Astrid, OStRin, Evangelisches Gymnasium Siegen
Hackl, Bernhard, Univ.-Prof. Mag.art. Dr.phil., Institut fuer Schulpaedagogik, Universitaet Graz, Austria
Hedtke, Reinhold – Bielefeld University, Faculty of Sociology
Heuck, Matthias, Lehrer, Darmstadt
Kammasch, Gudrun, Professor, Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin
Lind, Georg, Professor (em) University of Konstanz.
Maset, Pierangelo, Professor, Institut für Kunst, Musik und ihre Vermittlung, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Meidinger, Heinz-Peter – Vorsitzender des Deutschen Philologenverbandes
Scheurl, Walter, 1. Vorsitzender des Vereins “Wir wollen lernen!”, Hamburg
Schwaetzer, Harald, Kueser Akademie für Europäische Geistesgeschichte, Bernkastel-Kues
Sowa, Hubert, Professor, Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg, Fach Kunst
Uhlig, Bettina – Stiftung Universität Hildesheim, Institut für Bildende Kunst und Kunstwissenschaft
Von Garrel, Magda, Sonderpaedagogin und Autorin, Berlin
I signed this letter because I am concerned that comparative analysis of PISA data (in relation to other national data) is having a large scale influence on education policy in various nations. It appears that national governments have assumed that PISA is capable of comparing global learning/competencies of students in very different contexts. However, if incongruities in the construction of variables lack aptness, overconfidence in a grand form of pseudo precision may drive policy down unproductive pathways. While garnering authority, the accuracy of PISA correlations and claims are uncertain.
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I signed this letter because Schleicher and the OECD are no longer objective reporters but have distorted and manipulated the data to try to generate support for particularly damaging policies that there is no evidence for — ie to influence countries to adopt even more high-stakes testing as in the Chinese system. See, for example, how they claimed that the Shanghai test data their educational system was “equitable” and should be emulated, when the data of thousands of migrant workers’ children were excluded.
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Thanks to the authors of this letter for …
- dismantling the specious arguments that PISA scores reflect a decline of American public schools;
– calling out the damage that is being done to all school children by those using the flawed data through their avarice; and
– challenging the OECD by presenting rational alternatives.
Ken Mitchell, Superintendent of South Orangetown CSD and President of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents
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I signed this letter because journalists in media outlets, whose purpose ought to be to educate the public, all too frequently report PISA results in ways that are misleading. Their flawed, biased, incomplete reports are often used to justify educational “reform” initiatives that are detrimental to children, teachers, neighborhoods, and, ultimately, to the public institutions necessary for a good society.
This letter provides clear explanations about the PISA and its role in perpetuating dangerous myths.
~ Julie Gorlewski, Assistant Professor, SUNY New Paltz
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I signed this letter because I am greatly concerned about the over-emphasis on standardized testing and how it is shifting our educational system to become one that values test prep over creativity, innovation, and true critical thinking. I have serious concerns about the flawed used of international test scores that are misleading and misused when it comes to the creation of educational policy, and how it ignores real issues such as the proven connection between poverty and test scores.
~ Danielle Boudet, concerned mother of two, founding member NYSAPE, co-founder Oneonta Area for Public Education
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I signed this letter because PISA rankings nurture the false premise that competition leads to better education. Educators know and research supports that humans (students, teachers, and administrators) thrive in collaborative environments. Publication of national rankings can only hinder the efforts of those dedicated to building education systems that support all children, families, and communities.
Ruth Powers Silverberg, Associate Professor, College of Staten Island, CUNY
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Pingback: OPEN LETTER TO ANDREAS SCHLEICHER, OECD, PARIS | nysocrates
Thank you to all of the wonderful educators, parents, and other concerned people for signing this letter. Our children, all children are far more important than any test score.
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Third grade teacher
West Leyden NY
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Please add my name: Joel Westheimer, University Research Chair, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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I
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I signed this letter because I want Indonesian future generation learn knowledge and skills that matters and relevant to us, not what matters according to “international standard”. I want them to be proud as Indonesian students, who see themselves as citizens who can actively contribute to the global development, not as victims of globalized education regime.
Nisa Felicia,
Lecturer of Sampoerna School of Education, Jakarta Indonesia
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Support!
