MEMORANDUM

To:TSPC Commissioners

From:Teresa Ferrer, OEA TSPC Liaison

Date:09-19-12

Subject:September 2012 Hearing

The Oregon Education Association respectively submits the following testimony to the commissioners of the Teachers Standards & Practices:

  • Repeal of OAR 584-052-0030, 584-052-0031, 584-052-0032, 584-052-0033
  • The Oregon Education Association has been a proponent of the Alternative Assessment process in Oregon licensure since its inception because of some deeply-felt core beliefs as well as strong rejections of the out of control myths around testing. It is our hope that Oregon does not fall prey to those myths or lose its way in nurturing the much needed diversification of educators in this state.
  • Alternative Assessment is not only open to diverse candidates but to anyone who fails to pass the required exam with two trials. Although we have yet to see a comprehensive report of the demographics of those who have been licensed through alternative assessment over time, one can reasonably observe that diverse candidates have been proportionately advantaged by this process.
  • OAR 342.447 requires the State Board of Higher Education to prepare a plan to recruit, admit, retain and graduate more minority teachers in the state of Oregon and this has been a requirement since the early 90’s, along with similar TSPC program standards under Division 17 rules. There has been little increase in the minority teaching ranks as compared to the increase of students of color in our state in the four decades since these standards have been set. In fact the Minority Teacher report that attempted to track this work has been long abandoned.
  • OEA believes that, despite the abandonment of the energy around the Minority Teacher Report, three initiatives in this state have continued to push progress ….as tiny as it is….in this area.
  • Struggling but courageous programs that continue to intentionally recruit and retain diverse educators despite the barriers that not only continue to exist but in fact… continue to grow… in our state:
  • PSU’s BTP (Bilingual Teacher Pathway) Program and others that continue to work outside the typical Oregon box
  • Portland Teachers Program
  • Pathways programs that guide and nurture diverse teachers from the ranks of educational support professionals in our schools and part of our diverse communities
  • OALA (Oregon Association of Latino Administrators)
  • Coalition work through the Oregon Leadership Network to keep the eye on equity in all of our practice and systems.
  • Alternative Assessment that has allowed for an equitable means for demonstrating subject competency in compliance with federal HQ requirements for all areas except multiple subjects and social studies.
  • OEA strongly believes that working to close the achievement gap or provide equitable access to high quality learning and growing for Oregon students means much more than emphasizing cultural competency or creating more “rigor “(defined by a clearly limited lens of the word)in our standards or assessments thereof. True equity and the pursuit of it will necessitate a clear headed confrontation of barriers at all levels. And as long as the number of diverse licensed educators in Oregon schools continues to lag miserably behind the strong growth of diverse students in almost every district around the state…the adults in our schools will continue to be an embarrassing reflection of the inequities in our non-inclusive society.
  • Alternative Assessment is not the answer, but by revoking it, the commission is closing one open door and resurrecting another barrier to diversifying the educator force in our state.
  • Setting standards for educators and the preparation of those educators is the work of TSPC. We also understand that TSPC must operate within a larger national landscape beyond our state. Part of what is weighing into the decision to revoke Alternative Assessment is the pressure to improve Oregon’s standing in various national reports. So if the goal is to improve TSPC’s national ratings, then this decision will most likely be helpful. What will it mean to Oregon schools and classrooms? To many or even most people who care to look, they may not see any demonstrative change (especially since we have so far to go in our state!). But for those of us who have different goals in mind and look to nurture any incremental change we see, one third of what has been working in Oregon to diversify the teaching force would, should commissioners vote to revoke this rule, no longer exist.
  • And then there is what remains….testing… as the final arbitrator of knowledge: content knowledge to be specific. Most educators agree there are multiple ways to demonstrate content knowledge. The progression of proficiency based learning and assessment is a testament to a growing acceptance of this view. Alternative assessment is a “proficiency-based “ route for demonstrating content knowledge. Could it be improved? Maybe, but that is not the question being presented by this proposal. Combine that with the growing awareness of the limited ability of any test to demonstrate anything equitably and you have a decision that is masquerading as empirical when all evidence points elsewhere.
  • OEA asks commissioners to vote NO on this proposal to revoke Alternative Assessment (Repeal of OAR 584-052-0030, 584-052-0031, 584-052-0032, 584-052-0033) as a courageous act of defiance to the myth of testing and the political capitol that it promises but, more importantly to reaffirm the commission’s commitment to the very hard work of diversifying the educator force in Oregon.