Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/45838
DPASII-Revised Update be different but still assess exactly the same benchmarks; and, in a few groups those schools have already found or developed pre and post tests which reflect all of the bench- marks, were told flat out that they can't use them. The DCAS uses only multiple Dom Zaffora (center, blue shirt), president of the Woodbridge E.A., shares reactions to the rating system with UniServ Director Wendy Cannon (standing), Jeff Taschner, DSEA general counsel, and Jill Lewandowski (far left). Say what?! I f you hear of or are told something about DPASSII- Revised that just doesn't sound right, head to DSEA's Urban Legends page where we have a growing list of falsehoods and half-truths being spread about DPASII-R implementation this year. If yours isn't there, click on Contact DSEA Truth Squad! Go to . Our goal: a fair and reli- able evaluation system Your feedback this year is essential to getting ratings that are fair, reflect the work you were hired to do, and that make sense. DSEA staff, leaders and your local leaders will find ways for you to provide feedback, ask your ques- tions, and discuss and help imple- ment strategy. Please share your experiences with the revised DPAS II system with your local leaders. Let them know what is working well and what needs to be improved. With this information, DSEA can work with DOE to correct situations that are unfair or unworkable. www.dsea.org "As we continue to learn more from teachers and specialists about problems with DPASII train- ing, with disregard for input from Student Measure Work Groups, and with misrepresenta- tion of portions of the Component 5 plan, we may need to change our strategy. It is essential that everyone share their experiences with DPASII with both local leaders AND UniServ directors, especially about Component 5." - DSEA President Frederika Jenner to local officers gathered to review where we are and how to better communicate and mobilize moving forward If you were working in Delaware when DPAS II was first adopted, you may remember that it was piloted for two years, in Appoquinimink and Caesar Rodney, with improvements made that came directly from feedback from teach- ers and specialists. That's what this year is, a pilot: to gather evidence to determine if the rating system is working or not. Please document and share your experiences throughout the 2011-12 school year. Your concrete examples and feedback will help us to secure an evaluation system where educa- tor accountability is based upon fair and reliable measures of stu- dent performance. Concerns surfacing Still room for improvement • DPASII-Revised Training for educators – Not consistent throughout districts; giving teach- ers mixed messages, and, at times, inaccurate information. Online training modules, promised for late August, are just now available. • DPASII Work Groups on Multiple Measures of Student Achievement – Teachers report that DoE is telling your colleagues in the Work Groups that all test question must be weighted the same; all benchmarks must have the same amount of questions asked, the pre and post tests must choice but these proposed tests must include short answer ques- tions. Teachers want to know who will grade these; why the different formats; why should students even take this process seriously when they aren't immediately and direct- ly affected by the outcome. They also feel rushed and have been told their work is just the beginning, just a start. "We were told the same things in the Benchmarks workgroups, too. Yet our early work became regulation very quickly," observes Mike Sampere, a Social Studies teacher at Polytech High School and presi- dent of PEA at a DSEA meeting of local Kent and Sussex County presi- dents. "It looks like our work now is futile because they have their minds already made up and they keep trying to guide us towards a model they already have in mind. Many of my colleagues don't want to come back for the second session unless they are willing to listen to us. We're not being listened to at this point. Many of us are frustrat- ed and discouraged and do not want our names associated with a prod- uct that has no hope of being fair or effective as an assessment tool." Sampere concludes that he and others came, "… optimistic that we could develop a fair and reliable set of tests, but I just don't believe in the process being used to achieve that end so far. We're not being lis- tened to. It's a waste of time. Many of us are frustrated and discour- aged." • How the Component 5 ratings will be calculated has not yet been determined. The Delaware Dept. of Education has yet to submit a process for determining student growth. A 100- point system they submitted to the U.S. Dept. of Education was reject- ed this summer, with suggestions for a process that establishes validi- ty and reliability. To date, a revised amendment proposal has not been submitted. October 2011 DSEA ACTION! 5 Accountability/DPASII.html www.dsea.org/