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Although I am a business teacher, I completely agree with Mr Meyer and Ms Zahedi. Education cannot be as easily quantified as is done by PISA, and reforms should not be based on such rankings. Education is more than producing employability.
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José Ignacio Rivas Flores, Professor in Malaga University, Spain
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Reblogged this on Blog de Nacho Rivas and commented:
Es una iniciativa interesante, apoyada por algunos de los educadores más relevantes en la actualidad. Creo que es necesario organizar respuestas a PISA desde el mundo de la educación que desmonten los objetivos mercantilizadores de este tipo de pruebas y el modo como está mediando en la construcción de las nuevas políticas educativas, de corte neoliberal. Yo he manifestado mi apoyo y creo que debería de ser lomas generalizado posible.
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We must move beyond neoliberalism to give teaching back to teachers, to flip the system! Totally signed! – rene kneyber, teacher, Holland
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Because Pisa scores don’t factor in poverty, heterogenous societies, newlanguage learners or a host of other pertinent characteristics
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I signed this letter because I am concerned that PISA data is being used to rank nations that have high rates of child poverty compared to those that don’t. PISA is also distorting the data as seen when a countries’ social class compositions are factored in. When children of poverty are removed from the equation U.S. students in relation to students in other countries do much better. Furthermore, all one needs to do is follow the questioning of the PISA test itself. William Stewart writes, But what if there are “serious problems” with the Pisa data? What if the statistical techniques used to compile it are “utterly wrong” and based on a “profound conceptual error”? Suppose the whole idea of being able to accurately rank such diverse education systems is “meaningless”, “madness”? What if you learned that Pisa’s comparisons are not based on a common test, but on different students answering different questions? And what if switching these questions around leads to huge variations in the all- important Pisa rankings, with the UK finishing anywhere between 14th and 30th and Denmark between fifth and 37th? What if these rankings – that so many reputations and billions of pounds depend on, that have so much impact on students and teachers around the world – are in fact “useless”?
(http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6344672) Furthermore, Dr. John Jerrim questions the statistical validity of PISA, he says, “England’s Pisa fall from grace was contradicted by the country’s scores in the rival Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, which rose between 1999 and 2007.” (http://www.ioe.ac.uk/60021.html ) Jerrim’s stated that the time of year that England took the PISA tests between 2000 and 2009 could have skewed the results. So, in closing, I sign this letter because one single test should NOT make education policy in the world.
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Michael Burns, Assistant Principal of Minisink Valley High School
I sign this letter to join the protest against the crippling political effects of standardized testing. The politicians are not listening to the educators, and it seems to be a world-wide phenomenon.
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I fully support the message of this letter. Standardized testing is harming our most vulnerable children and limiting their access to opportunity by labeling them as failures, often before they leave primary school. Additionally, it is opening the door for the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) which is little more than a world wide corporate takeover of the public education systems around the world, with an eye towards extracting profit from the citizen taxpayers in those countries where it is implemented.
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I am signing to show my support for the message in this letter.
Donna Mace
Wear Red for Public Education
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PISA is a specialized instrument, the universal application of which denies context sensitivity and leads to a reductionist economy of education. My students, my children and society deserve a more humane and a more diverse system of education than that.
Gregor Chudoba, Senior Lecturer at Klagenfurt University, Austria
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Prof. Dr. Lars Heinemann
Bremen University
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Leave our kids alone
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Bravo!
Please add my name to the signers list.
Terry Kalb
Retired Special Education Teacher
Parent Avocate
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PISA scores and even worse, their rankings, provide ample fodder for political abuse and rampant over simplification of the education process and issues! All eyes on a number!
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High stakes standardized testing has caused an enormous amount of unnecessary stress on students and teachers. Valuable instructional time has been lost to testing.
Catharine R. Whittaker
Professor
SUNY New Paltz
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I am an elementary school teacher, both general ed and special ed, and our kids deserve a real and fulfilling education. All of the inappropriate and unnecessary testing has to stop. Enough of these damn test scores!!
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My full name is Melissa Dell’Isola. Please add my signature
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Thank you for all the good arguments! It is scary to see how education reform is being narrowed to implementing a “test & learning for the test culture”.
