The AMP Suspended in the Midst of Greater Data Tracking

For many families, the most important reason to opt out of the test is the data collection and tracking of students by data collectors. The AMP is a data element in the P-20W Answers Project.  So, while this blog is mainly about the right of parents to refuse or opt out of testing, the data issue is related to it.  So Alaska, there is good news and bad news....

The Good News

The Alaska Department of Education has confirmed that the AMP has been suspended for 2016.

The Bad News

However, it seems that Alaskans were misled regarding the P-20W ANSWERS program.  Remember being told that the P-20W/Answers project would sunset in 2015?

Guess what? It did not sunset. In fact, it seems to have new life, and a clone program in the Alaska Department of Labor. The clone program through the Department of Labor is yet unnamed, but is discussed here. It is very self explanatory, but a screen shot of what it says is below in case they decide to scrub it from their page.

So, it seems the Alaska Student Loan and the Alaska Commission on Post-secondary Education are committed to keeping this database alive anyway they can.

How did this happen? It was suppose to sunset in June 2015.....

The first reports that met our ears (and later our eyes) happened when the ANSWERS project did not sunset as it was scheduled in 2015.  At first it appeared that the original P-20W grant was simply extended to 2016 by the Institute for Education Science as shown here.

You can go to the website and download the grant for yourself and see that it is the same one that was suppose to sunset in June 2015.  In August 2015, the Alaska Department of Labor received a generous extension and funds.

It seems they also went hunting for more funds. This time they received funds from the US Department of Labor under the guise of Workforce Data Quality.

So, how long does round 5 WDQI keep ANSWERS going? It appears until 2018 based on their press release from the segment shown below:

What data does it cover? Well, we don't know because it is redacted. What is known is that it will continue to include the PFD data, the wage and occupation codes of every Alaskan who has a pay check, and where that person lives and works. The data is connected to the data held by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development in the On-line Alaska School Information System (OASIS).

People need to speak up and register their disapproval--or these agencies will take your silence as consent.  The people of Alaska have the right to know what data is being collected on them and by whom and how that data is used. This is federal law. The state constitution also has strong right to privacy provisions, and the Alaska legislature is tasked with overseeing that provision of the state constitution.

Please contact your state representatives and state senators.  Also, let your school district know that you are opposed to this data mining. Contact ACPE and give them your opinion on tracking your students without your consent. Also, don't forget the Governor Bill Walker at  (907) 465-3500.

Did Your School District Inform You of Your Rights?

As many of you are aware, there is a new federal law on the books regarding education that is titled Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). There is an interesting provision in this law that parents may find useful, according to Senator Murkowski's Office. 

Oh, Alaska parents, did you not know that the Alaska Department of Education and your local school districts were suppose to inform you of your rights to refuse the test under the new federal law?  

Perhaps Interim Commissioner MacCauley is too busy calling parents a threat to be bothered to study the new ESSA?  Because under the new law, it is her job to notify parents of their right to refuse the test, not to demonize them in power noodle presentations. 

Once again, this blog will be about the work that your tax dollars pay others to do.


First, there is the provision that districts are suppose to inform parents that they have the right to refuse/opt out of testing. 

Section 1111(e)(2), which reads:

‘‘(e) PARENTS RIGHT-TO-KNOW.—

‘‘(2) TESTING TRANSPARENCY.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning of each school year, a local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving funds under this part that the parents may request, and the local educational agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding any State or local educational agency policy regarding student participation in any assessments mandated by section 1111(b)(2) and by the State or local educational agency, which shall include a policy, procedure, or parental right to opt the child out of such assessment, where applicable.

‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—Subject to subparagraph (C), each local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall make widely available through public means (including by posting in a clear and easily accessible manner on the local educational agency’s website and, where practicable, on the website of each school served by the local educational agency) for each grade served by the local educational agency, information on each assessment required by the State to comply with section 1111, other assessments required by the State, and where such information is available and feasible to report, assessments required districtwide by the local educational agency, including—

‘‘(i) the subject matter assessed;

‘‘(ii) the purpose for which the assessment is designed and used;

‘‘(iii) the source of the requirement for the assessment; and

‘‘(iv) where such information is available—

‘‘(I) the amount of time students will spend taking the assessment, and the schedule for the assessment; and

‘‘(II) the time and format for disseminating results.

‘‘(C) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY THAT DOES NOT OPERATE A WEBSITE.—In the case of a local educational agency that does not operate a website, such local educational agency shall determine how to make the information described in subparagraph (A) widely available, such as through distribution of that information to the media, through public agencies, or directly to parents.

