Why do so many commenters here complain about the "quality" of the tests without providing examples? Two commenters (of the many comments I read) provided links to tests which seemed fine to me. They would probably be quite challenging to many students, or even many young college graduates, but that just shows how much school at all levels has been dumbed down. I get the feeling that parents are claiming the tests are "bad" because the parents themselves have trouble answering the questions.
I'm also laughing at parents who think they are smart and courageous by having their *children* do the dirty work of "opting out" of the tests. I'm a single father who raised two intelligent and successful daughters. I would have never considered ordering them to refuse to take a test. The parents should be fighting this battle, not using their own children as human shields!
I'm also laughing at parents who think they are smart and courageous by having their *children* do the dirty work of "opting out" of the tests. I'm a single father who raised two intelligent and successful daughters. I would have never considered ordering them to refuse to take a test. The parents should be fighting this battle, not using their own children as human shields!
2
As one of the parents quoted in this article I was deeply disappointed that the true reasons parents are refusing these particular tests were not clearly identified. We did not initiate a test refusal movement because we are supporting teachers or because we don't want our kids to be over tested. The NYS common core tests in math and ELA are leading to a trend that is ruining public education as we know it. Because they are liked to 50% of teacher evaluations they are forcing teachers to teach to the tests. Our children are learning that there is only one right answer to a question, they are being taught how to take a test, not to ask questions, and science and social studies are disappearing from our children's curriculum due to these high stakes tests that emphasize math and ELA. The children in our district in grades 3- 8 take over 15 other standard tests over the course of the year to track their progress. Those other tests are shorter in duration , age appropriate and teachers have actually found the information in those tests valuable . The NYS common core tests are non transparent and therefore useless tools for teachers to see where they need to improve, not to mention they are developed by corporations, not educators, and they take over 3 weeks of time out of our children classroom that could be used for meaningful instruction. In all fairness, these reasons for test refusal should be more clearly identified to the general public.
6
Standardized testing has never been about students nor for students. It has always been about generating a single number which an administrator can use to label a public school teacher inadequate.
Yet the preponderance of the research on standardized testing has concluded that it fails as a tool to measure teacher aptitude. In fact, the standardized test was never intended to be used for that purpose. The so-called value-added formulas for removing unwanted variables are themselves so complex that even testing advocates can't explain them. No statistician has ever championed the standardized test as a legitimate way to measure teaching skills.
Billionaire education "reformers," their money and their lawyers are driving the standardized testing mania infecting public education today. Their money is dominating public education policy in America. Their latest success, Common Core, was funded by Bill Gates and created by David Coleman, who heads the College Board, a testing corporation.
There are plenty of ways to improve education in our public schools, but standardized testing is not one of them. As a nation, we need to take back our neighborhood schools from the billionaires, end the obsession with standardized testing and move on.
Teachers, meanwhile, will be more than happy to design and administer their own tests to measure student learning. Like they always have.
Yet the preponderance of the research on standardized testing has concluded that it fails as a tool to measure teacher aptitude. In fact, the standardized test was never intended to be used for that purpose. The so-called value-added formulas for removing unwanted variables are themselves so complex that even testing advocates can't explain them. No statistician has ever championed the standardized test as a legitimate way to measure teaching skills.
Billionaire education "reformers," their money and their lawyers are driving the standardized testing mania infecting public education today. Their money is dominating public education policy in America. Their latest success, Common Core, was funded by Bill Gates and created by David Coleman, who heads the College Board, a testing corporation.
There are plenty of ways to improve education in our public schools, but standardized testing is not one of them. As a nation, we need to take back our neighborhood schools from the billionaires, end the obsession with standardized testing and move on.
Teachers, meanwhile, will be more than happy to design and administer their own tests to measure student learning. Like they always have.
6
Tests have been a part of education forever. The problem today is that kids are taught to the test. Students should be taught, then take a test to see if they've learned the content for their grade level.
Teachers must stop training kids to take tests and go back to teaching!
Teachers must stop training kids to take tests and go back to teaching!
Simply stated, these tests do not inform instruction. The purpose of testing is to assess what students do not yet know in order to teach it to them. There is the concept in education of a pre-test, teaching, then post-testing to see what was taught. In that way, testing is used as a tool to inform instruction. As it stands, the results of these particular tests are meaningless for several reasons. Number one, they are not returned to the school or to the district so educators and administrators cannot see where they are lacking. Number two, by the time the tests are graded and individual students are given results, they have moved on to the next grade. I am not anti-testing. In fact, I am very, very much pro-testing. Pre-test, teach, post-test, reteach. Once I see standardized tests that are being used as something other than a stick with which to clobber teachers and schools and as a political tool, my kids will go back to taking them. As it stands, my kids' minds are not for political sale.
10
Just because they don't inform individual instruction doesn't mean they don't inform instruction. All tests should ultimately inform instruction, but some tests are meant to be interpreted in the aggregate.
1
Live in suffolk ...son attends private school did not opt out. Why so much in suffolk county? Mostly teachers and their relatives who are protecting their jobs. Pushed on Facebook by women who are teachers. Notice the map the wealthy areas along the north shore very few opting out. The wealthy don't have any investment in teachers unions they just want the best teachers for their kids...we all deserve the best!
3
Wow. I don't know what's more depressing-- the article or the comments.
A few thoughts:
1. Why are many assuming that the "Opt Out" parents don't want any accountability? They're questioning the validity of the new tests made by corporations, not all tests, by all teachers.
2. Why are many assuming that the teachers who don't approve of these tests are card-carrying union members? Can a teacher oppose this specific test and not be a lazy bum who thrives on a lack of accountability?
3. If you don't have a child in the public school system right now OR you are not a teacher, how do you have ANY knowledge at all on the current state of affairs?
I have been teaching for nine years and I am shocked by how much has changed just during that time. Some say that they don't see the harm in testing a few days a year. What they don't realize is that the testing lasts for weeks. If kids take multi-day tests for one class, they are missing multiple days in YOUR class and then they are behind. Also, they don't realize that this is twice a year for every subject, in addition to AP tests, SATs, etc.
4. Yes, there are poor teachers. However, there are also poor policies that reflect questionable values. Social promotion is the norm-- nobody gets held back even if they are multiple grade levels behind academically. If you are a teacher with tenure- at least you have a leg to stand on when admin. is pressuring you to pass along a high school student who can barely read.