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“Not all things that can be counted counts, and not all that counts can be counted!” Focusing on measurable things will distract us from too many of our educational goals and ideals that cannot be measured. And we all know that we cannot afford to be distracted.
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Reblogged this on Schools of Thought Hudson Valley, NY and commented:
Please read this important letter, sign and share!
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I applaud the signers of this paper who courageously bring light to the fact that global benchmarking is the force behind RTT and other policies students here in the US are subjected to involuntarily and that these policies are skewed and flawed. The organization OECD and the policy making that arises out of this organization drives global competition through test scores but there is no charter or fulnction within the organization to consider, care about or to even improve the lives of children. The facts are indusputable: OECD has no particular stated interest or charter to address the welfare of children their goals are purely driven by economic policy. This is a problem that manifests in the testing craze here in the USA.
The US prides itself on being non conformists. Then, why the craze for our children to conform? Why so much emphasis on standardized education?
I am honored to sign in support. Thank you for the opportunity.
Anna Shah-Bomba
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Proud teacher and parent.
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I sign this as a public school teacher, as a member of both the NEA and BATs, as a parent, and as a concerned US and world citizen. Standardized tests are being misused, misrepresented, and misunderstood, primarily (it appears) in an effort to vilify public schools. This must stop.
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Totally in agreement!
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Yes to all of the above.
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I have twenty years as a public school math teacher and an equal number as a parent of children in public schools. Education cannot be reduced to test scores, and policy makers know this. The drumbeat of false accusations about “failing public schools” is based upon a distortion of PISA results and has opened a new frontier of profiteering. Our complex world demands complex approaches; chasing rankings with “reform” measures is destroying the very localized, creative and responsive educational system that has been the hallmark of a once-vibrant US.
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I signed this letter because I totally agree; the very fact countries leaders are putting so much emphasis on results of an un elected, un democratic, un regulated system itself says alot about the world leaders today. We have G8, World economic forum, Davos, PISA tests all of which are think tanks coming up with ideas on how to develop a world in their own images, just like the empire builders of the past. I fully support high quality education for all, upto and including University for all those whome achieve the grades without any quotas, however as the letter rightly points out, there is more to education than Maths, Science, Reading and tests
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I signed this letter because there’s more to children than a test score. With the over-emphasis of standardized testing, states and schools are forced to focus on test prep, often wasting several days on practice tests created by money-hungry corporations who only value our students for the profit they provide to these companies. Our children and our public schools are NOT for sale!
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I signed this letter because we are basing our future on a test where nothing is equal. We complain in the US that standardized tests use exclusionary wording and that minority children have no say. By the same token, how can a test that is used all over the world possibly standardized? No to mention who is tested and how the data is collected and processed and presented to us. All I know is that as a world traveler and a teacher of internationals students, I constantly hear that the best education to be hd is right here int he USA.
Evaluate that! ^0^
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National Education Policy Center, University of Colorado Boulder.
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These high stakes standardized tests are destroying public education; primarily because they measure the wrong things and force the educational community to standardize their educational programs to conform to the content, or anticipated content, of the tests.
Educating children is not a simple process of force-feeding facts/ideas into the heads of our children. That is what this testing process is driving teachers to attempt. Children are not empty vessels. without their own ideas/opinions ready to accept a canned curriculum imposed upon them by the education establishment. Children must be provided with small class sizes, engaged individually, and motivated to learn by providing teachers with the tools and flexibility in the classroom create a learning environment. Today, the fact content of the knowledge base they acquire in school is not as important as getting students excited about learning, and developing a keen interest in the power that an education can give them. This testing process forces education away from this interactive process between student and teacher that permits students to explore the world of knowledge and really dumbs down education. It becomes tedious and boring to children and they loose interest. All standardized testing is bad for children. This high stakes competetive international testing is worse than bad; it is horrible.
These comments are based on my experience as a science teacher for the past 30 years, observing my students and developing instructional techniques that would get them turned on and excited about learning. Testing can be useful when it is locally developed and used as a teaching tool to 1) help the students and teacher affirm that instruction was received effectively by the students 2) boost confdence in the student’s grasp of content and their ability to use their growing knowledge to solve problems 3) provide incentive for students to study and learn content. Standardized tests are like bullies. They frighten students and teachers and destroy their interactive relationship because of the possible dire consequences to both.