Second, the federal law cannot override state and local legislation--or the Alaska Constitution. It is in the law itself.  Again,  Section 1111(b)(2)(K)m which ensures that State or local laws allowing parents to opt their children out of assessments cannot be overruled by the U.S. Department of Education.  Section 1111(b)(2)(K) reads:

‘‘(2) ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS.—

‘‘(K) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON PARENT RIGHTS.—

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as preempting a State or local law regarding the decision of a parent

to not have the parent’s child participate in the academic assessments under this paragraph.

Then there is that pesky 95% test rule from No Child Left Behind. The old rule stated that a state was not making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) if 95% of students failed to take the exam. It seems the "requirement" is still there in Sec. 111.

Sec. 1111

‘‘(c) STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM.—

‘‘(4) DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM.—

‘‘(E) ANNUAL MEASUREMENT OF ACHIEVEMENT.—

Annually measure the achievement of not less than 95 percent of all students, and 95 percent of all students in each subgroup of students, who are enrolled in public schools on the assessments described under subsection (b)(2)(v)(I).

‘‘(IV) the weight of any measure or indicator used to identify or meaningfully differentiate schools, under this part;

‘‘(V) the specific methodology used by States to meaningfully differentiate or identify schools under this part;

HOWEVER,  under ESSA,  the 95% requirement is no longer a pass/fail indicator.  If a state chooses for it not to be a requirement, it can simply rewrite the weights assigned in the formula for evaluating schools, or in the case of Alaska, the Alaska School Performance Index,  commonly called the ASPI by education technocrats. For example, give a weight of 0.1% to participation rate in evaluating schools and the Department cannot make them do otherwise:

Sec. 1111

‘‘(e) PROHIBITION.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or permit the Secretary—

‘‘(B) as a condition of approval of the State plan, or revisions or amendments to, the State plan, or approval of a waiver request submitted under section 8401, to—

‘‘(iii) prescribe—

‘‘(III) indicators that States use within the State accountability system under this section, including any requirement to measure student growth, or, if a State chooses to measure student growth, the specific metrics used to measure such growth under this part;

‘‘(IV) the weight of any measure or indicator used to identify or meaningfully differentiate schools, under this part;

‘‘(V) the specific methodology used by States to meaningfully differentiate or identify schools under this part;

‘‘(XI) the way in which the State factors the requirement under subsection (c)(4)(E)(i) [the 95% participation rate; see above] into the statewide accountability system under this section; or

‘‘(C) to issue new non-regulatory guidance that—

‘‘(i) in seeking to provide explanation of requirements under this section for State or local educational agencies, either in response to requests for information or in anticipation of such requests, provides a strictly limited or exhaustive list to illustrate successful implementation of provisions under this section; or

‘‘(ii) purports to be legally binding;

Don't forget, your right as a parent doesn't flow from the state of Alaska, it flows from the founding documents, along with the due process provisions of the 14th Amendment. Alaskan parents should not be bullied.

2016 Refuse the Alaska Measures of Progress

Last year, parents were encouraged to exercise their right to refuse the test known as the Alaska Measures of Progress-- or AMP.  This year we are encouraging parents to do the same thing. For those parents new to Alaska, the AMP is Alaska's version of the PARCC, SBAC, and SAGE test. It is a computer adaptive test given in March and April to students in 3rd through 10th grade to comply with a federal grant requirements related to the Elementary and Secondary Education Program (ESEA).

The AMP should not be confused with the MAP, or Measures of Academic Progress. The MAP is used by many districts as a placement test. Placement tests are an entirely different entity--this website does not address the MAP, but it does address the AMP.

We have a suggested letter parents can use, or you can obviously write your own.

Why Refuse the Alaska Measures of Progress? 

Well, there were several reasons last year.  Besides the lack of data security, there are some additional reasons:

1) The test is not a valid measure of student progress. There have been repeated requests by the various people to the Alaska Department of Education for the documents demonstrating that the test meets professional standards of  fairness, validity, and reliability. There have been no documents forthcoming that meet the professional standards of testing.

The only mechanism for demonstrating this was to add performance standards to the testing. The addition of these standards would have made the test developmentally inappropriate and cost prohibitive. The Mat-Su School Board had meetings on these performance standards.

2) The data is shared without parent or student consent and placed in a longitudinal data base for the purpose of tracking students. This data base correlates the AMP scores with wage data from the Department of Labor, Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend data, and Higher Education Data. It may also correlate other information collected regarding students. The data is housed in a way that is personally identifiable, or "unit level."

While the grant for this data base was suppose to expire in June 2015, it seems the grant was extended. Commissioner Hanley indicated at a meeting in May 2015 in Anchorage that he closed the door between the P-20W and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development data set. However, the Commissioner appears to have had a change of heart, and the data set is still active with student data being added.

Don't let school officials or the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development confuse the conversation on this data with the district report card--that is aggregated data. That is entirely different from the P-20W ANSWERs project-- this is personally identifiable data, or "unit level record" data.