A few thoughts:
1. Why are many assuming that the "Opt Out" parents don't want any accountability? They're questioning the validity of the new tests made by corporations, not all tests, by all teachers.
2. Why are many assuming that the teachers who don't approve of these tests are card-carrying union members? Can a teacher oppose this specific test and not be a lazy bum who thrives on a lack of accountability?
3. If you don't have a child in the public school system right now OR you are not a teacher, how do you have ANY knowledge at all on the current state of affairs?
I have been teaching for nine years and I am shocked by how much has changed just during that time. Some say that they don't see the harm in testing a few days a year. What they don't realize is that the testing lasts for weeks. If kids take multi-day tests for one class, they are missing multiple days in YOUR class and then they are behind. Also, they don't realize that this is twice a year for every subject, in addition to AP tests, SATs, etc.
4. Yes, there are poor teachers. However, there are also poor policies that reflect questionable values. Social promotion is the norm-- nobody gets held back even if they are multiple grade levels behind academically. If you are a teacher with tenure- at least you have a leg to stand on when admin. is pressuring you to pass along a high school student who can barely read.
8
Your attitude that if we don't have a child in school right now or aren't a teacher, we're not entitled to an opinion, is misguided, and not in the spirit of public education.
2
Eventually they're going to have to take a tough test or be in a pressurized situation, theres no reason to start now. This is the way of he world, to think otherwise is foolhardy
So true. By the time a child is a teenager, they will be taking the SATs, so why aren't you giving your 3 year old workbooks to prepare him now?
4
"By the time a child is a teenager, they will be taking the SATs, so why aren't you giving your 3 year old workbooks to prepare him now?"
Perhaps not quite so early, but I did. Especially in math, my kids consider these tests to be fun contests, no different from a race in gym or a spelling bee. Text anxiety is taught; the opposite can be taught as well.
My eldest is especially motivated to do well. I explained to him the problem with so many people achieving perfect scores on the NJASK, which is why the PARCC is tougher. We then concluded together that, should too many people achieve perfect PARCC scores, it will have to be made even more difficult.
My eldest is trying to force a harder test for his younger brother. Ah, sibling love.
...Andrew
Perhaps not quite so early, but I did. Especially in math, my kids consider these tests to be fun contests, no different from a race in gym or a spelling bee. Text anxiety is taught; the opposite can be taught as well.
My eldest is especially motivated to do well. I explained to him the problem with so many people achieving perfect scores on the NJASK, which is why the PARCC is tougher. We then concluded together that, should too many people achieve perfect PARCC scores, it will have to be made even more difficult.
My eldest is trying to force a harder test for his younger brother. Ah, sibling love.
...Andrew
1
Don't test? Then, according to Harvard professor, and MacArthur Fellow, Raj Chetty and his colleagues, it's going to cost your kids a lot:
“…From a purely financial perspective, high income parents should be willing to pay about $6,500/yr to get [a teacher in the 84th percentile vs. one at the 50th percentile]…Impacts on earnings are…similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families…great teachers [as measured only by the ‘average test score gain of his or her students’] create great value…”.
In other words, for a class of 30 students, the outstanding teacher is worth almost $200,000 a year more! That's for high income families, but remember that "...Impacts on earnings are…similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families..."
(From “The Long-Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added And Student Outcomes in Adulthood”, a landmark paper, by , John N. Friedman (Harvard) and Jonah E. Rockoff.)
For a suggestion on how to find these teachers, and to decrease the distance in teaching abilities, see my other comment below.
“…From a purely financial perspective, high income parents should be willing to pay about $6,500/yr to get [a teacher in the 84th percentile vs. one at the 50th percentile]…Impacts on earnings are…similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families…great teachers [as measured only by the ‘average test score gain of his or her students’] create great value…”.
In other words, for a class of 30 students, the outstanding teacher is worth almost $200,000 a year more! That's for high income families, but remember that "...Impacts on earnings are…similar in percentage terms for students from low and high income families..."
(From “The Long-Term Impacts of Teachers: Teacher Value-Added And Student Outcomes in Adulthood”, a landmark paper, by , John N. Friedman (Harvard) and Jonah E. Rockoff.)
For a suggestion on how to find these teachers, and to decrease the distance in teaching abilities, see my other comment below.
2
I challenge any parent to find a school where no testing occurs. Yes, testing, as in tests given by teachers. Tests are part and parcel to education (for better or for worse). So what scares folks about THESE tests? What scares teachers who already burn "valuable teaching time" to give tests multiple times a year to determine if a student has learned what they've tried to teach?
1
It is mighty odd that this false idea that people who oppose these corporate-made politically-enforced tests are against all testing is being repeated here. No one is saying there should be no testing in our schools. The issue is these tests, and the ways in which they are being used, and those are specific issues--not a cry to do away with all tests. That shouldn't be hard to understand at all.
4
I challenge you to find a private school that is demanding its students take these oh so valuable exams! On the contrary, now private schools are claiming that AP exams aren't for them anymore -- just believe them when they tell you that their courses are BETTER than AP exams! And of course, soon private school students won't bother with SATs, either, because we all know their students' education is so superior that they don't need to be tested.
I am happy to have my child tested. With the SAME exams that private school students take. If your child is not subject to these poorly designed state exams and the endless prep that goes with them, then you have no business commenting here, unless you insist that your private school starts giving them to your kids.
I am happy to have my child tested. With the SAME exams that private school students take. If your child is not subject to these poorly designed state exams and the endless prep that goes with them, then you have no business commenting here, unless you insist that your private school starts giving them to your kids.
4
Precisely my point. No one is against testing, they are against how these tests are being used. They are being used to measure the performance of students, schools and teachers. Measurements we need in order to know if students, schools and teachers are achieving set goals and standards. Without common assessments and standard metrics we are flying blind trusting that our schools and teachers aren't failing us (the evidence of which is quite strong in many communities).
As to the quality of the tests, one can always have issues, but if one does, make them better. It doesn't nullify their purpose and potential utility.
As to the quality of the tests, one can always have issues, but if one does, make them better. It doesn't nullify their purpose and potential utility.
1
I don't agree with this, and I am a teacher. I LIKE tests. It keeps me accountable, and the kids accountable, as well.
Would you want to go to a doctor who had not been made to pass some tests? Or a lawyer? We need accountability for what we teach and what we learn.
Would you want to go to a doctor who had not been made to pass some tests? Or a lawyer? We need accountability for what we teach and what we learn.