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Reblogged this on Palabras contra el muro and commented:
La carta ha creado mucho revuelo. Ayer El País publicaba un resumen de la misma (http://sociedad.elpais.com/sociedad/2014/05/08/actualidad/1399578636_483607.html), el día 6 era The Guardian quien la publicaba (http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/oecd-pisa-tests-damaging-education-academics). Todo este revuelo, sin duda, no viene dado solo por el contenido, que imagino que no resulta novedoso para quienes trabajamos en relación con la política educativa, sino por el número de profesionales que la firman y la calidad de los mismos como académicos de renombre. Del mismo modo no es que sea una llamada de atención nueva en nuestro país, ya que otras iniciativas parecidas partieron de profesionales españoles para llamar la atención sobre la utilización de los informes PISA por parte de nuestros gobiernos y políticos de turno. Al margen de la gran cantidad de monográficos y artículos académicos escritos en torno a estas evaluaciones internacionales.
Por mi parte os animo a echarle un vistazo y repensar estos informes que están marcando y clasificando la educación en los distintos estados que toman parte de sus pruebas. Por cierto, que Andreas Schleicher ya ha respondido http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/08/pisa-programme-short-term-fixes?CMP=twt_gu
Para tener un poco más de información sobre estos informes y su utilización os dejo también el enlace a uno de los últimos monográficos que salió sobre los mismos:
http://www.ugr.es/~recfpro/?p=1382
Y para facilitar la labor os dejo la carta en español (la traducción es de http://otra-educacion.blogspot.com.es/2014/05/stop-pisa-paren-pisa.html , que además hacen un buen análisis de algunas cuestiones referentes a PISA):
Estamos francamente preocupados por las consecuencias negativas de los ránkings de PISA. Estas son algunas de nuestras preocupaciones:
• Si bien las pruebas estandarizadas vienen siendo utilizadas por décadas (a pesar de serias reservas sobre su validez y confiabilidad), PISA ha contribuido a escalar dichas pruebas y ha incrementado dramáticamente la confianza en mediciones cuantitativas. Por ejemplo, en los Estados Unidos PISA ha sido invocada para justificar el reciente programa “Race to the Top”, que ha aumentado el uso de pruebas estandarizadas para la evaluación de los estudiantes, los profesores y los administradores, las cuales rankean y categorizan a estudiantes, profesores y administradores de acuerdo a los resultados de pruebas ampliamente conocidas por su imperfección (ver, por ejemplo, el declive inexplicado de Finlandia entre los primeros lugares de la tabla de PISA).
• En términos de política educativa, PISA, con su ciclo trianual de evaluación, ha ocasionado un viraje en la atención hacia soluciones de corto plazo destinados a ayudar a los países a escalar rápidamente en los ránkings, pese a que la investigacion muestra que los cambios duraderos en las prácticas educativas toman décadas – no unos pocos años – para mostrar resultados. Por ejemplo, sabemos que el estatus de los docentes y el prestigio de la docencia como profesión tienen gran influencia en la calidad de la enseñanza, pero que dicho estatus varía fuertemente entre culturas y que no es fácilmente influenciable por políticas de corto plazo.
• Al enfatizar un reducido conjunto de aspectos susceptibles de ser medidos en educación, PISA distrae la atención de los objetivos educativos menos susceptibles de ser medidos o imposibles de ser medidos, tales como el desarrollo físico, moral, cívico y artístico, reduciendo de este modo peligrosamente nuestra imaginación colectiva en torno a lo que es o debería ser la educación.
• En tanto organismo de desarrollo económico, la OCDE está naturalmente sesgada a favor del papel económico de las escuelas públicas [estatales]. Pero preparar a los y las jóvenes para el empleo no es la única – ni siquiera la más importante – meta de la educación pública, la cual debe preparar a los estudiantes para participar en formas de autogobierno democrático, en acciones morales y en una vida de desarrollo, crecimiento y bienestar personales.
• A diferencia de organizaciones de Naciones Unidas tales como UNESCO o UNICEF que tienen mandatos claros y legítimos para mejorar la educación y las vidas de los niños en todo el mundo, la OCDE no tiene tal mandato. Tampoco existen a la fecha mecanismos para una efectiva participación democrática en sus procesos de toma de decisión en torno a la educación.
