Repost: PARCC Test Exposed

 

The PARCC Test: Exposed

The author of this blog posting is a public school teacher who will remain anonymous.

I will not reveal my district or my role due to the intense legal ramifications for exercising my Constitutional First Amendment rights in a public forum. I was compelled to sign a security form that stated I would not be “Revealing or discussing passages or test items with anyone, including students and school staff, through verbal exchange, email, social media, or any other form of communication” as this would be considered a “Security Breach.” In response to this demand, I can only ask—whom are we protecting?

There are layers of not-so-subtle issues that need to be aired as a result of national and state testing policies that are dominating children’s lives in America. As any well prepared educator knows, curriculum planning and teaching requires knowing how you will assess your students and planning backwards from that knowledge. If teachers are unable to examine and discuss the summative assessment for their students, how can they plan their instruction? Yet, that very question assumes that this test is something worth planning for. The fact is that schools that try to plan their curriculum exclusively to prepare students for this test are ignoring the body of educational research that tells us how children learn, and how to create developmentally appropriate activities to engage students in the act of learning. This article will attempt to provide evidence for these claims as a snapshot of what is happening as a result of current policies.

The PARCC test is developmentally inappropriate

In order to discuss the claim that the PARCC test is “developmentally inappropriate,” examine three of the most recent PARCC 4th grade items.

A book leveling system, designed by Fountas and Pinnell, was made “more rigorous” in order to match the Common Core State Standards. These newly updated benchmarks state that 4th Graders should be reading at a Level S by the end of the year in order to be considered reading “on grade level.” [Celia’s note: I do not endorse leveling books or readers, nor do I think it appropriate that all 9 year olds should be reading a Level S book to be thought of as making good progress.]

The PARCC, which is supposedly a test of the Common Core State Standards, appears to have taken liberties with regard to grade level texts. For example, on the Spring 2016 PARCC for 4th Graders, students were expected to read an excerpt from Shark Life: True Stories about Sharks and the Sea by Peter Benchley and Karen Wojtyla. According to Scholastic, this text is at an interest level for Grades 9-12, and at a 7th Grade reading level. The Lexile measure is 1020L, which is most often found in texts that are written for middle school, and according to Scholastic’s own conversion chart would be equivalent to a 6th grade benchmark around W, X, or Y (using the same Fountas and Pinnell scale).

Even by the reform movement’s own standards, according to MetaMetrics’ reference material on Text Complexity Grade Bands and Lexile Bands, the newly CCSS aligned “Stretch” lexile level of 1020 falls in the 6-8 grade range. This begs the question, what is the purpose of standardizing text complexity bands if testing companies do not have to adhere to them? Also, what is the purpose of a standardized test that surpasses agreed-upon lexile levels?

So, right out of the gate, 4th graders are being asked to read and respond to texts that are two grade levels above the recommended benchmark. After they struggle through difficult texts with advanced vocabulary and nuanced sentence structures, they then have to answer multiple choice questions that are, by design, intended to distract students with answers that appear to be correct except for some technicality.

Finally, students must synthesize two or three of these advanced texts and compose an original essay. The ELA portion of the PARCC takes three days, and each day includes a new essay prompt based on multiple texts. These are the prompts from the 2016 Spring PARCC exam for 4th Graders along with my analysis of why these prompts do not reflect the true intention of the Common Core State Standards.

ELA 4th Grade Prompt #1

Refer to the passage from “Emergency on the Mountain” and the poem “Mountains.” Then answer question 7.

1. Think about how the structural elements in the passage from “Emergency on the Mountain” differ from the structural elements in the poem “Mountains.”

Write an essay that explains the differences in the structural elements between the passage and the poem. Be sure to include specific examples from both texts to support your response.

The above prompt probably attempts to assess the Common Core standard RL.4.5: “Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.”

However, the Common Core State Standards for writing do not require students to write essays comparing the text structures of different genres. The Grade 4 CCSS for writing about reading demand that students write about characters, settings, and events in literature, or that they write about how authors support their points in informational texts. Nowhere in the standards are students asked to write comparative essays on the structures of writing. The reading standards ask students to “explain” structural elements, but not in writing. There is a huge developmental leap between explaining something and writing an analytical essay about it. [Celia’s note: The entire enterprise of analyzing text structures in elementary school – a 1940’s and 50’s college English approach called “New Criticism” — is ridiculous for 9 year olds anyway.]

The PARCC does not assess what it attempts to assess

ELA 4th Grade Prompt #2

Refer to the passages from “Great White Shark” and Face the Sharks. Then answer question 20.

 Using details and images in the passages from “Great White Sharks” and Face to Face with Sharks, write an essay that describes the characteristics of white sharks.

It would be a stretch to say that this question assesses CCSS W.4.9.B: “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.”

In fact, this prompt assesses a student’s ability to research a topic across sources and write a research-based essay that synthesizes facts from both articles. Even CCSS W.4.7, “Conduct research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic,” does not demand that students compile information from different sources to create an essay. The closest the standards come to demanding this sort of work is in the reading standards; CCSS RI.4.9 says: “Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.” Fine. One could argue that this PARCC prompt assesses CCSS RI.4.9.

However, the fact that the texts presented for students to “use” for the essay are at a middle school reading level automatically disqualifies this essay prompt from being able to assess what it attempts to assess. (It is like trying to assess children’s math computational skills by embedding them in a word problem with words that the child cannot read.)

ELA 4th Grade Prompt #3

1. In “Sadako’s Secret,” the narrator reveals Sadako’s thoughts and feelings while telling the story. The narrator also includes dialogue and actions between Sadako and her family. Using these details, write a story about what happens next year when Sadako tries out for the junior high track team. Include not only Sadako’s actions and feelings but also her family’s reaction and feelings in your story.

Nowhere, and I mean nowhere in the Common Core State Standards is there a demand for students to read a narrative and then use the details from that text to write a new story based on a prompt. That is a new pseudo-genre called “Prose Constructed Response” by the PARCC creators, and it is 100% not aligned to the CCSS. Not to mention, why are 4th Graders being asked to write about trying out for the junior high track team? This demand defies their experiences and asks them to imagine a scenario that is well beyond their scope.

Clearly, these questions are poorly designed assessments of 4th graders CCSS learning. (We are setting aside the disagreements we have with those standards in the first place, and simply assessing the PARCC on its utility for measuring what it was intended to measure.)

Rather than debate the CCSS we instead want to expose the tragic reality of the countless public schools organizing their entire instruction around trying to raise students’ PARCC scores.

Without naming any names, I can tell you that schools are disregarding research-proven methods of literacy learning. The “wisdom” coming “down the pipeline” is that children need to be exposed to more complex texts because that is what PARCC demands of them. So children are being denied independent and guided reading time with texts of high interest and potential access and instead are handed texts that are much too hard (frustration level) all year long without ever being given the chance to grow as readers in their Zone of Proximal Development (pardon my reference to those pesky educational researchers like Vygotsky.)

So not only are students who are reading “on grade level” going to be frustrated by these so-called “complex texts,” but newcomers to the U.S. and English Language Learners and any student reading below the proficiency line will never learn the foundational skills they need, will never know the enjoyment of reading and writing from intrinsic motivation, and will, sadly, be denied the opportunity to become a critical reader and writer of media. Critical literacies are foundational for active participation in a democracy.

We can look carefully at one sample to examine the health of the entire system– such as testing a drop of water to assess the ocean. So too, we can use these three PARCC prompts to glimpse how the high stakes accountability system has deformed teaching and warped learning in many public schools across the United States.

In this sample, the system is pathetically failing a generation of children who deserve better, and when they are adults, they may not have the skills needed to engage as citizens and problem-solvers. So it is up to us, those of us who remember a better way and can imagine a way out, to make the case for stopping standardized tests like PARCC from corrupting the educational opportunities of so many of our children.

Posted by Leonie Haimson at 5/14/2016 05:20:00 PM ShareThis

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Labels: 4th grade exam, Celia Oyler, censorship, PARCC, twitter

 

 

http://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2016/05/read-blog-post-that-parcc-doesnt-want.html

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Freedom or Donald Trump: America’s Choice in 2016

Dr. Malcolm L. Rigsby's Weblog

I can’t believe what Donald Trump is at least indirectly if not directly advocating in his Charleston, South Carolina Rally held February 19, 2016. Or yes I can! Donald Trump is advocating … Listen beginning at 33 minutes into the following video coutesy of YouTube.

As a lawyer folks, speech that advocates imminent serious bodily injury or death is not protected under the US Constitution as Free Speech. This is the same hate Mongering that Adolph Hitler gradually employed in his campaign of restoring German Nationalism. It is a dangerous pivot point for the US. We are in a time of potential demise of Democracy and beginning of either autocracy or plutocracy, I am unsure which because of the blending of forms I am seeing in Trump’s campaign. I know he wants an autocracy, but it may require a power structure that includes other power figures than just he alone…

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The New SAT: All Pomp?