3
Why aren't you telling this to private school parents? They are the ones whose teachers aren't licensed, like doctors and lawyers. Same with charter schools -- they must be really terrible if they use unlicensed teachers since as you say, the teacher needs to be able to pass the test just like doctors.
Unless you think your doctor's patients are supposed to be tested? Maybe we should take away the license of any cancer doctor whose patient dies? That way, doctors can discharge patients to some non-medical institute when they decide they aren't worth treating anymore. Just like many charter schools do. Now those are the kind of doctors and teachers we can all respect, since they have "accountability" that is much better than a simple license.
Unless you think your doctor's patients are supposed to be tested? Maybe we should take away the license of any cancer doctor whose patient dies? That way, doctors can discharge patients to some non-medical institute when they decide they aren't worth treating anymore. Just like many charter schools do. Now those are the kind of doctors and teachers we can all respect, since they have "accountability" that is much better than a simple license.
2
We need accountability, but not a deeply flawed, politically motivated test that teachers will never see and cannot use to assess students. Why is that so hard to understand.
6
Well, for those parents who opt out, I can assure them of one thing. Their children will be given standardized tests before they are admitted to any worthwhile university or college. When junior doesn't get admitted anywhere, that's when they find out that their child learned nothing. And it will be too late to change anything by then.
3
Anyone else sick of these parents and teachers whining about higher standards for the kids? What kid wouldn't want to opt out of taking a test? Especially when the special interest of the unions is heading up the rallying cry. I suppose it goes to the whole entitlement society we've created from teachers unions to kids who now can dictate whether or not they will take a test.
2
Your assumptions are laughable. Most people I know in the teacher's union, including myself, are all for higher standards. What puzzles me, as a high school teacher, is that we have higher standards, but also the expectation that everyone passes, 100% of the time. You are faulty in your logic that the teachers have created the entitlement society. If we were allowed to hold back students who couldn't read, to let our school truly reflect its deficits on tests, to suspend children who created a distraction for everyone else, then perhaps some real improvement could happen. However, the current system makes it impossible for any school to really flourish. I have worked in private sector and my views were very akin to your own before I became a teacher. Things are very different now and it's comical (and sad) to see the misconceptions out there. Teachers don't want to dumb down anything and the parents opting out seem to be educated and affluent. Statistically, their kids are more likely to test better. It's not about Johnny's mom whining that her son doesn't look like a genius. It's not about Johnny's lazy bum teacher wanting to coast through their career. For me, it's about people who AREN'T teachers writing tests that aren't scientifically valid. The kids take these tests for approximately five weeks out of the year. Then I don't even get to see my students' data until the following year, after I don't have those kids anymore. It's not as simple as YOU think.
7
The opt out movement defines my child as one with special needs who suffer the stress of taking a test that is too hard. I want my child to take a test that is too hard because I want my child to reach her potential. She can handle the stress. I want the school to be accountable to my child's education. The schools have sidelined this population for too long. It has only been with the advent of the testing that I am beginning to see schools take on such issues as dyslexia, adhd and autism. Children once forgotten are now being noticed. Children that would have been allowed to graduate without being able to read are now being taught to read. What will happen to these kids once the tests and their scores are no longer valid because of opt out? I'm scared. Why has the disability community been so quiet on this issue.
5
I cannot agree more! Tests are an important part of a child's development. It is one of many tools in the toolbox to help a child develop fully. If a child is not trained to handle the stress of a test, I am not sure they will gain the skills to handle the various trials and tribulations of life. Life is going to give them a test, I hope the kids who opted-out will pass.
2
Are these Pearson te$t$ administered to the private and parochial schools
that Cuomo so wants to fund? Will private and parochial school teachers
be evaluated, at well, based on the student test scores? Will private
and parochial schools funded by tax dollars have the teachers teaching to
the tests?
that Cuomo so wants to fund? Will private and parochial school teachers
be evaluated, at well, based on the student test scores? Will private
and parochial schools funded by tax dollars have the teachers teaching to
the tests?
6
I am sure the private and parochial school parents will DEMAND that their schools test their children. After all, testing is the only valid way they know if their money isn't wasted on a subpar education. And not the SAT -- if a private school parent doesn't demand their child take the exact same common core test that public students take, they obviously don't care about their child's education.
I'm surprised Michelle and Barak Obama aren't leading the charge for private schools to use state exams to evaluate their teachers.
I'm surprised Michelle and Barak Obama aren't leading the charge for private schools to use state exams to evaluate their teachers.
"I am sure the private and parochial school parents will DEMAND that their schools test their children."
We withdrew our children from a private school precisely because of the lack of testing, though I admit we didn't do this until we realized there was a problem that testing would have uncovered long before. That was an education for us on the significant role testing plays. In an ideal world, it wouldn't be needed. This is not an ideal world, however.
"And not the SAT"
No. That's too late. A child behind in 10th or 11th grade doesn't have a lot of time to catch up. The earlier an issue is caught - whether with a student, teacher, or school - the more time remains for correction.
"they obviously don't care about their child's education."
That may be unfair. Professional teachers, for example, are in a better position than those of us that are "merely" parents to recognize a problem. Parents that can afford constant tutoring, independent of the schools, are also kept better informed.
It is those of us that are aren't professional teachers that cannot afford an army of tutors that are dependent upon this.
...Andrew
We withdrew our children from a private school precisely because of the lack of testing, though I admit we didn't do this until we realized there was a problem that testing would have uncovered long before. That was an education for us on the significant role testing plays. In an ideal world, it wouldn't be needed. This is not an ideal world, however.
"And not the SAT"
No. That's too late. A child behind in 10th or 11th grade doesn't have a lot of time to catch up. The earlier an issue is caught - whether with a student, teacher, or school - the more time remains for correction.
"they obviously don't care about their child's education."
That may be unfair. Professional teachers, for example, are in a better position than those of us that are "merely" parents to recognize a problem. Parents that can afford constant tutoring, independent of the schools, are also kept better informed.
It is those of us that are aren't professional teachers that cannot afford an army of tutors that are dependent upon this.
...Andrew
There are a lot of comments of how bad the tests are, but very few comments of how results of these tests show the state of our education. So, NYTimes, here is a suggestion for an interesting experiment:
Take the math sample questions that are posted on-line (http://www.parcconline.org/samples/mathematics/grade-6-slider-ruler say for 6th grade, and ask 6th graders around U.S. Then ask the same question 3rd graders in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and publish results.
