If as many as 60,000 students opted out as John King admitted today, that means the participation rate statewide was less than 95%. Remember to (re) read the classic, the Common Core Kool-aid by Rick Hess. Also my Shock Doctrine: 5 reasons not to trust the state exams.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August
14, 2014
More
information contact:
Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) www.nysape.org
Parents and Educators Reject the Tests, the Scores and Corporate Agenda of NYSED & Pearson
Today Commissioner John King and
Chancellor Merryl Tisch released the test scores of the state exams in 3-8th
grades, showing that, more than 68% of the state’s students were judged not
proficient in English Language Arts (ELA) and more than 64% not proficient in
Math. The overall results were largely flat with little to no change year
over year with only small gains and drops for specific demographic
groups.
Members of the New York State Allies for
Public Education (NYSAPE), a coalition of more than 50 parent and educator
advocacy groups, challenge the quality of the tests, the accuracy of the
scores, and the motives of those who have manufactured these results.
This past spring, NYSAPE estimated that at least 44,000 students had opted out
of the state exams; today the Commissioner admitted that the number was as
large as 60,000 compared to 10,000 in 2013.
As the growing problems with New York's
excessive and speculative testing reforms are exposed, parents across the state
are outraged and calling for an overhaul at the state education department.
Lisa Rudley, Westchester county public
school parent and founding member of NYSAPE said, “Though Commissioner John
King assured us that the new Common Core state tests would be a much better
reflection of the skills students will need for ‘college and career’ success
with the release of 50% of the questions last week, we learned what educators
were forbidden by law from telling us: these were flawed tests, riddled
with vague questions, inappropriate reading passages and multiple product
placements. In its new Pearson contract signed amidst a financial crisis, NYSED
doubled annual spending on testing and even worse, eliminated the transparency
of the previous McGraw-Hill contract. Where is the management from NYSED
and the oversight from the Board of Regents?"
Dr. Carol Burris,
principal of South Side High School on Long Island said, "Considering the
more than $28 million taxpayer investment in curriculum modules, this paltry
increase in scores is one more indication of the ineffectiveness of State
Education Department's reforms, and the inappropriateness of the Common Core
tests. Parents should take heart in knowing that the ‘college readiness‘
proficiency scores have no connection with reality. My high school and many
other well-resourced high schools in NY have proven records of preparing
students for college success that are no way connected to the state's newest measure
of proficiency."
Eric Mihelbergel, Erie County public school
parent and founding member of NYSAPE said, "If the released questions are
this bad, you have to wonder how much worse the other half were. I have
no confidence in the results released today. Parents now demand
new leadership for a Board of Regents and Commissioner of Education who
repeatedly fail to adequately respond to their legitimate concerns.”
“Many of the
multiple choice questions required up to five steps and compelled 8 year olds
to flip back forth between numbered paragraphs. The question becomes more of a
measure of attention, memory and test taking skills rather than their deep
understanding of a text. The commissioner has stated that education should not
be about test prep, but these tricky assessments all but ensure that test prep
will continue -- to the detriment of real learning,” said Bianca Tanis, an
Ulster County public school parent and special education teacher.
Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public
school parent and founder of Long Opt Out said, “This past spring, 55,000 to
60,000 New York State students were spared from yet another year of test scores
that were designed to show a large majority of failures. The number of opt
outs will steadily grow until NYSED takes the concerns of parents
seriously and makes the necessary changes to our children's excessive high
stakes testing regimen. High stakes testing and the Regents Agenda have
hijacked our classrooms, and every day more parents become aware of how they
too must protect their children from these harmful policies.”
Jessica McNair,
Oneida County public school parent and educator notes, "Until the NYSED
acknowledges that these developmentally inappropriate exams take time away from
instruction, cost taxpayers, and set kids up to fail -- in an attempt to
perpetuate the false narrative of Governor Cuomo’s ‘death penalty’ for
schools -- parents will continue to refuse to allow their children to
participate in these state tests.”
“The test content
was not sufficiently disclosed and there was no quality assurance or mechanism
for parents or educators to obtain valuable feedback. The bottom line is that
students are getting hurt, money is being wasted and precious time is being
spent on high stakes testing at the expense of more meaningful instruction. The
system surrounding the NYS testing program is dysfunctional to say the least,”
said Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent.
Fred Smith, a test
specialist formerly with the NYC Department of Education (DOE) stated, “The
State Education Department took a half-step by releasing 50 percent of the
English and math questions from the April 2014 exams. It was a half-step not
just because it falls halfway short of full disclosure, but also because SED
fails to provide data at its disposal that would enable objective evaluation of
the questions, each of which is a brick in the wall of the testing
program.”
“Like many other parents, I see how flawed
the tests are as a measure of learning, and fear for all those millions of
students who are told, unjustly, and at an early age, they aren’t ‘college and
career ready’. These tests which ask our children to prove the existence of Big
Foot and expose them to numerous and inappropriate product placements are the
furthest from rigor one could imagine. I question the motives of the
bureaucrats and the testing companies who are forcing these inappropriate exams
onto our children – to try to prove to the public that our schools and children
are failing, so they can better pursue their privatization agenda and the
outsourcing of education into corporate hands,” said Leonie Haimson, Executive
Director of Class Size Matters.
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