 The College Board plans to release its redesigned SAT on March 5, 2016.

With the backlash against high-stakes standardized tests growing, more colleges and universities are discarding the SAT as a requirement. In that vein, Fairtest has been keeping a great list of SAT optional schools here and its been growing by leaps and bounds.

Whether the SAT is an accurate predictor of college success is one main reason. Colleges also cite efforts to draw diverse and more well rounded applicants, among other reasons as the basis for doing away with SAT admission requirements altogether.

Built to ferret out talent, the tests have become, for some students at least, barriers to higher education.

 

Harvard law professor and civil rights scholar Lani Guinier explains that the SAT is fundamentally flawed.”Scores are highly correlated with family income,” she posits. Dr. Guinier refers to the SAT as a “wealth test.” See here.

 

In Lani Guinier’s controversial new book, The Tyranny of the Meritocracy: Democratizing Higher Education in America (Beacon Press, 2015) she describes how higher education has drifted from a mission-driven to an admission-driven system, focused almost exclusively on the predictive value of the SAT-type tests for success in the first-year of college. In fact, as she notes, the SAT only has a modest correlation with freshman-year grades, whereas grades in the four years of high school are a much stronger predictor of academic success. Guinier asserts that the SAT’s most reliable value is as a proxy for wealth in its norming to white, upper-middle class performance, as shown by the average SAT test scores based on ethnicity.

 

Alluding to the “Volvo effect” in Andrew Ferguson’s book, Crazy U Professor Guinier refers to the inordinate amount of funding and effort placed by wealthy parents on preparing their children for college entrance exams. As she explains, “Aptitude tests do not predict leadership, emotional intelligence, or the capacity to work with others to contribute to society” (p. 26).

 

Professor Guinier calls for a “culture shift” in terms of how we evaluate merit in terms of “democratic values” rather than “testocratic machinery.” (credit).

 

College Board Prez – and the man most notably and nefariously known as “common core architect” David Coleman  – claims that the redesigned SAT is easier and will “help remove barriers to college.”

Not all share Coleman’s enthusiasm.

 

Some believe the new SAT will actually be harder than its predecessor.
See here and here, for example.

Whether students can overcome inherent obstacles of the SAT exam and whether the new” SAT “removes barriers to learning,” as Coleman purports it will do, remains yet to be seen.  The reality is that there are persistent  obstacles that tend to challenge disadvantaged youth from entering higher learning arenas, such as poverty, and this has to be acknowledged, addressed and resolved in order for us to truly and genuinely achieve  equity in public education.

To my knowledge, Coleman and his reformer ilk have no such plan to actually tackle the issue of poverty they seem, at least to me, more interested in exploiting students that serve as guinea pigs for private business and investors in the public education and higher learning markets. But, I digress.

 

 

The new version of the SAT is slated to be released in just a few days.

In the meantime, leave it to David Coleman to craft a highbrow statement to introduce his latest common-core-testocratic-brainchild.

Coleman’s Press Release is an interesting read:

“The College Board Elegizes Anachronistic Verbiage with Recondite Panegyric; Celebrates Final Administration of the Extant SAT® on Jan. 23

 

New York — Throughout its 100-year history, the abstruse vocabulary words of the SAT® have engendered prodigious vexation in millions of examinees annually. On Saturday, Jan. 23, students across the country participated in the terminal transpiration of the SAT in its habituated gestalt.

 

To adumbrate the changes to be manifest in future administrations of the assessment: The new SAT will be more trenchant and pellucid, and the format will no longer pertinaciously reward students who punctiliously engage in the antediluvian praxis of committing idiosyncratic words to memory.

 

College Board President David Coleman promulgated, “Your invectives and maledictions have been heard. Clemency has been granted.”

 

Many within the College Board and the academic community expressed a paucity of maudlin or mawkish emotion in response to the announcement.

 

“This is a new beginning for the SAT. Gone are obscure vocabulary words and tricky logic questions that are disconnected from the work students do every day,” said Stacy Caldwell, vice president of the SAT Program at the College Board. “Moving forward, students will encounter a test that focuses on the few things that matter most for college, work, and life. We believe these changes will benefit students and educators alike.”

 

The redesigned SAT will debut on March 5, 2016.“

Gee, Im impressed with Coleman’s torrent of verbiage.

You  may have needed to look one or more of those fancy shmancy words up. I know I did.  A link to Merriam Webster Dictionary is here for your convenience.

So, will the new SAT truly “remove barriers to college” and are we embarking on a culture shift or is all the hullabaloo nothing but “pomp” with very little circumstance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw-_Ew5bVxs

The new SAT will be released March 5, 2016.

In he meantime, here is a  list of SAT optional schools courtesy of Fairtest:

 