My guess, you will be horrified by the comparison. And that should hopefully start the discussion about the true national threat that we are facing -- and it is not testing.
Take the math sample questions that are posted on-line (http://www.parcconline.org/samples/mathematics/grade-6-slider-ruler say for 6th grade, and ask 6th graders around U.S. Then ask the same question 3rd graders in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and publish results.
My guess, you will be horrified by the comparison. And that should hopefully start the discussion about the true national threat that we are facing -- and it is not testing.
5
Better yet, look at THIS exam!
http://www.nysedregents.org/algebraone/614/algone62014-exam.pdf
If you can't answer these questions that the lowest achieving 9th graders are supposed to know, I'm surprised you managed to graduate from high school. Certainly no one who can't ace this exam could have graduated from college and had a viable career, right? After all, if the students with no interest in college are mastering this material in 9th grade, the ones who plan on any higher education should practically do these in their heads. Right?
http://www.nysedregents.org/algebraone/614/algone62014-exam.pdf
If you can't answer these questions that the lowest achieving 9th graders are supposed to know, I'm surprised you managed to graduate from high school. Certainly no one who can't ace this exam could have graduated from college and had a viable career, right? After all, if the students with no interest in college are mastering this material in 9th grade, the ones who plan on any higher education should practically do these in their heads. Right?
RJ, are you saying you tried it and you found it hard?
I gave it a shot. I didn't remember how to do all of it, but a person who recently took algebra should be familiar with most of it.
I gave it a shot. I didn't remember how to do all of it, but a person who recently took algebra should be familiar with most of it.
You are wrong...the parents in the US think is perfectly ok to have their kids be intellectually years behind the rest of the world. Their only concern is "How do i make it easy for my Baby"! Wonder where these kids intend to work once they jpin the adult world..perhaps janitorial work.
1
I've been teaching art for 15 years in NY public schools and I have 3 children. My number one reason for opting my children out is because the focus on testing in ELA and Math is ruining education in other subjects. My art class sizes have climbed, my supply budgets have been cut and my student contact time reduced all in an effort to make sure my students do well on state tests. Perhaps the politicians who think the testing is benefiting students and schools should try teaching a 7th grade art class with 35 students how to paint a Hudson River School style landscape with just 30 minutes periods.
12
Lord knows the importance of art to our nation's future...
2
Art is vitally important for Humanity's future. That does not need to be explained to reasonable people.
4
Did you mean "That does not need to be explained", or did you mean "I lack the intellectual rigor and clarity of thought to explain my feelings"?
Most people, including opt out parents, have nothing against a modicum of standardized tests created and graded by real educators, as a partial gauge to student progress or lack thereof. The problem is that this is not the reality that exists today. These tests are poorly written and cut off scores are arbitrary. The amount of time spent on test prep and test taking is excessive. These tests are high-stakes in a manner that is detrimental to the students and teachers. These tests offer no real insight into student or teacher performance. These tests are a complete waste of tax payer funds. Lets return to tests created by public universities like ( the Iowa Basic Schools tests of yore) with the caveat that these tests, are not the be all and end all.
11
Though, as a former math professor, I don't agree with the "opt-out" movement, I do believe it could make a major difference for the better; but, only by focusing on the real problem in k-12, and demanding that the thriving industry causing our educational problems - COLLEGES - be tested. Here is how it can be done.
We should require teachers to take a test that is only stored and reported by the COLLEGE THEY ATTENDED. We should start with high school teachers and test them in their major.
With such a test, many colleges would be exposed.
Mayor Bloomberg did something like this with the New York City schools. His office reported surprising results. For example, Columbia Teacher's College did not fare well.
I say "surprising" because these results probably are to most people; but to someone who has spent decades in higher "education", they are not at all surprising.
There is a link the Times article, and much more, on my blog inside-higher-ed .
We should require teachers to take a test that is only stored and reported by the COLLEGE THEY ATTENDED. We should start with high school teachers and test them in their major.
With such a test, many colleges would be exposed.
Mayor Bloomberg did something like this with the New York City schools. His office reported surprising results. For example, Columbia Teacher's College did not fare well.
I say "surprising" because these results probably are to most people; but to someone who has spent decades in higher "education", they are not at all surprising.
There is a link the Times article, and much more, on my blog inside-higher-ed .
5
You do know that as part of the certification process all teachers take standardized tests. Secondary teachers take standardized test in their subject area. And many of them have degrees in their areas.
1
Math teachers in my district are not required to have any degree in math, just educational degrees. My friend who has a PhD and math and who taught at the college level is not qualified to teach math at any public school in NY because he does not have a teaching degree.
1
"Secondary teachers take standardized test in their subject area."
That's not enough. A third grade teacher that believes 1/3 is "somewhere near 3" on the number line, or another third grade teacher that believes 1/2+1/2=2/4, can do more harm than good. The latter especially can kill the natural excitement children have about math in that she became angry when several students tried to correct her.
One would like to assume that the simple level of math taught in primary school would be part of any educated adult's skill set. Unfortunately, too many of these teachers are themselves victims of the same poor education in mathematics that people are still trying to correct today.
Despite this, NJ has almost no requirement for mathematics education of its primary teachers, and no assessment to assure they can find their way around a number line. That's wrong. We cannot expect secondary school teachers to be able to correct this. By then, in too many, the passion is dead and buried and math is "boring" or "hard" or a subject to be feared.
Fortunately, what I described above is not universal. A fourth grade teacher here races his students in timed multiplication table (and etc.) questions. Kids get so excited at the chance to beat him that they give up free time to race him again and again and again.
In this way and others, that teacher fanned the flames of passion in his students. He remains a favorite of both my kids as well as their parents.
...Andrew
That's not enough. A third grade teacher that believes 1/3 is "somewhere near 3" on the number line, or another third grade teacher that believes 1/2+1/2=2/4, can do more harm than good. The latter especially can kill the natural excitement children have about math in that she became angry when several students tried to correct her.
One would like to assume that the simple level of math taught in primary school would be part of any educated adult's skill set. Unfortunately, too many of these teachers are themselves victims of the same poor education in mathematics that people are still trying to correct today.
Despite this, NJ has almost no requirement for mathematics education of its primary teachers, and no assessment to assure they can find their way around a number line. That's wrong. We cannot expect secondary school teachers to be able to correct this. By then, in too many, the passion is dead and buried and math is "boring" or "hard" or a subject to be feared.
