CDEC 30 in Queens passes the Texas resolution against high-stakes testing!

On March 15, 2012, Community District Education Council 30 in Queens unanimously approved the following Resolution in support of the Clear Creek (TX) Independent School District’s Resolution  regarding high stakes testing. More than forty school districts in Texas have passed this resolution, and now the movement is spreading to NYC!  

Message from CDEC30:  We hope other Councils will consider passing a similar resolution.

RESOLUTION #79

(IN SUPPORT OF CLEAR CREEK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (STATE OF TEXAS, COUNTY OF GALVESTON)
RESOLUTION CONCERNING HIGH STAKES, STANDARDIZED TESTING OF TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS
PASSED AND APPROVED FEBRUARY 27, 2012

RESOLUTION CONCERNING HIGH STAKES, STANDARDIZED TESTING
OF NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

WHEREAS, the over reliance on standardized, high stakes testing as the only assessment of learning that really matters in the state and federal accountability systems is strangling our public schools and undermining any chance that educators have to transform a traditional system of schooling into a broad range of learning experiences that better prepares our students to live successfully and be competitive on a global stage; and

WHEREAS, we believe our state's future prosperity relies on a high-quality education system that prepares students for college and careers, and without such a system New York’s economic competitiveness and ability and to attract new business will falter; and

WHEREAS, the real work of designing more engaging student learning experiences requires changes in the culture and structure of the systems in which teachers and students work; and

WHEREAS, what occurs in our classrooms every day should be student-centered and result in students learning at a deep and meaningful level, as opposed to the superficial level of learning that results from the current over-emphasis on that which can be easily tested by standardized tests; and

WHEREAS, our vision is for all students to be engaged in more meaningful learning activities that cultivate their unique individual talents, to provide for student choice in work that is designed to respect how they learn best, and to embrace the concept that students can be both consumers and creators of knowledge; and

WHEREAS, only by developing new capacities and conditions in districts and schools, and the communities in which they are embedded, will we ensure that all learning spaces foster and celebrate innovation, creativity, problem solving, collaboration, communication and critical thinking; and

WHEREAS, these are the very skills that business leaders desire in a rising workforce and the very attitudes that are essential to the survival of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, imposing relentless test preparation and boring memorization of facts to enhance test performance is doing little more than stealing the love of learning from our students and assuring that we fall short of our goals; and

WHEREAS, we do not oppose accountability in public schools and we point with pride to the performance of our students, but believe that the system of the past will not prepare our students to lead in the future and neither will the standardized tests that so dominate their instructional time and block our ability to make progress toward a world-class education system of student-centered schools and future-ready students.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Community District Education Council 30 calls on the New York State Legislature to reexamine the public school accountability system in New York and to develop a system that encompasses multiple assessments, reflects greater validity, uses more cost efficient sampling techniques and other external evaluation arrangements, and more accurately reflects what students know, appreciate and can do in terms of the rigorous standards essential to their success, enhances the role of teachers as designers, guides to instruction and leaders, and nurtures the sense of inquiry and love of learning in all students.

VOTED AND UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED: March 15, 2012