Name	City	State
Academy College3	Minneapolis	MN
Academy of Art University	San Francisco	CA
Academy of Couture Art	West Hollywood	CA
Adventist University of Health Sciences1	Orlando	FL
Agnes Scott College	Decatur	GA
AIB College of Business3	Des Moines	IA
Albright College	Reading	PA
Alcorn State University1, 3	Alcorn	MS
Allegheny Collegehttp://allegheny.edu/admissions	Meadville	PA
Allen University	Columbia	SC
Alliant International University	San Diego	CA
Amberton University	Garland	TX
Ambridge University	Online	—
American Academy of Art	Chicago	IL
American Baptist College	Nashville	TN
American Indian College of the Assemblies of God	Phoenix	AZ
American InterContinental University	Multiple Sites	—
American Jewish University	Los Angeles	CA
American Military University	Charles Town	WV
American National University	Multiple Locations	—
American Public University System	Online	—
American Sentinel University	Online	—
American University	Washington	DC
Amridge University	Online	—
Andrew University	Online	—
Angelo State University3	Angelo	TX
Anna Maria College 4	Paxton	MA
Anthem College	Online	—
Antioch University – Midwest	Yellow Springs	OH
Apex School of Theology	Durham	NC
Argosy University	Multiple Sites	—
Arizona State University3	Tempe	AZ
Arkansas Baptist College	Little Rock	AR
Arlington Baptist College1	Arlington	TX
Art Institute of Atlanta	Atlanta	GA
Art Institute of California	Multiple Sites	CA
Art Institute of Charlotte	Charlotte	NC
Art Institute of Colorado	Denver	CO
Art Institute of Dallas	Dallas	TX
Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale	Ft. Lauderdale	FL
Art Institute of Houston	Houston	TX
Art Institute of Las Vegas	Las Vegas	NV
Art Institute of Michigan	Novi	MI
Art Institute of Philadelphia	Philadelphia	PA
Art Institute of Phoenix	Phoenix	AZ
Art Institute of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	PA
Art Institute of Portland	Portland	OR
Art Institute of Seattle	Seattle	WA
Art Institute of Tucson	Tucson	AZ
Art Institute of Washington	Arlington	VA
Art Institutes International Minnesota	Minneapolis	MN
Ashford University	Online	—
Aspen University	Online	—
Assumption College	Worcester	MA
Atlantic University College	Guaynabo	PR
Augustana College	Rock Island	IL
Baker College	Multiple Sites	MI
Baldwin-Wallace University	Berea	OH
Baptist Bible College	Springfield	MO
Baptist Missionary Ass’n Theological Seminary	Jacksonville	TX
Baptist University of the Americas	San Antonio	TX
Barber-Scotia1	Concord	NC
Bard College	Annandale-on-Hudson	NY
Bard College at Simon’s Rock	Great Barrington	MA
Bates College	Lewiston	ME
Bay Path University	Longmeadow	MA
Bay State College	Boston MA	MA
Bayamon Central University	Bayamon	PR
Beacon College	Leesburg	FL
Beckfield College	Florence	KY
Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid	Far Rockaway	NY
Bellevue College	Bellevue	WA
Bellevue University	Omaha	NE
Belmont Abbey College3	Belmont	NC
Beloit College	Beloit	WI
Bemidji State University1, 3	Bemidji	MN
Benedict College3	Columbia	SC
Benedictine College3	Atchison	KS
Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology	Boston	MA
Bennett College	Greensboro	NC
Bennington College	Bennington	VT
Berkeley College	Multiple Locations	NY
Berklee College of Music	Boston	MA
Beth HaMedrahs Shaarei Yosher	Brooklyn	NY
Beth HaTalmud Rabbinical College	Brooklyn	NY
Beth Medrash Govoha	Lakewood	NJ
Bethesda University of California	Anaheim	CA
Beulah Heights University	Atlanta	GA
Black Hills State University3	Spearfish	SD
Bluefield State College3	Bluefield	WV
Boricua College	New York	NY
Boston Architectural College	Boston	MA
Bowdoin College	Brunswick	ME
Brandeis University	Waltham	MA
Brandman University	Online	—
Brazosport College	Lake Jackson	TX
Brevard College	Brevard	NC
Broadview University	Orem	UT
Brooks Institute	Santa Barbara	CA
Brown College	Mendota Heights	MN
Brown Mackie College	Multiple Sites	—
Bryant & Stratton College	Multiple Sites	—
Bryant Universityhttp://admission.bryant.edu/	Smithfield	RI
Bryn Mawr College	Bryn Mawr	PA
Burlington College	Burlington	VT
Cabrini College 4	Radnor	PA
California Christian College	Fresno	CA
California Coast University	Online	—
California College4	Multiple Sites	CA
California College of the Arts	San Francisco	CA
California Institute of Integral Studies	San Francisco	CA
California Institute of the Arts	Valencia	CA
California Intercontinental University	Online	—
California Maritime Academy3	Vallejo	CA
California Miramar University	San Diego	CA
California National University for Advanced Studies	Northridge	CA
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 3	Pomona	CA
California University of Management and Sciences	Anaheim	CA
Calumet College of St. Joseph	Hammond	IN
Cambridge College	Cambridge	MA
Cameron University	Lawton	OK
Capella University	Minneapolis	MN
Caribbean University	Bayamon	PR
Carlos Albizu University	Miami	FL
Carolina Christian College	Winston-Salem	NC
Carrington College	Online	—
Carver College	Atlanta	GA
Catawba College	Salisbury	NC
Catholic University of America, The	Washington	DC
Cazenovia College	Cazenovia	NY
Central Penn College 4	Summerdale	PA
Central Pennsylvania College	Summerdale	PA
Central Washington University3	Ellensburg	WA
Central Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim-Lebavitch	Brooklyn	NY
Chadron State College1	Chadron	NE
Chamberlain College of Nursing	Multiple Sites	—
Chaparral College	Tucson	AZ
Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science	Los Angeles	CA
Charlotte Christian College and Theological Seminary	Charlotte	NC
Charter College	Anchorage	AK
Charter Oak State College	Newington	CT
Chatham University	Pittsburgh	PA
Chipola College	Marianna	FL
Christopher Newport University3	Newport News	VA
Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science	Cincinnati	OH
City College	Ft. Lauderdale	FL
City University	Multiple Sites	WA
Clark Universityhttp://www.clarku.edu/undergraduate-admissions/	Worcester	MA
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College	Pineville	KY
Cleveland Institute of Music4	Cleveland	OH
Cogswell Polytechnical College	Sunnyvale	CA
Colby College5	Waterville	ME
Colby-Sawyer College	New London	NH
Coleman University	San Diego	CA
College America	Multiple Sites	—
College of Biblical Studies	Houston	TX
College of Health Sciences	Roanoke	VA
College of Idaho, The 1https://www.collegeofidaho.edu/blog/news/2015/11/03/college-idaho-adopts-test-optional-admissions	Caldwell	ID
College of New Rochelle: School of New Resources	New Rochelle	NY
College of Southern Nevada	Las Vegas	NV
College of St. Joseph in Vermont	Rutland	VT
College of St. Mary Magdalen	Warner	NH
College of the Atlantic	Bar Harbor	ME
College of the Holy Crosshttp://admissions.holycross.edu/	Worcester	MA
College of the Humanities and Sciences	Tempe	AZ
Collins College	Tempe	AZ
Colorado College5	Colorado Springs	CO
Colorado Heights University 3	Denver	CO
Colorado Technical University	Colorado Springs	CO
Columbia Centro Universitario	Caguas	PR
Columbia Collegehttp://www.colum.edu	Chicago	IL
Columbia College	Multiple Sites	MO
Columbia College Hollywood	Tarzana	CA
Columbia Southern University	Orange Beach	AL
Columbus College of Art & Design	Columbus	OH
Concordia College	Selma	AL
Connecticut Collegehttp://www.conncoll.edu/admission	New London	CT
Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico	San Juan	PR
Cornell College	Mount Vernon	IA
Cornish College of the Arts	Seattle	WA
Cox College 6	Springfield	MO
Creative Center	Omaha	NE
Crossroads Bible College	Indianapolis	IN
CSU Bakersfield3	Bakersfield	CA
CSU Channel Islands 3	Camarillo	CA
CSU Chico3	Chico	CA
CSU Dominguez Hills3	Dominguez Hills	CA
CSU East Bay3	Hayward	CA
CSU Fresno3	Fresno	CA
CSU Fullerton3	Fullerton	CA
CSU Long Beach3	Long Beach	CA
CSU Los Angeles3	Los Angeles	CA
CSU Monterey Bay3	Seaside	CA
CSU Northridge3	Northridge	CA
CSU Sacramento3	Sacramento	CA
CSU San Bernardino3	San Bernardino	CA
CSU San Marcos3	San Marcos	CA
CSU Stanislaus3	Stanislaus	CA
Culinary Institute of America	Multiple Sites	—
Curtis Institute of Music 1	Philadelphia	PA
Daemen College	Amherst	NY
Dakota State University1, 3	Madison	SD
Daniel Webster College	Nashua	NH
Darkei Noam Rabbinical College	Brooklyn	NY
Davenport University	Multiple Sites	—
Daytona State College	Daytona Beach	FL
Dean College	Franklin	MA
Denison University	Granville	OH
Denver School of Nursing	Denver	CO
DePaul University http://www.depaul.edu/admission-and-aid/Pages/default.aspx	Chicago	IL
Design Institute of San Diego	San Diego	CA
DeVry University3	Multiple Sites	—
Dickinson Collegewww.dickinson.edu	Carlisle	PA
Dickinson State University1, 4	Dickinson	ND
Digital Media Arts College	Boca Raton	FL
Divine Word College	Epworth	IA
Dixie State College	Saint George	UT
Donnelly College	Kansas City	KS
Dowling Collegehttp://www.dowling.edu/admissions/apply	Oakdale	NY
Drake University 3	Des Moines	IA
Drew University	Madison	NJ
Dunlap-Stone University	Online	—