Fortunately, what I described above is not universal. A fourth grade teacher here races his students in timed multiplication table (and etc.) questions. Kids get so excited at the chance to beat him that they give up free time to race him again and again and again.
In this way and others, that teacher fanned the flames of passion in his students. He remains a favorite of both my kids as well as their parents.
...Andrew
The point of these tests is to test the schools, not the children. Opting out means you don't care if your school is doing a good job or not. You would rather your child got meaningless grades.
4
The point of these tests, actually, is to close schools and fire teachers arbitrarily, ultimately leading to privatization of public education. They provide almost no granular information to help schools improve. The idea of testing so heavily is supposedly to benefit low-performing schools. So far, it's succeeding in closing neighborhood schools in poor neighborhoods, driving some kids to charters and consolidating the populations most in need of good teachers. Oh, and those good teachers are leaving the profession in droves because of the way the incessant testing ties their hands.
3
This is a really interesting video of Comsewogue Superintendent Joseph Rella explaining the problems with the new testing and the the potential impact on students, teachers and the future of public education. The governor seems to be taking us down a path of privatizing public education. Watching this may change the minds of some high stakes testing supporters. This was filmed before the passage of the current budget.
http://unitedteachersofnorthport.com/issues/comsewogue-superintendent-jo...
http://unitedteachersofnorthport.com/issues/comsewogue-superintendent-jo...
3
The argument against opt-out is a lousy rationale for
testing each and every student: that subverting testing
ruins a tool for measuring the quality of schools. If there
is this much resistance to testing, it's conveying a message
that must be listened to: devise other tools. To begin with,
identifying the worst schools wouldn't require a metric as
fine-grained as testing every student; statistical sampling
could do it with as much confidence as needed.
testing each and every student: that subverting testing
ruins a tool for measuring the quality of schools. If there
is this much resistance to testing, it's conveying a message
that must be listened to: devise other tools. To begin with,
identifying the worst schools wouldn't require a metric as
fine-grained as testing every student; statistical sampling
could do it with as much confidence as needed.
4
I feel torn. I understand the sentiment that testing is a necessary evil and that trying to spare children the obligation to take even a bad test is not doing them a favor. Life will come with many more bad tests. The whiff of the helicopter, and the impulse to make sure everybody gets a gold star, is undeniable. I understand the need for accountability, which testing, theoretically, provides. Minoritities are emphatically disadvantaged when accountability suffers. Airy fairy education fads appeal to a certain subset of affluent parents which minorities are instantly suspicious of, focusing on their kids learning the basics to get a decent job.
OTOH ... I totally get: how abysmally stupid some tests can be. Some teachers are themselves very poorly educated. Many are not, don't get me wrong, but it is undeniable that some questions on standardized tests are bizarre, obscure, incoherent, or at best, the answers highly debatable, in ways that apparently didn't even occur to the test writers, and you can't help concluding that some of the people testing our children aren't that bright, or are very poorly prepared to teach critical thinking or reading comprehension.
Some of the sample questions read like FAKES - written by someone who knows what test questions are supposed to sound like, but is only prefending to understand the subject matter -like how could you word it this confusingly even if you tried? That's very disconcerting. How these tests are composed needs an exposé.
OTOH ... I totally get: how abysmally stupid some tests can be. Some teachers are themselves very poorly educated. Many are not, don't get me wrong, but it is undeniable that some questions on standardized tests are bizarre, obscure, incoherent, or at best, the answers highly debatable, in ways that apparently didn't even occur to the test writers, and you can't help concluding that some of the people testing our children aren't that bright, or are very poorly prepared to teach critical thinking or reading comprehension.
Some of the sample questions read like FAKES - written by someone who knows what test questions are supposed to sound like, but is only prefending to understand the subject matter -like how could you word it this confusingly even if you tried? That's very disconcerting. How these tests are composed needs an exposé.
The problem is that the people who write these exams don't seem to be very smart -- they often aren't teachers. They think that making a question confusing and therefore insuring that some percentage of students -- no matter how well educated -- will miss it means that we are "raising standards"! Now I am assuming it is because of sheer ineptitude and isn't on purpose, but with Pearson and their politically chosen "cut scores" it is impossible to tell.
The parents opting out aren't against testing. They are against THIS testing because they see how damaging it is to have a smart kid told to put aside logic and try to answer a terribly written question that doesn't actually have a right answer.
The parents opting out aren't against testing. They are against THIS testing because they see how damaging it is to have a smart kid told to put aside logic and try to answer a terribly written question that doesn't actually have a right answer.
5
We opted out for our three kids in New Jersey. It would have been a difficult decision, but I had seen some of the tests on line. They are truly terrible.
I'm personally not against testing: my generation did enough of them in school that they aren't an alien concept, and I agree that we need some sort of standard. However, wasting time and money on a poorly designed test that seems only to serve educational publishers makes no sense to me.
Any public official who supports punishing schools based on test participation is going to be unemployed. That's a line parents won't let you cross.
I'm personally not against testing: my generation did enough of them in school that they aren't an alien concept, and I agree that we need some sort of standard. However, wasting time and money on a poorly designed test that seems only to serve educational publishers makes no sense to me.
Any public official who supports punishing schools based on test participation is going to be unemployed. That's a line parents won't let you cross.
8
Once tenured, it is virtually impossible to fire a public school teacher. I work in the private sector and every six months I get a performance evaluation based on both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the results of my work. Poor performers are given the chance to improve or move to a different department. If they can't or won't, they are gone. There is a bottom 10% of teachers out there. There are people who should not be teaching children who are presently un-firable. Every district, rich or poor, has them. The parents know who they are, the administrators know who they are, and the other teachers know who they are. They survive due to politics. They deserve to lose their jobs if they don't improve. There are tons of underemployed people qualified to teach, with masters degrees, etc. How do we identify the poor performers objectively by a higher level (the state) if not through tests?
2
You just said "every parent and administrator knows who they are"! How?? If you think a teacher is bad, document it. As a parent, and I am sick and tired of lazy administrators saying there is nothing they can do BEFORE they have jumped through every hoop necessary to document a poor teacher's performance. Administrators just don't want to go out on a limb. Tough - that is their job and they should be doing it.
We all know that a child's test results rarely reflect good or bad teaching, just like we don't assume that the private school student who has low SAT scores had worse teachers than their classmate with higher SAT scores. When private schools start firing teachers because their students scored poorly on the SATs, I will believe that standardized tests are a valid way to judge the worth of a teacher.