• Para sacar adelante PISA y sus servicios de seguimiento, la OCDE ha acogido “alianzas público-privadas” y se ha aliado con compañías multinacionales con fines de lucro listas para ganar financieramente de los déficits – reales o percibidos – destapados por PISA. Algunas de estas compañías proveen servicios educativos a escuelas y distritos educativos de Estados Unidos, de manera masiva y con fines de lucro, y tienen planes para desarrollar una educación privada con fines de lucro en Africa, donde la OCDE está planeando introducir PISA.
• Finalmente y muy importante: el nuevo régimen de PISA, con su ciclo continuo de medición global, hace daño a nuestros niños y empobrece nuestras aulas, dado que inevitablemente implica más y más largas baterías de pruebas de respuesta múltiple y menos autonomía para los docentes. De este modo, PISA ha aumentado aún más el ya alto nivel de estrés en las escuelas, lo que pone en peligro el bienestar de los estudiantes y de los docentes.
Todo esto está en conflicto abierto con los principios ampliamente aceptados de una práctica educativa democrática:
- Ninguna reforma debe basarse en una sola medición de calidad.
- Ninguna reforma debe ignorar el importante papel de los factores no-educativos, entre los cuales la inequidad socio-económica es esencial. En muchos países, incluido Estados Unidos, la inequidad ha incrementado dramáticamente en los últimos 15 años, lo que explica la brecha creciente en términos educativos entre los ricos y los pobres, brecha que las reformas educativas, no importa cuán sofisticadas, no pueden revertir.
- Una organización como la OCDE, que afecta de manera profunda la vida de nuestras comunidades, debería estar abierta a una rendición de cuentas democrática a miembros de esas comunidades.
Escribimos no solo para destacar déficits y problemas. Querríamos también ofrecer ideas y sugerencias constructivas que puedan aliviar las preocupaciones indicadas. Aunque incompletas, ellas ilustran cómo puede mejorarse el aprendizaje sin los efectos negativos mencionados:
1. Desarrollar alternativas a las tablas de rankings: explorar modos más significativos y menos sensacionalistas/sensacionalizables de informar sobre los resultados de las evaluaciones. Por ejemplo: comparar países en desarrollo – en los que los jóvenes de 15 años son regularmente atraídos hacia el trabajo infantil – con países del primer mundo no hace sentido ni en el plano educativo ni en el plano político, y abre la puerta para acusar a la OCDE de colonialismo educativo.
2. Abrir espacio a la participación de un amplio espectro de actores: al momento, los grupos con mayor influencia sobre el qué y el cómo de la evaluación de aprendizajes a nivel internacional son psicométricos, estadísticos y economistas. Ellos deben ciertamente sentarse a la mesa, pero también otros grupos: padres de familia, educadores, administradores, líderes comunitarios, estudiantes, así como académicos de disciplinas como antropología, sociología, historia, filosofía, lingüística, artes y humanidades. Qué y cómo evaluar la educación de los estudiantes de 15 años de edad debería ser materia de discusión que involucre a todos estos grupos a nivel local, nacional e internacional.
3. Incluir a organizaciones nacionales e internacionales en la formulación de métodos y estándares de evaluación cuya misión va más allá de los aspectos económicos de la educación pública y que conciernen a la salud, el desarrollo humano, el bienestar y la felicidad de los estudiantes y los docentes. Esto incluiría a las organizaciones mencionadas de Naciones Unidas así como a asociaciones de docentes, de padres de familia, de administradores, para mencionar algunas.
4. Publicar los costos directos e indirectos de administrar PISA, de modo que quienes pagan impuestos en los países miembros puedan visualizar alternativas de uso de los millones de dólares que se gastan en estas pruebas y puedan determinar si desean continuar participando en ellas.
5. Dar la bienvenida a la participación de equipos internacionales independientes que monitoreen y observen la administración de PISA desde la concepción hasta la ejecución, de modo que las preguntas sobre formato de las pruebas y sobre los procedimientos estadísticos y de categorización puedan ser sopesados cabalmente, en respuesta a acusaciones de sesgos o de comparaciones injustas.