Dunwoody College of Technology	Minneapolis	MN
Duquesne University3, 4	Pittsburgh	PA
Earlham College	Richmond	IN
East Central University3	Ada	OK
East Tennessee State University3	Johnson City	TN
East Texas Baptist University 3	Marshall	TX
East-West University	Chicago	IL
Eastern Connecticut State University3, 4	Windham	CT
Eastern Oregon University 1, 3	LaGrande	OR
Eastern Washington University3	Cheney	WA
ECPI University	Multiple Sites	—
EDP University of Puerto Rico	Multiple Sites	PR
Elizabethtown College 3	Elizabethtown	PA
Ellis University	Chicago	IL
Elmira College	Elmira	NY
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	Multiple Sites	—
Emmanuel Collegehttp://www.emmanuel.edu	Boston	MA
Emporia State University2, 3	Emporia	KS
Endicott College4	Beverly	MA
Escuela de Artes Plasticas de Puerto Rico	San Juan	PR
Evangel University	Springfield	MO
Everglades University	Fort Lauderdale	FL
Ex’pression College6	Emeryville	CA
Excelsior College	Albany	NY
Fairfield University	Fairfield	CT
Fairmont State College	Fairmont	WV
Faith Evangelical College & Seminary	Tacoma	WA
Family of Faith College	Shawnee	OK
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising	Los Angeles	CA
Fashion Institute of Technology	New York	NY
Ferris State University3	Grand Rapids	MI
Finlandia University	Hancock	MI
Florida Career College	Multiple Sites	FL
Florida Memorial University 1	Miami Gardens	FL
Florida National University	Multiple Sites	FL
Florida SouthWestern State College	Fort Myers	FL
Florida State College	Jacksonville	FL
Florida Tech	Online	—
Fort Hays State University1	Hays	KS
Franklin and Marshall College	Lancaster	PA
Franklin Pierce University	Rindge	NH
Franklin University	Columbus	OH
Fremont College	Online	—
Friends University	Wichita	KS
Friends World Program of Long Island University	Brooklyn	NY
Full Sail University	Winter Park	FL
Furman University	Greenville	SC
George Mason University3	Fairfax	VA
George Washington Universirty	Washington	DC
Georgia Gwinnett College 6	Lawrenceville	GA
Gettysburg College	Gettysburg	PA
Glenville State College3	Glenville	WV
Global University	Springfield	MO
Globe Institute of Technology	New York	NY
Globe University	Multiple Sites	—
God’s Bible School and College1	Cincinnati	OH
Goddard College	Plainfield	VT
Golden Gate University	San Francisco	CA
Goldfarb School of Nursing	St. Louis	MO
Goodwin College	East Hartford	CT
Goucher College	Baltimore	MD
Grace Bible College1	Grand Rapids	MI
Grambling State University1	Grambling	LA
Grand Canyon University3	Phoenix	AZ
Granite State College	Concord	NH
Grantham University	Online	—
Gratz College	Melrose Park	PA
Great Basin College	Elko	NV
Green Mountain College	Poultney	VT
Guilford College	Greensboro	NC
Gustavus Adolphus Collegehttp://www.gustavus.edu/	St. Peter	MN
Hamilton College5	Clinton	NY
Hamilton Technical College	Davenport	IA
Hampshire College	Amherst	MA
Hampton University3	Hampton	VA
Harrington College of Design	Chicago	IL
Harris-Stowe State University 1	St. Louis	MO
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology	Harrisburg	PA
Harrison Middleton University	Online	—
Hartwick College	Oneonta	NY
Haskell Indian Nations University3	Lawrence	KS
Heritage Christian University	Florence	AL
Heritage University	Toppenish	WA
Herzing University	Multiple Sites	—
Hickey College	St. Louis	MO
Hilbert College	Hamburg	NY
Hobart and William Smith Colleges	Geneva	NY
Hobe Sound Bible College1	Hobe Sound	FL
Hodges University	Naples	FL
Hofstra University4	Hempstead	NY
Holy Apostles College and Seminary3	Cromwell	CT
Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary	Jordanville	NY
Hood College3	Frederick	MD
Horizon University	San Diego	CA
Humboldt State University (CSU)3	Arcata	CA
Humphreys College	Stockton	CA
Huntington College of Health Sciences	Online	—
Huntsville Bible College	Huntsville	AL
Hussian School of Art	Philadelphia	PA
Illinois College	Jacksonville	IL
Illinois Institute of Art	Multiple Sites	IL
Independence University	Online	—
Indian River State College	Fort Pierce	FL
INSTE Bible College	Online	—
Institute of American Indian Arts 6	Santa Fe	NM
Institute of Computer Technology	Los Angeles	CA
Inter American University of Puerto Rico	Multiple Sites	PR
Interior Designers Institute	Newport Beach	CA
International Academy of Design and Technology	Multiple Sites	—
International Baptist College	Chandler	AZ
International Business College	Fort Wayne	IN
Ithaca College	Ithaca	NY
ITT Technical Institute	Multiple Sites	—
Jamestown College	Jamestown	ND
John F. Kennedy University	Multiple Sites	CA
John Paul the Great Catholic University 3	Escondido	CA
Johnson & Wales University	Multiple Sites	—
Johnson State College	Johnson	VT
Jones College	Jacksonville	FL
Jose Maria Vargas University	Pembroke Pines	FL
Juilliard School	New York	NY
Juniata College	Huntington	PA
Kalamazoo College	Kalamazoo	MI
Kansas State University2	Manhattan	KS
Kaplan University	Multiple Sites	IA
Kehilath Yakov Rabbinical Seminary	Brooklyn	NY
Keiser University	Fort Lauderdale	FL
Kendall College3	Chicago	IL
Keuka College	Keuka Park	NY
King’s College	Wilkes-Barre	PA
King’s University, The	Van Nuys	CA
Knox Collegehttps://www.knox.edu/admission	Galesburg	IL
Knoxville College1	Knoxville	TN
La Sierra University3	Riverside	CA
Laguna College of Art and Design	Laguna Beach	CA
Lake Erie College	Painesville	OH
Lake Forest College	Lake Forest	IL
Lake-Sumter State College	Leesburg	FL
Lamar University1, 3	Beaumont	TX
Landmark College	Putney	VT
Langston University3	Langston	OK
Laurel University	High Point	NC
Lawrence Universityhttp://www.lawrence.edu/admissions	Appleton	WI
Le Moyne College	Syracuse	NY
Lebanon Valley College	Annville	PA
Lees-McRae College	Banner Elk	NC
Lester L. Cox College of Nursing and Health Science	Springfield	MO
Lewis and Clark Collegehttp://college.lclark.edu/offices/admissions/apply/portfolio_path/	Portland	OR
Life Pacific College5	San Dimas	CA
Lincoln College of New England	Multiple Sites	CT
Lincoln University1	Jefferson City	MO
Lincoln University, Oakland	Oakland	CA
Lindsey Wilson College1	Columbia	KY
Logan University	Chesterfield	MO
Loma Linda University	Loma Linda	CA
Long Island University 4	Brooklyn	NY
Longy School of Music	Cambridge	MA
Louisiana State University1, 3, 4	Shreveport	LA
Louisiana State University — Alexandria	Alexandria	LA
Lourdes University	Sylvania	OH
Loyola University Maryland	Baltimore	MD
Luther Rice University	Lithonia	GA
Lycoming College 3	Williamsport	PA
Lynn University	Boca Raton	FL
Machzikei Hadath Rabbinical College	Brooklyn	NY
Maharishi University of Management	Fairfield	IA
Maine College of Art	Portland	ME
Manhattan Christian College3	Manhattan	KS
Manhattan School of Music	New York	NY
Manhattanville College http://www.mville.edu/undergraduate/admissions/application-process/freshmen/test-optional-plan.html	Purchase	NY
Manthano Christian College	Westland	MI
Marist College	Poughkeepsie	NY
Marlboro College	Marlboro	VT
Martin Methodist College3	Pulaski	TN
Martin University	Indianapolis	IN
Marylhurst University	Marylhurst	OR
Marymount California University	Rancho Palos Verdes	CA
Marymount University 3	Arlington	VA
Mayville State University1	Mayville	ND
McDaniel College (Western MD College)3	Westminster	MD
McNally Smith College of Music	St. Paul	MN
McNeese State University	Lake Charles	LA
Medgar Evers College (CUNY)4	Brooklyn	NY
Mercy College	Dobbs Ferry	NY
Mercy College of Ohio 4	Toledo	OH
Mercyhurst University	Erie	PA
Merrimack College	North Andover	MA
Mesivta of Eastern Pkwy Rabbinical Seminary	Brooklyn	NY
Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem of America	New York	NY
Mesivta Torah Vodaath Seminary	Brooklyn	NY
Metropolitan College of New York	New York	NY
Metropolitan State College of Denver3	Denver	CO
Metropolitan State University3	St. Paul	MN
Miami International University of Art & Design	Miami	FL
Miami International University of Art and Design	Miami	FL
Miami-Dade College	Miami	FL
Michigan Jewish Institute	Oak Park	MI
Mid-America Christian University1	Oklahoma City	OK
Middle Tennessee State University1, 3	Murfreesboro	TN
Middlebury College5	Middlebury	VT
Midland University3	Fremont	NE
Midstate College	Peoria	IL
Midwestern State University3	Wichita Falls	TX
Miles College1	Fairfield	AL
Miller-Motte College	Multiple Sites	—
Mills College	Oakland	CA
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design	Milwaukee	WI
Minerva Schools at KGI	San Francisco	CA
Minnesota Bible College1	Rochester	MN
Minnesota School of Business	Multiple Sites	MN
Minnesota State University1, 3	Mankato	MN
Minot State University1	Minot	ND
Mirrer Yeshiva	Brooklyn	NY
Mississippi University for Women1, 3	Columbus	MS
Mississippi Valley State University1, 3	Itta Bena	MS
Missouri Southern State University	Joplin	MO
Missouri Tech6	St. Charles	MO
Missouri Western State University3	St. Joseph	MO
Mitchell College	New London	CT
Monroe College	New York	NY
Montana State University: Billings1, 3	Billings	MT