We all know that a child's test results rarely reflect good or bad teaching, just like we don't assume that the private school student who has low SAT scores had worse teachers than their classmate with higher SAT scores. When private schools start firing teachers because their students scored poorly on the SATs, I will believe that standardized tests are a valid way to judge the worth of a teacher.
4
Private schools can fire underperforming teachers far more easily. The teachers' union is the reason for needing these tests.
Private schools can fire good teachers far more easily, too. Especially the good teacher that refuses to give an A to the child of their biggest funder. Or the good teacher that stands up when the son of the biggest funder decides to bully your child. They can fire the teacher with high standards if that means the students whose parents are on the board don't get As. Is that what you think is a better system?
I love how people like you pretend that private school students don't "need" to take these tests, because of course they'd all do superbly and we know it! It reminds me of 6 year olds who insist they know how to do algebra, just like their big sibling, but because it is just "too easy" to do, refuses to demonstrate such an easy skill. What a childish assertion you make. Private schools don't need to give these tests!
I love how people like you pretend that private school students don't "need" to take these tests, because of course they'd all do superbly and we know it! It reminds me of 6 year olds who insist they know how to do algebra, just like their big sibling, but because it is just "too easy" to do, refuses to demonstrate such an easy skill. What a childish assertion you make. Private schools don't need to give these tests!
3
The rest of the world sees Americans as unintelligent and uninformed. I think it's a smart move to refuse to participate in tests that prove that beyond doubt...
7
Time to start firing some superintendents, principals, and teachers. You either have a school system or you don't. Unfortunately New York does not have centralized school systems, so the only leverage the State has is funding. Which it should use.
1
Dear "opt out" parents: standardized tests are necessary for your children. It prepares your kids to cope with the stress ahead of their future. The earlier they are exposed to stress, they will more likely to be less susceptible to life stress later on. Life itself contains stress and no one can escape of, don't deprive your kids' opportunities to learn to deal with it because of your overprotection. (No, I'm not a supporter of tiger mom. And I think the standardized test is an indicator of the quality of our education and your kids' learning results which helps us to improve the education and student development.) Kids just want to play, the standardized test can certainly help them to be more disciplined in studying. Don't get intimidated by the result of the standardized tests might jeopardize your kids' self-esteem or self-worth, believe in their capabilities and encourage them to compete with other kids. It's a great opportunity for building up the mutual trust with your kids through proper communications.
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
2
Dear Jenna,
My child is not opting out because of stress or fear of failure, my child is opting out of a poorly designed, politically motivated test that is Gov. Cuomo's revenge for not getting an endorsement. My child is opting out because these tests are a way for corporate reformers such as Cuomo, Moskowitz, Emmanuel and Obama, to control the curriculum to the detriment of our children.
Sincerely,
Maria
My child is not opting out because of stress or fear of failure, my child is opting out of a poorly designed, politically motivated test that is Gov. Cuomo's revenge for not getting an endorsement. My child is opting out because these tests are a way for corporate reformers such as Cuomo, Moskowitz, Emmanuel and Obama, to control the curriculum to the detriment of our children.
Sincerely,
Maria
2
These tests do not give schools any valuable information that they do not already have. The biggest predictor of a student standardized test score is a social economic status. There are researchers you can predict accurately a district test scores by merely looking at the demographics. Mass teachers in my school can predict the student scores with uncanny accuracy because they know the students. And then of course the schools do. It get get the stores until months later and the student is already in another class or even another school. And those scores are too vague to help with any specifics about teaching the student
Again, as so many others have already said here - opting out is not opposed to standardized testing per se, its about the Pearson testing and the political/financial maneuvering behind it as well as the poor quality of these tests. Placing our children under stress for a good reason is one thing, but doing it for the sake of vested interest's financial stake is another. Please read up on this topic. These tests are NOT on the same level of educational integrity as the Regent's, for a number of reasons.
3
I listened as Bill Gates explained how Core Curriculum is just what we need RIGHTNOW to turn education around.
Instead of memorization children are taught to analyze, solve problems.
Math becomes ratios, percentages...not bizarre equations to memorize such as the volume of a sphere or the area of a trapezoid. Instead we teach interest-simple and compound---why payday loans can add up to 300% a year. Credit cards, buying a home. If our citizens had understood--REALLY UNDERSTOOD-what a subrpime loan was we wouldn’t be seeing another housing bubble.
Instead we are now onto a problem with people buying cars that have horrible loan payments and interest--again!
We need core curriculum..but instead rumor and low information just as we are seeing with people who hate genetically modified food or anti-vax crowd are taking over intelligence.
The USA is a sad, sad place sinking lower every year in public education...”Keep ‘em dumb” is the GOP rallying cry!
Instead of memorization children are taught to analyze, solve problems.
Math becomes ratios, percentages...not bizarre equations to memorize such as the volume of a sphere or the area of a trapezoid. Instead we teach interest-simple and compound---why payday loans can add up to 300% a year. Credit cards, buying a home. If our citizens had understood--REALLY UNDERSTOOD-what a subrpime loan was we wouldn’t be seeing another housing bubble.
Instead we are now onto a problem with people buying cars that have horrible loan payments and interest--again!
We need core curriculum..but instead rumor and low information just as we are seeing with people who hate genetically modified food or anti-vax crowd are taking over intelligence.
The USA is a sad, sad place sinking lower every year in public education...”Keep ‘em dumb” is the GOP rallying cry!
1
The repetition of a spurious link between the reasons for opposing these tests and anti-vaccination adherents is an illogical and low maneuver.
1
I am sympathetic to some extent with critics of these particular tests. But the similarity to the anti-vaccine argument does make me uneasy. The poster who compared the rationale for the tests to the rationale for vaccines was right. Public education is akin to public health. Some things you need to do for "the system" without squawking too much that you don't like it. Tests aren't only about your child, they're about how the school and/or the district is doing, and that matters to everyone, not just the kids whose parents think the test is too stressful or a waste of their INDIVIDUAL child's time.
This is obnoxious. People who don't vaccinate their kids endanger public health. People who opt-out of these useless tests and the arbitrary evaluation system they support are advocating for a better system. The opt-out movement is not about my child being stressed, it's about putting the brakes on a terrible system that believes that any test-- all tests-- must be good just because it produces a number. It's about speaking up for all children, demanding a meaningful, quality education. Look at Success Academy, where all they do is test prep. Their kids graduate with an astonishing grasp of how to take tests. And that's about it. Their teacher attrition rate is high. Meanwhile, good, creative public school teachers are leaving the profession because of all this testing. And potential future teachers are looking elsewhere. We can look forward to a future filled with risk-averse, small-minded adults. Let's see where that lands us all.
