EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
 105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
E-mail

November 26, 2001

Testing and Data Collection

By Julie Quist

Standardized state and federal tests face controversy throughout the country as every state is pushed into compliance with the new education system. Teachers and schools are becoming so increasingly focused on practicing for and administering required state and federal tests that genuine teaching often takes a back seat. Teaching to the test has become the core curriculum.

While tests have always been used to measure what students learn, assessments mandated from the federal government that dictate what teachers must teach have been foreign to our free way of life. Mandated federal tests, standards and curriculum are brazenly unconstitutional. Calling them "voluntary" is an added insult in light of the rewards and sanctions federal law is attaching to the test results.

In addition, the state and federal "academic" assessments and numerous student surveys collect and store extensive personal data on students, teachers, schools, parents and families. They collect not only detailed personal information, they collect and store information on the beliefs, the attitudes and the values of students.

For example, an assignment to a 6th grade class to meet MN state standards probes the students’ beliefs about death:

"True or False or Uncertain:

Then the student is to answer open-ended questions regarding his/her own experiences with death, what feelings they evoked, feelings about the student’s own death, where the student believes he/she acquired these feelings about his/her death, and so on. Unfortunately, these are not uncommon examples. The parent is not part of this discussion. After doing this assignment, the student has revealed the most intimate details of his/her beliefs and values. The information becomes part of the student’s permanent data record. Future surveys will track changes in the student’s worldview.

What happened to the "right to privacy" when we really need it? What right does government have invading our children in this manner? And what happened to history and geography? This sort of curriculum is commonly substituting for real education.

If you doubt that test data is being collected and stored on national databases, refer to information put out by the U.S. Department of Education, such as the "Student Data Handbook."

"These systems provide teachers and others concerned with effective program design with day-to-day access to information about the students’ background, learning experiences, and performance. They also provide the flexibility necessary to supply aggregate data to school boards, state and federal governments, and other interested parties and to conduct program evaluations. To be effective, however, these systems must record data accurately and comparably for all students, in all places, and at all times."

The Student Data Handbook promotes "comparability of data at the local, state and national levels including data reported by the Common Core of Data (CCD) survey." The year-2000 version states that the following "data elements" "represent the types of information that could be collected":

The Common Core of Data states that they are a "comprehensive, annual, national statistical database ... designed to be comparable across all states." Their data on students and staff "includes name, address, phone number, and type of locale; the data on students and staff include selected demographic characteristics."

The NAEP (the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress) is two-thirds personal, demographic information-gathering. Mandated statewide assessments (MCAs in Minnesota) and Basic Skills Tests inquire extensively about personal, demographic questions. Surveys of many kinds are continually collecting personal data on students. The Search Institute Survey probes deeply into family and personal experiences, relationships and beliefs. Organizations like 4-H conduct sampling surveys of the personal beliefs and values of its members. All of this information ends up in national databases that have been set up with "comparable" systems – that is, data sharing is easily compatible.

(See an article on who has access to the NAEP data.)

The Student Data Handbook has 26 categories alone for religious affiliations. They provide 18 different categories for identification numbers, including health record number, school-assigned number, social security number, ACT code, U.S. Department of Education number, private association number, and so on.

The Handbook provides 18 categories for types of assessments. One is an "attitudinal test – An assessment to measure the mental and emotional set or pattern of likes and dislikes or opinions held by a student or group of students. This is often used in relation to considerations such as controversial issues or personal adjustments."

Performance Assessments are listed (in Minnesota called the Profile of Learning). Number 15 is a "Psychological test – An assessment to measure a sample of behavior in an objective and standardized way."

Not surprisingly, "Career Objectives – A student’s occupational plan or aspirations" is a data element that provide various options. The Data Handbook provides a way to provide information "about a student’s participation in cocurricular or extracurricular activities under the sponsorship of the school," with 100 options listed. "Non-school Activity" also has a code with 15 options.

As the Student Handbook points out, "Teachers can analyze student performance using a variety of types of information and decide what concepts need to be retaught or reinforced." Since personal beliefs and values make up such an important part of this data system, it will not be simply teachers, but curriculum developers, as well, who will use this data to create the "outcome" they have established.

Confidential vs. Anonymous

Data collecting that is "confidential" is not anonymous. Anonymous means that no one knows who answers the questions – ever. "Confidential" means that while the general public will not see the results, many individuals, institutions and levels of government have access. If there is never tracking of specific answers to specific people, why are unique identifying numbers assigned to students’ tests and surveys? The word "confidential" is a red flag that means answers are stored in a "confidential" database available for a lifetime to vast numbers of people unknown to the parents or student.

The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) allows information in student records to be disclosed without student or parental permission to school employees, other schools to which a student is transferring, certain government officials, parties associated with financial aid, organizations conducting certain studies, accrediting organizations, and others.

FERPA guarantees students and/or their parents the right to inspect and review all of their education records maintained by the school or school district, and the right to request that a school correct records believed inaccurate or misleading. Unfortunately, much of the data collection and storage is aggregated outside of the school and the school district.

For more on data privacy, see Chapter 13 from The Seamless Web, the chapter written by Dr. Karen Effrem.

What can parents do? (Part I):

  1. Never agree to let your child participate in surveys. It is not the business of schools, communities or organizations to be collecting data on your child.
  2. Recognize that "confidential" does not mean "anonymous." Don’t be fooled into thinking that no one will have access to "confidential" data.
  3. Include a "Parental Informed Consent Notice" in your child’s file at school. The letter would serve notice that you require a five day prior notification of any statewide test or assessment being given to your child. It would also serve notice that you refuse permission for your child to participate in any survey, whether involving aptitudes personality, interests, opinions, beliefs or experiences without your prior written consent.
  4. Refuse to have your child participate in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) if he/she is selected. Your child is not required to participate.
  5. For Minnesota parents - If your child attends a private school, your child has no legal obligation to take part in the Basic Skills Tests. If your private school participates in the Basic Skills Tests, encourage your school administration to look into the matter further and stop its participation in the federal data collecting system of our children. Also consider opting your child out of the tests.

As stated by Samuel Blumenfeld, "It is absolutely essential, if we are to remain a free people, that this entire data-collection system be stopped and dismantled. It has no place in a free society. The legislation that authorized it must be repealed or rescinded or defunded."