Unbeknownst to most parents, the state is imposing yet
another round of standardized testing in June. You can check to see what grade
your child's elementary or middle school is field testing here. High schools are also field
testing the Regents; more more information here and here.
May 21,
2012
CTS Demands Full Disclosure of School Testing Program
Calls Pearson’s June Field Tests a Waste of Time and Money
New York City – Change the Stakes, a coalition of parents and educators in
New York City, announces its opposition to the latest round of standardized testing,
the stand-alone field tests that are scheduled to be given in June. Over a thousand (1,029) public
elementary and middle schools in the city are scheduled to participate in this
additional statewide testing. Last week, science field testing took place
in 116 other New York City schools.
The price tag for this
extra developmental testing is conservatively estimated to be $3 million. It
comes on top of the six days (540 minutes) of regularly scheduled English
Language Arts (ELA) and math exams administered just last month, when the items
being field tested were embedded within the state-mandated tests. This
doubled the amount of time needed to complete the exams.
The New York State
Education Department (SED) and test publisher, NCS Pearson, Inc., have not
provided advance notice to the public about the June field tests nor
sufficiently explained why they are necessary. Moreover, testing experts regard
stand-alone testing as a dubious practice at best, and virtually useless when
conducted so very late in the school year.
“June is a terrible time
of year to test children—be it operational or field testing,” asserts Fred
Smith, a test specialist formerly with the city Department of Education (DOE).
“The expectation that children will be motivated to perform at their best near
the end of the year doesn’t even rise to the level of wishful thinking,” stated
Mr. Smith. He also points out that stand-alone field testing by SED was
discredited for yielding misleading data on which to develop new tests. “In
2009, SED’s test advisers acknowledged this approach was problematic because
students who took the exams knew they were experimental.”
SED’s elementary and
intermediate school field tests will be administered between June 5th and 15th.
Most schools will test only one grade between 3rd through 8th; however,
259 (23%) of the schools are being asked to give the experimental
exams on two grade levels. (Change the Stakes is providing
user-friendly information about all field test school and grade assignments
broken down by borough at changethestakes.org.
Parents can visit the website to find out what tests are due to be given this
June in their children’s schools.)
The primary purpose of
the June stand-alone testing period is to allow Pearson, the State’s education
testing contractor, to perform research for operational exams it will then sell
to the SED. The State is on record as stating participation in field
testing is “not mandatory,” yet schools and parents in New York City have been
kept in the dark and not advised that they have a choice about whether or not
their children should participate.
“Our kids are being used
as guinea pigs for the financial benefit of Pearson, to the detriment of their
own educational experience,” said Deyanira Ruiz, who has a daughter in a grade
that has been selected for field testing.
“They’ve already lost untold hours to test prep and the April math and
literacy exams, reducing the amount of time devoted to art, physical education,
social studies, and languages,” she added.
Some teachers are
questioning the use of valuable class time for field testing. Lauren Cohen, a
teacher in Manhattan, is fed up. “Far too many of us teach in schools that
already face enormous pressure to dedicate an excessive amount of classroom time
to test preparation between September and April. My school received a
notice, on Pearson letterhead, informing us that we must also give an ELA field
test to 3rd graders in June,” she said. “Field tests supply no useful
information to teachers or educational benefits to children. My students are
burnt out on testing, and this meaningless drudgery will take away valuable
learning time,” stated Ms. Cohen.
Fueling a rebellion
among parents against the upcoming field tests is the disclosure to date of roughly
30 errors, along with some questionable content, on the tests administered
in April. The state forbids the disclosure of test items, further undermining
parent confidence in the exams themselves. Diana Zavala, parent of a 3rd grader
in Manhattan, contends, “Transparency and accountability should also apply to
the corporations making the tests. If we are to believe these tests are
worthwhile and that the company is making ‘better tests,’ we should be able to
examine them.” She added, “but what we really want is more teaching, less
testing, and assessment that is more connected to the actual learning that
takes place in the classroom.”
Change the Stakes is Calling
for the Following Regarding June Field Testing:
- The
DOE should immediately disclose specific information about the stand-alone
field tests, explaining their nature and purpose and notifying parents of
children in the 1,029 field test schools about the dates the tests are
scheduled to be given.
- Pearson
and the SED should address the claim by independent testing experts that
the timing and format of these tests make it unlikely they will generate
reliable data needed to develop valid operational exams.
- SED
and DOE should allow parents and entire schools to opt out of
participating and only administer field tests to students in
schools/grades for whom explicit parental consent has been granted.
The need to obtain authorization to test their children from parents
or guardians should extend to all testing when the main objective is to
support research and development for commercial testing products.
- Non-participating students in schools and grades
undergoing testing should have a meaningful educational alternative
activity during the testing period.
###
Change the Stakes, a committee
of the Grassroots Education Movement, was formed to expose the damaging effects
of high-stakes standardized tests. We are a group of parents and teachers
working to build and unite opposition to high stakes testing in New York City.
Our membership includes a group of parents who refused to have their children
tested during the regular State exam period in April 2012. We believe
high-stakes testing must be replaced by more educationally-sound and balanced
forms of student, teacher, and school assessment.
See our online
petition demanding that New York State develop a non-punitive process by
which parents concerned about the impacts of high-stakes testing on student
learning can opt their children out of standardized tests.