2
These poorly written tests seem to be nothing but a way for our crooked corrupt politicians (before they're arrested one after another) to force 'accountability' onto teachers so as to distract the public from their own failure to adequately fund schools and combat the root causes of poverty and inequality which hurt the educational prospects of children far more than any supposedly 'bad' teacher. Unfortunately our politicians and elected officials are far more interested in attending cocktail party fundraisers and doing the bidding of their campaign donors (the testing industry included) and political cronies than they are in solving the very real problems we face in terms of schools and many other issues. Who can forget Governor Cuomo coming into office and making his first priority tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. Just remember politicians - when you point your finger at teachers and parents there are four fingers pointing right back at you.
10
This is it in a nutshell.
1
Long Island Business News, where I am editor, has covered the business behind the tests surrounding the Common Core. As parents pondered the best choice to make for their children, one company, Pearson PLC, scored big profits over six days that shook the school system.http://libn.com/2015/04/23/uncommon-costs/
4
These tests are so poorly designed and poorly written. The push to get them up and running was obviously done to help the nascent Common Core learning standards not die in their infancy starved of oxygen. But the push also produced a crumby set of tests which paradoxically do not measure learning.
However, I feel uneasy about making children essentially fight a proxy war. How do they feel about being used as pawns in this battle?
However, I feel uneasy about making children essentially fight a proxy war. How do they feel about being used as pawns in this battle?
While I question how well some of these tests are written, I wonder how well or poorly these districts are doing in their most important function, which is educating the children? What fraction of the students are compelled to get SAT coaching because their school system failed to deliver the education needed to do well on these tests? What fraction of the parents have their heads in the sand about what is actually being learned by their children, and would prefer to live in Lake Woebegone where all the children are above average? I live in what purports to be a very high achieving school district and I see what in fact happens to a sizable minority of those children when then choose to attend the University where I teach when the reality of post-high school expectations collides with the fairy land of their K-12 educations.
3
I find this utterly depressing. I cannot imagine another first world country "opting out" of testing. No wonder the US is losing its lead.
And then there is the effect on the students. Instilling fear and negative consequences will become a self-fullfiling prophecy. Students will lose faith in themselves. Do parents really believe that testing can be ignored for a lifetime? Whether sitting for electrician's license or applying for graduate school, there are tests ahead.
Meanwhile our universities will continue to be filled with students who were raised to trust standardized tests, not fear them, as a measure of the knowledge learned.
Parents, tell your children, "Yes, you can!" Only then will our universities be filled with US students, and our tech industries also.
And then there is the effect on the students. Instilling fear and negative consequences will become a self-fullfiling prophecy. Students will lose faith in themselves. Do parents really believe that testing can be ignored for a lifetime? Whether sitting for electrician's license or applying for graduate school, there are tests ahead.
Meanwhile our universities will continue to be filled with students who were raised to trust standardized tests, not fear them, as a measure of the knowledge learned.
Parents, tell your children, "Yes, you can!" Only then will our universities be filled with US students, and our tech industries also.
4
It certainly IS depressing, but keep in mind that in some cases, the people who wrote the tests are themselves poorly educated! There are shades of gray here, but no winner. Education has become a downward spiral.
2
You are misinformed. American public school students are tested WAAAY more frequently than students in any other advanced country.
Universities are moving away from standardized tests as a way to admit students; high school grades are a better predictor of college performance.
Universities are moving away from standardized tests as a way to admit students; high school grades are a better predictor of college performance.
3
It comes down to this: either a child knows what 2 + 2 is or can read and discern the meaning in a paragraph or can write a simple declarative sentence or they do not and cannot.
2
But see, it doesn't totally come down to this, because it also involves whether the person who write the test questions wrote something that made any sense in the first place. If you have people constructing tests who THEMSELVES cannot necessarily get the meaning out of a brief narrative, they seem to be prone to create test questions that are basically elaborate fakes - they sound like real test questions, but sometimes, they have no actual meaning.
So what you have then is kids who are smart at test taking, who know how to play the game and fake right back. They can guess what the question is getting at, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense. Many smart kids, however, are just not interested in this crap, and do poorly on standardized tests.
So what you have then is kids who are smart at test taking, who know how to play the game and fake right back. They can guess what the question is getting at, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense. Many smart kids, however, are just not interested in this crap, and do poorly on standardized tests.
3
While I'm not agreeing at all with the absurd testing madness going on, might I ask parents who push for opting out:
how many times have you told your employer that you're opting out of yet another absurd corporate training/evaluation process?
and if you did, how did that work for you?
how many times have you told your employer that you're opting out of yet another absurd corporate training/evaluation process?
and if you did, how did that work for you?
12
1) School is not the same as work; children are not the same as adults. What is developmentally appropriate for children is not the same as what is developmentally appropriate (if not particularly enjoyable or useful) for adults.
2) How many corporate training/evaluations do you have in a single year? Bet it's not anywhere near the number of days/hours lost to the testing regime in the schools.
2) How many corporate training/evaluations do you have in a single year? Bet it's not anywhere near the number of days/hours lost to the testing regime in the schools.
2
I opted out of a "health wellness program" where they take all your data and give you surveys to fill out and that went fine. I opted my daughter out because again all that data is being fueled into the federal government (ceds.gov) and being sold to coporations. I believe when it comes to privacy, one should have a choice.
3
You are correct that school is the same as work. But it's doubtful that anyone will ever come up with a testing program that everyone accepts.
Schools will always have imperfect methodology as long as humans are involved.
Good luck to anyone who tries to come up with a uniformly accepted testing and evaluation program for teachers or their students. The key phrase is "uniformly accepted"
It will never happen.
Schools will always have imperfect methodology as long as humans are involved.
Good luck to anyone who tries to come up with a uniformly accepted testing and evaluation program for teachers or their students. The key phrase is "uniformly accepted"
It will never happen.
RJ wrote: "instead of making sure students have the basics down in elementary school -- adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, decimals, etc. -- 8 and 9 year olds are decoding long multi-part word problems"
This is a big tension. When they omit the "long multi-part word problems," and focus on "the basics" (and everyone has a slightly different idea of what "the basics actually include), they will be accused of "drill and kill," forcing kids to learn by rote memorization, destroying creativity and initiative, etc. etc.