6. Dar información detallada sobre el papel de compañías privadas con fines de lucro en la preparación, ejecución y seguimiento de las evaluaciones trianuales de PISA, a fin de evitar la apariencia o la realidad de conflictos de interés.
7. Desacelerar la juggernaut (*fuerza destructora) de la evaluación. A fin de ganar tiempo y discutir los temas mencionados a nivel local, nacional e internacional, consideren saltarse el siguiente ciclo de PISA. Esto daría tiempo para incorporar el aprendizaje colectivo – que resultará de las deliberaciones sugeridas – en el nuevo y mejorado modelo de evaluación.
Asumimos que los expertos de la OCDE en PISA están motivados por un deseo sincero de mejorar la educación. Pero nos cuesta entender cómo su organización se ha convertido en el árbitro global de los medios y fines de la educación en el mundo. El foco estrecho con que la OCDE aborda las pruebas estandarizadas corre el riesgo de convertir el aprendizaje en tedio y de matar el placer de aprender. PISA ha llevado a muchos gobiernos a una competencia internacional por los puntajes y la OCDE ha asumido el poder de configurar la política educativa alrededor del mundo, sin debate acerca de la necesidad o de las limitaciones de las metas de la OCDE. Nos preocupa profundamente que medir una gran variedad de tradiciones y culturas educativas usando una única vara, estrecha y sesgada, pueda, al final, causar un daño irreparable a nuestras escuelas y a nuestros estudiantes.
Atentamente,
Andrews, Paul Professor of Mathematics Education, Stockholm University
Atkinson, Lori New York State Allies for Public Education
Ball, Stephen J Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology of Education, Institute of Education, University of London
Barber, Melissa Parents Against High Stakes Testing
Beckett, Lori Winifred Mercier Professor of Teacher Education, Leeds Metropolitan University
Berardi, Jillaine Linden Avenue Middle School, Assistant Principal
Berliner, David Regents Professor of Education at Arizona State University, USA
Bloom, Elizabeth EdD Associate Professor of Education, Hartwick College
Boudet, Danielle Oneonta Area for Public Education
Boland, Neil Senior lecturer, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
Burris, Carol Principal and former Teacher of the Year
Cauthen, Nancy PhD Change the Stakes, NYS Allies for Public Education, USA
Cerrone, Chris Testing Hurts Kids; NYS Allies for Public Education, USA
Ciaran, Sugrue Professor, Head of School, School of Education, University College Dublin
Deutermann, Jeanette Founder Long Island Opt Out, Co-founder NYS Allies for Public Education, USA
Devine, Nesta Associate Professor, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Dodge, Arnie Chair, Department of Educational Leadership, Long Island University, USA
Dodge, Judith Author, Educational Consultant
Farley, Tim Principal, Ichabod Crane School; New York State Allies for Public Education, USA
Fellicello, Stacia Principal, Chambers Elementary School
Fleming, Mary Lecturer, School of Education, National University of Ireland, Galway
Fransson, Göran Associate Professor of Education, University of Gävle, Sweden
Giroux, Henry Professor of English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University
Glass, Gene Senior Researcher, National Education Policy Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Glynn, Kevin Educator, co-founder of Lace to the Top
Goldstein, Harvey Professor of Social Statistics, University of Bristol
Gorlewski, David Director, Educational Leadership Doctoral Program, D’Youville College
Gorlewski, Julie PhD, Assistant Professor, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA
Gowie, Cheryl Professor of Education, Siena College
Greene, Kiersten Assistant Professor of Literacy, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA
Haimson, Leonie Parent Advocate and Director of “Class Size Matters”
Heinz, Manuela Director of Teaching Practice, School of Education, National University of Ireland Galway
Hughes, Michelle Principal, High Meadows Independent School
Jury, Mark Chair, Education Department, Siena College
Kahn, Hudson Valley Against Common Core
Kayden, Michelle Linden Avenue Middle School Red Hook, New York, USA
Kempf, Arlo Program Coordinator of School and Society, OISE, University of Toronto
Kilfoyle, Marla NBCT, General Manager of BATs
Labaree, David Professor of Education, Stanford University
Leonardatos, Harry Principal, high school, Clarkstown, New York, USA
MacBeath, John Professor Emeritus, Director of Leadership for Learning, University of Cambridge
McLaren, Peter Distinguished Professor, Chapman University, USA
McNair, Jessica Co-founder Opt-Out CNY, parent member NYS Allies for Public Education, USA