Montana State University: Bozeman1, 3	Bozeman	MT
Montana State University: Northern1, 3	Havre	MT
Montclair State University	Montclair	NJ
Montserrat College of Art	Beverly	MA
Moore College of Art & Design	Philadelphia	PA
Moorehead State University3	Moorhead	MN
Morris College	Sumter	SC
Mount Angel Seminary	St. Benedict	OR
Mount Holyoke College	South Hadley	MA
Mount Sierra College	Monrovia	CA
Mount Washington College	Multiple Sites	NH
Muhlenberg College4	Allentown	PA
Multnomah University	Portland	OR
Naropa University	Boulder	CO
National American University	Multiple Sites	—
National Business College	Roanoke	VA
National College	Multiple Sites	—
National Hispanic University	San Jose	CA
National Paralegal College	Online	—
National University	La Jolla	CA
National-Louis University	Chicago	IL
Nazarene Bible College	Colorado Springs	CO
Nazareth College	Rochester	NY
Nebraska Christian College1	Norfolk	NE
Nebraska Wesleyan University3	Lincoln	NE
Ner Israel Rabbinical College	Baltimore	MD
Neumont University	Salt Lake City	UT
Nevada State College	Henderson	NV
New Charter University	San Francisco	CA
New Charter University	Online	—
New England College	Henniker	NH
New England Conservatory	Boston	MA
New England Institute of Art and Communication	Brookline	MA
New England Institute of Technology	Warwick	RI
New Hampshire Institute of Art	Manchester	NH
New Hope Christian College	Eugene	OR
New Life Theological Seminary	Charlotte	NC
New Mexico Highlands University1	Las Vegas	NM
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary	New Orleans	LA
New School4	New York	NY
New School of Architecture & Design	San Diego	CA
New York City College of Technology (CUNY)	Brooklyn	NY
New York School of Interior Design	New York	NY
New York University5	New York	NY
Newbury College	Brookline	MA
Nicholls State University	Thibodaux	LA
Nichols College 3	Dudley	MA
Northcentral University	Online	—
Northeastern Illinois University1, 3	Chicago	IL
Northeastern State University1, 3	Tahlequah	OK
Northern Arizona University	Flagstaff	AZ
Northern New Mexico College	Espanola	NM
Northern State University 3	Aberdeen	SD
Northpoint Bible College1	Haverhill	MA
Northwest College of Art & Design	Poulsbo	WA
Northwest Florida State College	Niceville	FL
Northwest Nazarene College1, 3	Nampa	ID
Northwestern Oklahoma State University1, 3	Alva	OK
Northwestern Polytechnic University	Fremont	CA
Northwestern State University1	Natchitoches	LA
Norwich University 4	Nofthfield	VT
Oak Hills Christian College3	Bemidji	MN
Oakland University 1	Rochester	MI
Oakwood University1	Huntsville	AL
Oglala Lakota College	Kyle	SD
Ohio Mid-Western College 6	Cincinnati	OH
Ohio State University, Mansfield2	Mansfield	OH
Ohio State University, Marion2	Marion	OH
Ohio State University, Newark2	Newark	OH
Ohio University: Chillicothe Campus 4	Chillicothe	OH
Ohio University: Eastern Campus1	St. Clairsville	OH
Ohio University: Lima Campus2	Lima	OH
Ohio University: Southern Campus at Ironton	Ironton	OH
Ohio University: Zaneville Campus	Zaneville	OH
Ohio Wesleyan University3	Delaware	OH
Ohr HaMeir Theological Seminary	Courtland Manor	NY
Ohr Somayach-Tanenbaum Ed. Center	Monsey	NY
Oklahoma Panhandle State University	Goodwell	OK
Oklahoma State University3	Stillwater	OK
Oklahoma State University 1	Oklahoma City	OK
Oklahoma Wesleyan University3	Bartlesville	OK
Old Dominion University 3	Norfolk	VA
Oregon College of Art & Craft	Portland	OR
Oregon Institute of Technology1, 3	Klamath Falls	OR
Oregon State University, Cascades Campus1, 3	Bend	OR
Ottawa University3	Ottawa	KS
Pacific Northwest College of Art	Portland	OR
Pacific States University	Los Angeles	CA
Park University 3	Parkville	MO
Patten University	Oakland	CA
Paul Quinn College1	Dallas	TX
Peirce College	Philadelphia	PA
Peninsula College	Port Angeles	WA
Penn Foster College	Online	—
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts	Philadelphia	PA
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design	Lancaster	PA
Pennsylvania College of Technology4	Williamsport	PA
Peru State College2	Peru	NE
Pine Manor College	Chestnut Hill	MA
Pittsburg State University1, 2	Pittsburg	KS
Pitzer Collegehttp://www.pitzer.edu	Claremont	CA
Platt College	Aurora	CO
Platt College	Multiple Sites	CA
Plaza College	New York	NY
Plymouth State University	Plymouth	NH
Point Park University 3www.PointPark.edu	Pittsburgh	PA
Portland State University 3	Portland	OR
Prairie View A&M University1, 3	Prairie View	TX
Presbyterian College3	Clinton	SC
Presentation College	Aberdeen	SD
Providence College	Providence	RI
Rabbi Jacob Joseph School	Edison	NY
Rabbinical Academy Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical College Beth Shraga	Monsey	NY
Rabbinical College Bobover Yeshiva Bnci Zion	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical College Ch’san Sofer	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical College of America	Morristown	NJ
Rabbinical College of Long Island	Long Island	NY
Rabbinical College of Ohr Shimon Yisroel	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical College of Telshe	Wickliffe	OH
Rabbinical Seminary Adas Yereim	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical Seminary M’kor Chaim	Brooklyn	NY
Rabbinical Seminary of America	Forest Hills	NY
Radford University3	Radford	VA
Ranken Technical College	St. Louis	MO
Rasmussen College	Multiple Sites	—
Regis College4	Weston	MA
Remington College	Multiple Sites	—
Ringling College of Art and Design	Sarasota	FL
Rivier University 4	Nashua	NH
Roanoke College 3	Salem	VA
Robert B. Miller College	Battle Creek	MI
Robert Morris University	Chicago	IL
Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design 1	Denver	CO
Roger Williams Universityhttp://rwu.edu	Bristol	RI
Rollins Collegehttp://www.rollins.edu/	Winter Park	FL
Rowan University3	Glassboro	NJ
Russell Sage College	Troy	NY
Sacred Heart Major Seminary	Detroit	MI
Sacred Heart University	Fairfield	CT
Sage College of Albany	Albany	NY
Saint Anselm College4	Manchester	NH
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary	Overbrook	PA
Saint Gregory’s University, 1	Shawnee	OK
Saint Joseph’s University	Philadelphia	PA
Saint Leo University 3	Saint Leo	FL
Saint Michael’s College www.smcvt.edu	Colchester	VT
Saint Peter’s University4	Jersey City	NJ
Saint Thomas University1	Miami	FL
Salem International University	Salem	WV
Salem State University	Salem	MA
Salisbury University3	Salisbury	MD
Salish Kootenai College	Pablo	MT
Salve Regina University 4	Newport	RI
Sam Houston State University3	Huntsville	TX
San Francisco Art Institute	San Francisco	CA
San Francisco Conservatory of Music	San Francisco	CA
San Francisco State University (CSU)3	San Francisco	CA
San Jose State University (CSU)3	San Jose	CA
Sanford-Brown College	Multiple Sites	—
Santa Fe University of Art and Design	Santa Fe	NM
Sarah Lawrence College	Bronxville	NY
Schiller International University	Dunedin	FL
School of the Museum of Fine Arts	Boston	MA
Selma University1	Selma	AL
Sewanee – The University of the South	Sewanee	TN
Shasta Bible College	Redding	CA
Shawnee State University	Portsmouth	OH
Shiloh University	Online	—
Shimer College	Chicago	IL
Shor Yoshuv Rabbinical College	Far Rockaway	NY
Siena College 4	Loudonville	NY
Siena Heights University	Adrian	MI
Silicon Valley University	San Jose	CA
Sinte Gleska University	Rosebud	SD
Smith College	Northampton	MA
Sojourner-Douglass College	Baltimore	MD
Sonoma State University (CSU)3	Rohnert Park	CA
South College	Knoxville	TN
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology1, 3	Rapid City	SD
South Dakota State University3	Brookings	SD
South Georgia State College 4, 6	Douglas	GA
South Texas College	McAllen	TX
South University	Multiple Sites	—
Southeastern Baptist College 1	Laurel	MS
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary	Wake Forest	NC
Southeastern Louisiana University1	Hammond	LA
Southeastern Oklahoma State University3	Durant	OK
Southern California Institute of Technology	Anaheim	CA
Southern California Seminary	El Cajon	CA
Southern New Hampshire University	Manchester	NH
Southern Technical College	Multiple Sites	—
Southern University & A&M College1, 2	Baton Rouge	LA
Southern University – New Orleans 2, 3	New Orleans	LA
Southwest Baptist University 3	Bolivar	MO
Southwest State University1, 3	Marshall	MN
Southwest University	Online	—
Southwest University of Visual Arts3	Albuquerque	NM
Southwestern Christian College	Terrell	TX
Southwestern Christian University 3	Bethany	OK
Southwestern Oklahoma State University3	Weatherford	OK
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology	Tulsa	OK
St. Augustine College	Chicago	IL
St. Catharine College	St. Catharine	KY
St. John Vianney College Seminary	Miami	FL
St. John’s College, Annapolis	Annapolis	MD
St. John’s College, Santa Fe	Santa Fe	NM
St. Joseph Seminary College	St. Benedict	LA
St. Lawrence Universityhttp://www.stlawu.edu	Canton	NY
St. Petersburg College	St. Petersburg	FL
Stanbridge College	Irvine	CA