3) The AMP is a computer adaptive test. It was designed to measure the performance of the teacher and the school--but becomes part of your student's permanent record. The accountability measures have been greatly relaxed by new federal legislation, making the AMP and similar tests much less important.  This test is being retired, and will not be used in subsequent years.  The Commissioner has resigned, and the Obama Administration will be gone next year. The administration of this test is no longer necessary. While school officials may be required to administer the test, parents have the right to refuse the test for their child.

Why should a flawed metric become part of your child's permanent record?

4) The AMP is an computer adaptive test. The American Enterprise Institute, the group that owns the computer adaptive technology, has stated repeatedly that the test discriminates against students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Why would you want your child to participate in such a test?

5) The results from the 2015 AMP test were so bad, many parents called for an investigation into the grading procedures and the KITE application. Less than 20% of the state scored

Parents Have The Right to Refuse AMP Testing

 WITHOUT Retribution

Commissioner Hanley in October 2015

Former School Board President Esther Cox 

(start at the 4:44 mark)

Chairman of the Senate Education Committee Mike Dunleavy

What does a parent need to do in order to refuse testing? 

Some districts have a form for parents to fill out to refuse the test and others do not. However, the AMP administrator test booklet issued last year stated on page 112 that a parent could send a note, call the school, or email the school. It is recommended that parents refuse the test in a way that they can document. Also make certain the school knows that you are also refusing testing on make-up days. Last year, several families that had refused the test found out later that their student had taken the test on a make-up day.

The right to refuse (sometimes called opt-out) is a right that flows from the Bill of Rights, the First Amendment, and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.  The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that parents possess the “fundamental right” to “direct the upbringing and education of their children.” The Court stated that “the child is not the mere creature of the State: those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right coupled with the high duty to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.” (Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-35)

The Supreme Court criticized a state legislature for trying to interfere “with the power of parents to control the education of their own.” (Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 402.) In Meyer, the Supreme Court held that the right of parents to raise their children free from unreasonable state interference is one of the unwritten “liberties” protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. (262 U.S. 399).

In recognition of both the right and responsibility of parents to control their children’s education, the Court has stated, “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for the obligations the State can neither supply nor hinder.” (Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158).

Griswold v. Connecticut emphasized that the state cannot interfere with the right of a parent to control his child’s education, and that the right to educate one’s child as one chooses is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. The Court further stated that this right was applicable by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

The choice to refuse is up to you.
https://tinyurl.com/NOAMP4ME

The "Refuse the AMP" Sample Letter

Refusal/Opt Out of ESSA Testing--- Sample letter for Alaska



I am the legal parent/guardian  of _________________________ at ___________________________

                                                      (Child's name)                                  (School/District)

I am refusing to consent to my child being administered the Alaska Measures of Progress (AMP) in the 2015-2016 academic year. 

Without my consent, the data from the Alaska Measures of Progress, along with other information in the Online Alaska Student Information System (OASIS) is being given, without my consent, to the Alaska Commission on Post-secondary Education. From there, the data is being shared with other entities. Commissioner Hanley gave assurance in May 2015 that the data would no longer be shared and the P-20W grant would expire. However, a recent presentation in Juneau by ACPE indicates that the ANSWERS project is alive and well. This data sharing and tracking of students continues, despite assurances otherwise made by the Commissioner in May 2015. This violates my child's right of privacy under the Alaska Constitution and violates my right as a parent.

Furthermore, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development has not provided any documentation showing the validity of the AMP test.  In the 2014-2015 academic year, the test scores did not provide educators with any useful information in a timely fashion. With less than 20% of the state testing at the proficient level, it seems there are major problems with the test as a measure of student progress. This is not a metric I want on my child's permanent record. 

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is eliminating the test in subsequent academic years. This means that if there are any results, there will be no basis of comparison. Therefore, there is no benefit to my child for taking the test. 

As the parent, I have the right to refuse the test without retribution to myself or my child. That right was recognized in hearings before the Alaska Senate by outgoing School Board President Esther Cox and in October 2015 by Commissioner Hanley. The right to refuse is also included in the 2014 AMP District Test Coordinator Manual, page 112, and by the Alaska State Senate Education Committee.

The right of the parent flows from the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment in Meyer v Nebraska (262 U.S. 390, 402) and upheld in Prince v. Massachusetts, (321 U.S. 158). Constitutional law has greater weight than Alaska's Administrative Code. 

While the District may be obligated to make sure 95% of all students are tested, the new federal law allows states to determine how that calculation is made and how the sanctions are determined. Since the Commissioner is already on the record that there will be no retribution, it would be difficult for any school to be penalized over the 95% rule. 

__________________________________

Parent Signature & Contact Information