Meyer, Heinz-Dieter Associate Professor, Education Governance & Policy, State University of New York (Albany), USA
Meyer, Tom Associate Professor of Secondary Education, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA
Millham, Rosemary PhD Science Coordinator, Master Teacher Campus Director, SUNY New Paltz, USA
Millham, Rosemary Science Coordinator/Assistant Professor, Master Teacher Campus Director, State University of New York, New Paltz, USA
Oliveira Andreotti Vanessa Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequality, and Global Change, University of British Columbia
Sperry, Carol Emerita, Millersville University, Pennsylvania, USA
Mitchell, Ken Lower Hudson Valley Superintendents Council
Mucher, Stephen Director, Bard Master of Arts in Teaching Program, Los Angeles, USA
Tuck, Eve Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Native American Studies, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA
Naison, Mark Professor of African American Studies and History, Fordham University; Co-Founder, Badass Teachers Association
Nielsen, Kris Author, Children of the Core
Noddings, Nel Professor (emerita) Philosophy of Education, Stanford University, USA
Noguera, Pedro Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, New York University, USA
Nunez, Isabel Associate Professor, Concordia University, Chicago, USA
Pallas, Aaron Arthur I Gates Professor of Sociology and Education, Columbia University, USA
Peters, Michael Professor, University of Waikato, Honorary Fellow, Royal Society New Zealand
Pugh, Nigel Principal, Richard R Green High School of Teaching, New York City, USA
Ravitch, Diane Research Professor, New York University, USA
Rivera-Wilson Jerusalem Senior Faculty Associate and Director of Clinical Training and Field Experiences, University at Albany, USA
Roberts, Peter Professor, School of Educational Studies and Leadership, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
Rougle, Eija Instructor, State University of New York, Albany, USA
Rudley, Lisa Director: Education Policy-Autism Action Network
Saltzman, Janet Science Chair, Physics Teacher, Red Hook High School
Schniedewind, Nancy Professor of Education, State University of New York, New Paltz, USA
Silverberg, Ruth Associate Professor, College of Staten Island, City University of New York, USA
Sperry, Carol Professor of Education, Emerita, Millersville University
St. John, Edward Algo D. Henderson Collegiate Professor, University of Michigan, USA
Suzuki, Daiyu Teachers College at Columbia University, USA
Swaffield, Sue Senior Lecturer, Educational Leadership and School Improvement, University of Cambridge
Tanis, Bianca Parent Member: ReThinking Testing
Thomas, Paul Associate Professor of Education, Furman University
Thrupp, Martin Professor of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Tobin, KT Founding member, ReThinking Testing
Tomlinson, Sally Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths College, University of London; Senior Research Fellow, Department of Education, Oxford University
Tuck, Eve Coordinator of Native American Studies, State University of New York at New Paltz, USA
VanSlyke-Briggs Kjersti Associate Professor, State University of New York, Oneonta, USA
Wilson, Elaine Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
Wrigley, Terry Honorary senior research fellow, University of Ballarat, Australia
Zahedi, Katie Principal, Linden Ave Middle School, Red Hook, New York, USA
Zhao, Yong Professor of Education, Presidential Chair, University of Oregon, USA
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The OECD has moved beyond objective supplier of information into neo-liberal policy advocacy. Their claims of PISA results being objective, non-biased indicators of education quality are unfounded and their recommendations to use PISA results to inform national policy making are dangerous. The OECD’s myopic focus on education as an economic tool violates the Jeffersonian ideals of education and does not take into account the socio-civic and avocational importance of schooling.
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Hadenfeldt, Martina Lehrerin
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Reblogged this on blog L. R. Capuana and commented:
I signed and support the OECD PISA LETTER
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Pingback: OPEN LETTER TO ANDREAS SCHLEICHER, OECD, PARIS | The Plain Satisfactions
Professor Emeritus Stephen Kemmis, Strategic Research Leader, Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education, Charles Sturt University, Australia.
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