State College of Florida	Bradenton	FL
Stephen F. Austin State University1, 3	Nacogdoches	TX
Sterling College	Craftsbury Common	VT
Stetson University	DeLand	FL
Stevens-Henager College	Multiple Sites	UT
Stillman College1	Tuscaloosa	AL
Stonehill Collegehttp://www.stonehill.edu/admission	Easton	MA
Stratford University	Multiple Sites	—
Strayer College1	Washington	DC
Sul Ross State University3	Alpine	TX
Sullivan University	Multiple Sites	KY
SUM Bible College & Theological Seminary	Oakland	CA
SUNY College of Technology-Delhi	Delhi	NY
SUNY Empire State College	Saratoga Springs	NY
SUNY Potsdam	Potsdam	NY
Susquehanna University	Selinsgrove	PA
Talladega College3	Talladega	AL
Talmudic University	Miami Beach	FL
Talmudical Academy of New Jersey	Adelphia	NJ
Talmudical Institute of Upstate New York	Rochester	NY
Talmudical Seminary Oholei Torah	Brooklyn	NY
Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia	Philadelphia	PA
Tarleton State University3	Stephenville	TX
Telshe Yeshiva	Chicago	IL
Temple University	Philadelphia	PA
Texas A&M International University1, 3	Laredo	TX
Texas A&M University — Texarkana 3	Texarkana	TX
Texas A&M University, College Station3	College Station	TX
Texas A&M University, Commerce3	Commerce	TX
Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi3	Corpus Christi	TX
Texas A&M University, Galveston3	Galveston	TX
Texas A&M University, Kingsville3	Kingsville	TX
Texas College1	Tyler	TX
Texas Southern University1	Houston	TX
Texas State University, San Marcos3	San Marcos	TX
Texas Tech University3	Lubbock	TX
Texas Woman’s University3	Denton	TX
The College of Saint Rose	Albany	NY
The University of Scranton3	Scranton	PA
Thomas College	Waterville	ME
Thomas Edison State College	Trenton	NJ
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts1	Merrimack	NH
Thomas University	Thomasville	GA
Tiffin University1, 3	Tiffin	OH
Torah Temimah Talmudical Seminary	Brooklyn	NY
Touro College4	New York	NY
Transylvania University	Lexington	KY
Tri-State Bible College	Multiple Sites	OH
Trident University International	Online	—
Trinity Baptist College	Jacksonville	FL
Trinity College	Hartford	CT
Trinity Washington University	Washington	DC
Turabo University4	Gurabo	PR
Union College4	Schenectady	NY
Union College, Lincoln1	Lincoln	NE
Union Institute & University	Multiple Sites	—
United States University	Online	—
United Talmudical Seminary	Brooklyn	NY
Unity College	Unity	ME
Universidad Adventista de las Antillas	Mayaguez	PR
Universidad del Este	Carolina	PR
University of Advancing Technology	Tempe	AZ
University of Alaska, Anchorage1, 3	Anchorage	AK
University of Alaska, Fairbanks1, 3	Fairbanks	AK
University of Alaska, Southeast1	Juneau	AK
University of Arizona	Tucson	AZ
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith	Fort Smith	AR
University of Arkansas at Monticello, 1	Monticello	AR
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences	Little Rock	AR
University of Atlanta	Online	—
University of Central Oklahoma3	Edmond	OK
University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College	Blue Ash	OH
University of Delaware 2	Newark	DE
University of Guam	Mangilao	GU
University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu 3	Pearl City	HI
University of Houston3	Houston	TX
University of Houston — Clear Lake3	Houston	TX
University of Houston — Victoria3	Victoria	TX
University of Houston-Downtown3	Houston	TX
University of Idaho3	Moscow	ID
University of Jamestown 3	Jamestown	ND
University of Kansas2, 3, 4	Lawrence	KS
University of Louisiana at Lafayette 2, 3	Lafayette	LA
University of Louisiana at Monroe1	Monroe	LA
University of Maine at Augusta4	Augusta	ME
University of Maine at Farmington	Farmington	ME
University of Maine at Ft. Kent	Ft. Kent	ME
University of Maine at Presque Isle	Presque Isle	ME
University of Management and Technology	Arlington	VA
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor1, 3	Belton	TX
University of Mary Washington 3	Fredericksburg	VA
University of Maryland University College5	Adelphi	MD
University of Massachussetts, Lowell	Lowell	MA
University of Michigan, Flint1, 3	Flint	MI
University of Minnesota, Morris1, 3	Morris	MN
University of Mississippi1, 3	Oxford	MS
University of Montana, Missoula1, 3	Missoula	MT
University of Montana, Western1, 3	Dillon	MT
University of Nebraska at Kearney3	Kearney	NE
University of Nebraska at Lincoln3	Lincoln	NE
University of Nevada, Las Vegas1	Las Vegas	NV
University of Nevada, Reno1, 3	Reno	NV
University of New Orleans 2, 3	New Orleans	LA
University of North Texas3	Denton	TX
University of Northwestern Ohio1	Lima	OH
University of Phoenix	Multiple Sites	—
University of Pikeville1, 4	Pikeville	KY
University of Puget Sound	Tacoma	WA
University of Rio Grande1, 4	Rio Grande	OH
University of Rochester 5	Rochester	NY
University of Saint Joseph3, 4	West Hartford	CT
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma3	Chickasha	OK
University of South Dakota3	Vermillion	SD
University of Southernmost Florida	Multiple Sites	FL
University of Texas of the Permian Basin3	Odessa	TX
University of Texas, Arlington3	Arlington	TX
University of Texas, Austin3	Austin	TX
University of Texas, Brownsville3	Brownsville	TX
University of Texas, Dallas3	Richardson	TX
University of Texas, El Paso3	El Paso	TX
University of Texas, Pan American1, 3	Edinburg	TX
University of Texas, San Antonio3	San Antonio	TX
University of Texas, Tyler3	Tyler	TX
University of the People	Online	—
University of the Potomac	Washington	DC
University of the Southwest1, 3	Hobbs	NM
University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix	St. Croix	VI
University of the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas	St. Thomas	VI
University of the West	Rosemead	CA
University of Wisconsin, Parkside3	Kenosha	WI
Ursinus College4	Collegeville	PA
Utah Valley University 1	Orem	UT
Utica College4http://www.utica.edu	Utica	NY
Valley City State University1, 4	Valley City	ND
Villa Maria College	Buffalo	NY
Vincennes University	Vincennes	IN
Virginia Baptist College	Fredericksburg	VA
Virginia College	Multiple Sites	—
Virginia Commonwealth University 3, 4	Richmond	VA
Virginia University of Lynchburg	Lynchburg	VA
Virginia Wesleyan College 3	Norfolk	VA
Voorhees College1	Denmark	SC
Wagner College 4	Staten Island	NY
Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem	NC
Walden University	Online	—
Walla Walla University 1	College Place	WA
Walnut Hill College	Philadelphia	PA
Walsh College1	Troy	MI
Walsh University 3	North Canton	OH
Warren Wilson College www.warren-wilson.edu	Asheville	NC
Washburn University	Topeka	KS
Washington & Jefferson College	Washington	PA
Washington Adventist University	Takoma Park	MD
Washington College3	Chestertown	MD
Washington State University3	Pullman	WA
Wayne State College1	Wayne	NE
Weber State University1	Ogden	UT
Welch College 1	Nashville	TN
Wesleyan University	Middletown	CT
West Coast University	Multiple Sites	CA
West Liberty University 3	West Liberty	WV
West Texas A&M University3	Canyon	TX
West Virginia University at Parkersburg	Parkersburg	WV
West Virginia University Institute of Technology1, 3	Montgomery	WV
Western Connecticut State University 6	Danbury	CT
Western Governors University	Salt Lake City	UT
Western International University	Phoenix	AZ
Western Nevada College	Multiple Sites	NV
Western New England University	Springfield	MA
Western New Mexico University	Silver City	NM
Western Oregon University3	Monmouth	OR
Wheaton Collegehttp://www.wheatoncollege.edu/admission/	Norton	MA
Whitworth University3	Spokane	WA
Wichita State University2, 3	Wichita	KS
Wilberforce University1	Wilberforce	OH
Wiley College1	Marshall	TX
William Jewell College3	Liberty	MO
Wilmington University1	New Castle	DE
Wilson College3http://www.wilson.edu/	Chambersburg	PA
Wittenberg University	Springfield	OH
Woodbury Institute of Champlain College	Montpelier	VT
Worcester Polytechnic Institutehttp://www.admissions.wpi.edu/	Worcester	MA
Yeshiva and Kolel Harbotzas Torah	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshiva Beth Moshe	Scranton	PA
Yeshiva Beth Yehuda-Yeshiva	Oak Park	MI
Yeshiva D’Monsey Rabbinical College	Monsey	NY
Yeshiva Derech Chaim	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D’Spinka	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshiva Gedolah Rabbinical College	Miami Beach	FL
Yeshiva Karlin Stolin	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshiva Mikdash Melech	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshiva of Nitra	Mt. Kisco	NY
Yeshiva of the Telshe Alumni	Riverdale	NY
Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad/West Coast Talmudical Seminary	Los Angeles	CA
Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah Talmudic	Kew Gardens	NY
Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland	Suffern	NY
Yeshiva Toras Chaim Talmudical Seminary	Denver	CO
Yeshiva Viznitz	Monsey	NY
Yeshivas Novominsk	Brooklyn	NY
Yeshivath Zichron Moshe	South Fallsburg	NY
York College3	York	NE

