Please Sign the Petition in Support of Garfield Teachers

Go here to sign the petition.

The Measure of Academic Progress test used in Seattle Public Schools needs to be removed because:

-The MAP’s margin of error is greater than expected gains.

-The MAP is not aligned with state standards which teachers are expected to teach. There is no way to see the content of the test and thus prepare for it.

-Administering the MAP takes time away from instruction. The test is taken 3 times a year and requires dedication of crucial instruction hours to test preparation and administration.

-The test negatively impacts students with special needs & English language
learners.

-The MAP test is administered online and thus monopolizes computer lab access for weeks at a time, preventing students from using the school computers for other important projects.

-The MAP is not taken seriously by students when they realize their grade isn’t
affected by their performance on the test. Students are known to intentionally put
the wrong answer in order to lower the difficulty of the test. Teachers' performance evaluations are then partially based on the results of a test students don't take seriously.

-The MAP was adopted at a cost of millions of dollars to the district amid a serious conflict of interest. Former SPS Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, sat on the board of the MAP test’s developer and owner, the Northwest Evaluation Association, when the MAP test was adopted by the Seattle School District. A state auditor found this to be an ethics violation.

-The company that makes the MAP, the NWEA, advises that the MAP test not be used for teacher evaluation.

-The Seattle Education Association has condemned the use of the MAP test.

To:
Seattle Public Schools, Superintendent José L. Banda 

We are asking that you support all teachers refusing to administer the MAP.

The Measure of Academic Progress test used in Seattle Public Schools needs to be removed because:

-The MAP’s margin of error is greater than expected gains.

-The MAP is not aligned with state standards which teachers are expected to teach. There is no way to see the content of the test and thus prepare for it.

-Administering the MAP takes time away from instruction. The test is taken 3 times a year and requires dedication of crucial instruction hours to test preparation and administration.

-The test negatively impacts students with special needs & English language
learners.

-The MAP test is administered online and thus monopolizes computer lab access for weeks at a time, preventing students from using the school computers for other important projects.

-The MAP is not taken seriously by students when they realize their grade isn’t
affected by their performance on the test. Students are known to intentionally put
the wrong answer in order to lower the difficulty of the test. Teachers' performance evaluations are then partially based on the results of a test students don't take seriously.

-The MAP was adopted at a cost of millions of dollars to the district amid a serious conflict of interest. Former SPS Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, sat on the board of the MAP test’s developer and owner, the Northwest Evaluation Association, when the MAP test was adopted by the Seattle School District. A state auditor found this to be an ethics violation.

-The company that makes the MAP, the NWEA, advises that the MAP test not be used for teacher evaluation.

-The Seattle Education Association has condemned the use of the MAP test.

Please support these teachers as they stand up for their students!

Sincerely,
[Your name]