Key
1	SAT/ACT used only for placement and/or academic advising
2	SAT/ACT required only from out-of-state applicants
3	SAT/ACT may be required but considered only when minimum GPA and/or class rank is not met
4	SAT/ACT required for some programs
5	Test Flexible: SAT/ACT not required if other college level exams specified by school, such as SAT Subject Test, Advanced Placement, or Int’l Baccalaureate, submitted — contact school for details
6	Placement test or school-specific admissions exam score required if not submitting SAT/ACT
7	Admission/Eligibility Index calculated with 3.5 GPA and combined SAT Critical Reading plus Math score of 400

John Sheffield for New York Board of Regents

deutsch29

Below is a guest post by Yvonne Gasperino, co-founder of Stop Common Core in New York State. Gasperino composed this post, an effort to feature John Sheffield, candidate for the New York Board of regents, at my request.

***

When it comes to the education of children in the state of New York, the Board of Regents holds a lot of influence, power and control. They supervise all educational activities within the state and preside over the State University New York (SUNY) and the New York State Education Department (NYSED).  Board members and chairs are appointed by the Regents chancellor, also, Regents includes 17 members elected by the state legislature for five-year terms: one from each of the State’s 13 judicial districts and four members that serve at large.

New York State (NYS) legislators (most of whom are not educators) dictate the election process. However, a very few were former educators, for instance…

View original post 2,176 more words

John Thompson: Opt Out is Frightening the Politicians

Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson, historian and teacher, writes that parents have shaken up the education landscape:

“February has always been a time when blizzards keep blowing across the nation but, too often, it now marks the end of meaningful learning in our classrooms. Long before Spring arrives, the test prep season begins, followed by the annual testing ordeal. During the last few years, however, the grassroots Opt Out movement has risen to the occasion, and fought to restore authentic teaching and meaningful learning to public schools.

The refusal of parents and students to participate in the test, sort, reward, and punish season has knocked the corporate reform movement back on its heels. It has undermined the imposition of Common Core and value-added evaluations, which were top-down mandates enforced by High Stakes Testing. The assertion of families’ democratic rights to choose engaging and respectful instruction, and reject soul-killing teach-to-the-test, has predictably prompted some…

View original post 1,060 more words

NY Times: 8 Experts Censure Moskowitz SA Methods

Diane Ravitch's blog

The New York Times asked eight education experts to review and evaluate the video of a teacher at Success Academy charter school humiliating/chastising a first-grade child. All of them agreed that the teacher’s actions were inappropriate. The child had not misbehaved. She gave a wrong answer. The teacher ripped her paper and sent her away to sit in a “calming” corner. The child was not agitated and in need of calming; the teacher was.

View original post

Review of Withholding Penalty History Confirms Threats Are Punitive And Improper: USDOE Is All Bark. No Bite.

USDOE Is All Bark. No Bite.

In response to escalation of the opt out movement in New York State, now-former U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) Secretary Arne Duncan and others at the USDOE have advanced a litany of threats, warning that they will withhold Title 1 funding from states if they fail to comply with federal testing mandates, with the States, in turn, threatening to withhold Title 1 aid from school districts with high opt out numbers.

In the 2014-15 school year, about 20% of eligible New York students refused the grades 3-8 State math and ELA assessments being administered by public school districts across the State. In total, about 200,000 students refused the assessments, with some districts experiencing opt-out rates well above 50%.

MaryEllen Elia is the new Commissioner of the New York State Education Department (NYSED or SED).  Despite her various statements that acknowledge a parent’s right to opt out (refuse) the grades 3-8 State assessments (see video at minutes 02:00 to 02:25, and 10:55 to 11:14); despite her statements that teachers CAN speak to parents (under certain circumstances) about the state  assessments and whether to refuse them (see video at minutes 02:25 to 04:50); and despite her statements that NYSED does NOT have any unilateral legal authority to withhold Title 1 funding from schools with high opt out rates (see video at minutes 04:50 to 06:55); she nevertheless has been vigorous in her efforts to intimidate school districts and discourage test refusals. “Let me say this very clearly: I think opt-out is something that is not reasonable. I understand that it came about as a result of people wanting to become involved in what they thought was the political way to approach it. If any educator supported or encouraged opt-outs, I think it’s unethical” she said here. 

As American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten recently pointed out here, USDOE’s threats fly in the face of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and penalties for opting out are beyond USDOE’s reach.

Yet, Commissioner Elia has shown no interest in pushing back against USDOE’s tyranny, notwithstanding that she has an army of well-informed, brave parents and even the law behind her. In fact, Elia warned that while there would be no penalties for districts with large opt-out numbers in 2014-15, such as the withholding of federal funding, for the 2015-16 year – she warns districts could be sanctioned if the movement continues.

The department created a “tool kit,” to discourage opt outs which included rhetoric filled presentations, fact sheets and even social media tag lines and strategies, for district superintendents to use to “communicate” more effectively with parents.

The federal government did not sanction New York State for its high 2015 opt out rates, and some believe that USDOE left that decision up to the State. Given the barrage of threats now coming down from USDOE and Commissioner Elia’s response, many worry New York State may not be so lucky in 2016 – that Title 1 funding loss could be a possibility.

Despite several threats from USDOE, it is still not clear what legal “range of enforcement actions,” if any, the USDOE has at its disposal vis-a-vis the opt out rates, nor has plenary authority to withhold Title 1 funds been adequately explained by State and/or federal officials.

A review of USDOE withholding penalty cases confirms what opt out parents already know: USDOE is all bark, no legal bite, when it comes to low participation rates based on high opt out numbers. USDOE’s threats to stymie opt outs are punitive and improper.

Withholding Penalty

Procedurally-speaking, under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the USDOE has the power to conduct withholding hearings in the event a state fails to comply with federal requirements.

Although states that do not substantially comply with NCLB (and ESSA) may be subject to enforcement actions, USDOE’s case history shows that they have rarely exercised this option and, in the rare instances that they have done so, the cases are no slam dunk.

The USDOE  has sent opt out warning letters to New York and 12 other states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. To read each states warning letter, see here. States on USDOE’s opt out warning list must demonstrate what efforts they are taking to comply with NCLB. USDOE has asked, and NYSED has reported to USODE personnel, demonstrating how and that NYS has “substantially” complied with federal testing statutes.

For example, on page 9 of an April 2015 memo to the New York State Board of Regents, NYSED explained the importance of “full participation” in the State assessments. 

Meanwhile, USDOE has been relentless in hounding NYS in order to stymie test refusals. In a letter dated December 22, 2015, USDOE’s Ann Whalen (previously employed at Peter Cunningham’s “Education Post,” a nefarious reformer rag) advised states to penalize their school districts if the districts fail to deliver 95% participation during the Spring 2016 assessments. 

On December 22, 2015, Commissioner Elia sent a letter to USDOE in which she outlined the steps that she planned to take to promote the 95% participation rate and impede test refusals state-wide. Commissioner Elia’s December 22, 2015 letter is not directed to USDOE’s Ann Whalen; rather, it is directed to Acting Director of State Support Patrick Rooney, in reply to USDOE’s Monique Chism’s October 19, 2015 letter — which apparently was also threatening.

From Monique Chism’s October 19, 2015 letter to Commissioner Elia:

Commissioner Elia’s letter in reply to Chism provides “information about how New York is addressing deficits in meeting the participation rate requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965.” 

According to Ann Whalen and other USDOE employees, states must deliver scores and ensure that all students take the grades 3-8 assessments; USDOE ignores the reality that many well-informed New York State parents object to such assessments, and will not allow their children to be forced to take federally-mandated assessments.

In fact, parent advocates denounce USDOE’s tactics and have assured the USDOE that parents will not be swayed by idle threats and will continue to opt out en masse in order to protect their children from governmental harm. http://www.nysape.org/nysape-funding-response-to-usdoe.html

Withholding Penalty Cases

In a 2014 letter to the Colorado Education Department, USDOE claims to have withheld Title 1 funds from several states for failure to comply with the assessment requirements. Interestingly, the statute cited by USDOE in support of the penalty was NOT the section from NCLB that addresses the 95% participation rate.  Note, also, that administrative funds — not program funds — were at issue in that withholding case:

After researching USDOE’s case history, I was not able to find evidence that USDOE had withheld funds from several states as they claimed.  Although it is possible that other cases may exist in another arena, research of USDOE’s records yield only two instances in which USDOE filed and adjudicated a case that resulted in a withholding penalty against a state.

According to USDOE’s website Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), the OHA “provides an independent forum for the fair, impartial, equitable, and timely resolution of disputes involving the U.S. Department of Education and recipients of Federal Education Funds.” The website publishes decisions issued by OHA and by the USDOE Secretary, in searchable form.

In a 1995 case, USDOE threatened to withhold funds from the State of Virginia based on a violation of the IDEA. In that case, Virginia’s regulations, as implemented, did not comply with the IDEA.  In other words, there was malfeasance on the part of the State of Virginia.  The USDOE Secretary ruled to withhold IDEA funds from Virginia. However, the decision clearly stated that the ruling was stayed pending appeal; the reality was that Virginia had access to its IDEA money for a time despite the ruling.

“The Department urges the Secretary to uphold the Initial Decision and to order that Part funding to Virginia be withheld until such time as Virginia complies with the IDEA noting that although Virginia argues it is harmed by a withholding decision, Virginia continued to have access to its FY 1994 funding and will, as the Assistant Secretary has recommended in this matter, have access to its FY 1995 funding pending any appeal of my decision in this matter. Thus, I will not disturb the Hearing Officer’s ruling that the withholding of unobligated FY 1995 IDEA PartB funds and any future funding under IDEA-B is the appropriate remedy in this matter, but that such ruling be stayed pending any appeal of this matter. “

It is not clear what happened in Virginia after said ruling was issued.

With regard to withholding proceedings regarding education matters/assessments, there is a very interesting 2008 withholding penalty case in which the USDOE threatened to withhold $1 million in Title 1 administrative fees from the State of California based on the allegation that the State of California had decided to administer allegedly inappropriate assessments to some of its students — in other words, again based on alleged malfeasance on the part of the State.  In the legal papers there is much discussion about the withholding penalty, Congressional intent, and the Secretary of Education’s penalty powers. But, complications ensued with the USDOE’s case, leading to the petitioner, USDOE, being lambasted by an Administrative Law Judge and USDOE’s action blocked for bending the law, impropriety, and other bad conduct.

The Assistant Secretary had issued an Order to Show Cause letter informing the State of California that USDOE sought to withhold $1 million, and alleging that California failed to comply with various requirements of NCLB and ESEA. 

An Assistant USDOE Secretary hit the State of California with a withholding penalty notice without an opportunity to be heard on the matter. California requested a violation of due process hearing before an Administrative Law Judge who found that the USDOE conduct was “without legal authorization.” The Administrative Law Judge sharply criticized USDOE’s handling of the California case and found that the Assistant Secretary had acted improperly by attempting to prosecute the case while adjudicating as trier of fact.

in that case, the Administrative Law Judge scolded USDOE:

Notwithstanding USDOE’s hanky panky, the Administrative Law Judge in the case made it clear that Congress intended for the States to have due process — fair notice and an opportunity to be heard — before a withholding penalty could be issued and imposed… a requirement that USDOE tried to skirt. 

To be clear, the funds at issue in the California withholding penalty case were Title I Part A Administrative funds (as opposed to actual Title 1 Program funds). 

At the end of the day, the case was remanded to the USDOE and former Secretary Duncan adjudicated the case to a resolution, but it was not the outcome USDOE wanted. Of import, in his decision Secretary Duncan declined to approve the Assistant Secretary’s application for $1 million in  withholding and instead reduced the penalty amount to a “mere” $50,000. 

The reasons behind that decision are very compelling.

In ruling to reduce the withholding penalty, former Secretary Duncan opined that the Assistant Secretary had erred in setting the amount at $1 million.  Beyond that, Duncan conceded that there were mitigating circumstances that warranted a penalty reduction with $1 million wildly excessive as such a penalty would greatly prejudice the state’s ability to close achievement gaps and also harm the economy, among other things:

Remember —  the $50,000 ordered withheld from the State of California was drawn from its Title I, Part A allocation for administrative activities, and it was due to conduct specifically attributable to the State.

It goes without saying that withholding penalty cases are very rare.  It also seems that in the case of opt outs, a withholding penalty is indefensible by the government.  First, USDOE must prove that the state failed to substantially comply with the statute; in this case, tens of thousands of NYS parents chose to refuse the test despite the State’s efforts to achieve a 95% participation rate.  Second, there are many mitigating factors that would make a large withholding penalty egregiously improper if not prejudicial.

Mitigating Factors

Title 1 money is automatically granted based on the number of impoverished and/or at-risk children in a given school district.  The entire intent, spirit, and purpose behind NCLB Title 1 funding is to raise the achievement of, and bridge the achievement gap between, these low-income and at-risk students, and the rest of the student population.  Based on this formulation, USDOE provides the supplemental funding to states that, in turn, disburse that money to its local school districts to meet the needs of their respective at-risk and/or low-income students.   The basic principles of Title 1 state that schools with low-income and/or at-risk students will receive supplemental funds to assist in meeting students’ educational goals.  Low-income students are determined by the number of students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program.

This policy is committed to closing the achievement gap between low-income and/or at-risk students and other students and its purpose “is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education and reach, at minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and state academic assessments”, per USDOE website. 

Title 1 funds typically support supplemental instruction in reading and math and the funds can be used in many ways to provide help and support to impoverished and at-risk children.

Indeed, balancing equity, parent engagement, and involvement is the cornerstone of Title 1.  This then begs the question, what better way to participate in your child’s education than by making a well-informed decision to refuse to allow your child to participate in state-sanctioned abusive testing practices?

Beyond that, as is evident from the OHA California case discussed above, then-Secretary Duncan clearly recognized that withholding $1 million was unreasonable and would greatly prejudice students and the State of California.

According to the Congressional Equity and Excellence Commission report of 2014 ,   Title I, the centerpiece of the original 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, was designed as Lyndon Johnson’s compensatory education program and intended to help equalize resources for school districts the rationale being that school districts with children living in poverty also tend to lack local property wealth that can be taxed.  

As to Title 1, the Commission members opined that:

“The common situation in America is that schools in poor communities spend less per pupil—and often many thousands of dollars less per pupil—than schools in nearby affluent communities, meaning poor schools can’t compete for the best teaching and principal talent in a local labor market and can’t implement the high-end technology and rigorous academic and enrichment programs needed to enhance student performance. This is arguably the most important equity-related variable in American schooling today.  Let’s be honest: We are also an outlier in how many of our children are growing up in poverty… We are also an outlier in how we concentrate those children, isolating them in certain schools—often resource-starved schools—which only magnifies poverty’s impact and makes high achievement that much harder.” 

Interestingly, acting USDOE Secretary Jon King (formerly NYSED Commissioner) served on the Congressional Equity and Excellence Commission. The nefarious and former Commissioner King is well known for playing the “equity” card in support of flawed reforms. One has to wonder how it is possible for Acting Secretary King to advance “equity” when USDOE is threatening to withhold funds from disadvantaged students who desperately need said funding the most?

It cannot be disputed that school funding formulas tend to ignore inequality in the capacities of local school districts to raise revenue hence the need for Title 1 funds.  Wealthy districts (which tend to be suburbs) provide the latest in offerings and equipment and staff-student ratios, while impoverished districts (that tend to be urban/city and rural areas)cannot afford to augment their services or provide a sound basic education.  Title 1 is the one federal law that was intended by its 1965 sponsors to help level the playing field in order to close the gap in disparity for that very purpose: equity in education.

Acting USDOE Secretary King and his ilk throw around the term “equity” but then idly and callously threaten to withhold the very same funds that were dispersed to support that very need. Threats by USDOE to withhold such funds from the neediest of districts due to opt outs flies in the face of the statute’s intent and purpose not to mention it is incredibly punitive.

Moreover, I would argue that in making a decision as to how much money should be withheld, if any, the trier of fact must consider mitigating circumstances and elevate the needs of impoverished and vulnerable students above federal “policy” interests in order to comply themselves with the spirit and intent of federal laws.

The state is already derelict in failing to provide adequate funding to public school students, as lawsuits aptly show.  Thanks to the trifecta of Gap Elimination Aid, frozen Foundation Aid and the Real Property Tax Cap and a reform based privatization agenda, New York public school children have been consistently denied their Constitutional right to a sound basic education. 

To add insult to injury,  USDOEs threats continue to confuse  –  after the New York State Governor and Commissioner of Education have already agreed that the existing Common Core and testing regimen is fatally flawed and parents making informed and difficult decisions are in the best position to decide what is best for their children.

State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia concedes, “Parents can choose whether or not to take the test…if parents understand [our rationale for testing] and they still want their child to opt out, that certainly is their right.”

Likewise, Governor Andrew Cuomo admits, “At the end of the day, parents are in charge and parents make the decisions.”

It stands to reason, parents should not have the added burden of coercion or intimidation by school personnel or the state when it comes to subjecting children to the draconian high stakes nature of the Common Core tests.

In New York State, officials have acknowledged that parents have the right to refuse the test.

Threatening to withhold Title 1 money from New York’s disadvantaged students due to high opt outs is a misrepresentation of the facts, a miscarriage of justice and has got to be one of the most egregious, ill-conceived threats ever against public school children. Consider this as well: impoverished and at-risk children did not comprise the majority of the children opting out yet the withholding penalty will strike them hardest.

Compounding an already dire problem, unfunded mandates such as Common Core add to the burden that already weighs heavily on school district taxpaying parents at the expense of public school children.

State and federal officials must not intrude when parents seek to make choices about what is best for their own children. There are aspects of the NYS Testing program that parents may find questionable and objectionable for educational, political, social, ethical and/or religious reasons. The decision to refuse the test does not come lightly. It is a family decision that is simply beyond the control of administrators and teachers.

The law provides penalties when 95% participation is not met due to systematic exclusion, but USDOE has no legal bite when public school children refuse in an act of civil disobedience.  Attaching “penalties” to opt out  is not only  beyond the USDOE’s reach, but is incredibly punitive and improper.

USDOE Is All Bark.

No Bite.

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This blog post was researched and written by Anna Shah for informational purposes and should be construed as opinion, not legal advice. Special thanks to Deborah Brooks for contributing to this piece.