The dreaded "multi-part word problems" are there to show practical applications of math - the POINT of being able to add, subtract, handle fractions etc. Do you want children to think there's an inherent value in memorizing the times tables? Or do you want them to see that these calculations are USED, not only in real life, but in the advanced professions to which they might aspire, like ... science or business or industry?
I'm not saying the word problems are always well written, although the only example I've seen in this thread that a parent complained about was perfectly fine - it was about calculating what you'll pay for a sweater that was originally $40 and is now 30% off. That seems pretty cogent to me. But if you eliminate the word problems in favor of pages and pages of long division, you'll immediately be accused of causing the children undue stress from rote calculations, mindless boredom etc.
This is a big tension. When they omit the "long multi-part word problems," and focus on "the basics" (and everyone has a slightly different idea of what "the basics actually include), they will be accused of "drill and kill," forcing kids to learn by rote memorization, destroying creativity and initiative, etc. etc.
The dreaded "multi-part word problems" are there to show practical applications of math - the POINT of being able to add, subtract, handle fractions etc. Do you want children to think there's an inherent value in memorizing the times tables? Or do you want them to see that these calculations are USED, not only in real life, but in the advanced professions to which they might aspire, like ... science or business or industry?
I'm not saying the word problems are always well written, although the only example I've seen in this thread that a parent complained about was perfectly fine - it was about calculating what you'll pay for a sweater that was originally $40 and is now 30% off. That seems pretty cogent to me. But if you eliminate the word problems in favor of pages and pages of long division, you'll immediately be accused of causing the children undue stress from rote calculations, mindless boredom etc.
2
It's far more honest to say "Opt Out" has become a pro-union rallying cry.
New York State students take all kinds of tests. The **ONLY** test teachers are pushing students to opt out of is the one being used to evaluate them.
New York State students take all kinds of tests. The **ONLY** test teachers are pushing students to opt out of is the one being used to evaluate them.
2
I wonder how many of these students struggle when they go to college.
2
Consider it a form of civil protest. Note that no one is rioting or looting, just trying to get the attention of the overreaching NYS and Federal education departments. The politicians and their appointed bureaucrats are out of control. The FEDs shouldn't be in the education business, that's a local mater. The FEDS should read the constitution.
3
Students have always been tested. However, never has a publishing company become the force behind creating the tests and then peddling materials to be used to teach to the test. The tests are poorly constructed and are not grade appropriate. Pearson is getting rich. The New York State Regents Exams have been given forever and served as an indication of student achievement in the various districts. Teachers created those tests and graded them. Temps, without college degrees, earning $11.00 an hour or part timers with degrees, earning $13 dollars an hour correct these exams, the specific results of which are never seen by the teachers. If these tests are so crucial to educational quality why aren't private school students required to take them? Private schools must be approved by the state.
6
If the politicians and Mr. Cuomo had realized that testing data is a way to inform instruction and the guide educators in what students have mastered and need to review there would not have been this backlash. Instead, he uses it as a punishment for schools and educators . Since the 1950's, we as a nation, have tried to improve our scores and promote interest in what we now call STEM. It should not be lost on anyone that parallel to improving education, our nation has also tackled the issue of poverty. But as is often the case, when we ascribe to quick fixes and political solutions, we fail. We have contracted out testing development and implementation without "gatekeepers" to ensure that tests are accurate and developmentally correct. Despite advancements in our technology, child physiological growth, learning stages and human development have not changed , as Piaget described. This is the failure and collateral damage from all of this "politically" motivated focus on testing. Parents are fighting back. If one has ever visited the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, one phrase is front and center for all to see " Let your motto be resistance" Parents are demonstrating that phrase through their "choice". Do schools need to improve learning outcomes and graduation rates? Absolutely. We must work to combat societal, language barriers and poverty issues to make each student ready to learn.
5
Should read that we have not ensured having gatekeepers to make sure tests are age appropriate.
1
Hopefully the Federal government will follow its own guidelines and withhold Federal funding from non compliant districts. I do not necessarily agree with all this testing and test preparation taking place in our schools today but I am do not believe keeping children out of the classroom is the best answer either. Instead discipline needs to be brought back into the classroom at all levels so teachers can be more productive with their instruction. Disruptive students and disorganized teachers consume 20-40 percent of the instruction time my tax dollars are paying for; we are only getting 30-35 minutes of instruction out of a 50 minute class.
1
NYC isn't giving statistics because they don't want anyone to opt out, they are terrified of losing the money. Clearly upper level administrators pushed Principals to call parents and ask them not to opt out. Many of them did.
1
Common Core is a serious problem of National Scale. I have already read news that our country needs more qualified specialists from abroad because we don't have enough ours. Do you know why this happens? Because Common Core was not not designed to develop the mental abilities of our children. Common tests, common thinking. Life is a serious thing. We have to solve extraordinary problems at the workplace everyday. We don't need robots on an assembly line!
2
"I have already read news that our country needs more qualified specialists from abroad because we don't have enough ours. Do you know why this happens? Because Common Core was not not designed to develop the mental abilities of our children. "
One would expect the research involved in informing an opinion on so crucial a matter to include note of the number of years CCSS has been in use.
...Andrew
One would expect the research involved in informing an opinion on so crucial a matter to include note of the number of years CCSS has been in use.
...Andrew
"Of particular concern is that without reliable, consistent data, children in minority communities may be left to drift through schools that fail them, without consequences." and the other civil rights related comment about whatever the parent intent, other children's education is undermined by opting out.
Apparently, the narrative is that without redirecting many millions to corporations hoping to make billions to generate/secretly score and meter (sometimes private) data bits into numbers that go into bajillions (TM)...we simply have no way to understand how our kids are doing in school and communities will be set adrift in a warm/welcoming/supportive economy and society that waits helplessly to pay American workers well-but thy just can't because the kids- they ain't smart. Because teachers unions are failing us. Because you know "investors and job creators" have been waiting since Reagan for kids to be smarter so they could get back to making middle class jobs that support families and allow parents to be involved in the lives and educations of their children....
Apparently, the narrative is that without redirecting many millions to corporations hoping to make billions to generate/secretly score and meter (sometimes private) data bits into numbers that go into bajillions (TM)...we simply have no way to understand how our kids are doing in school and communities will be set adrift in a warm/welcoming/supportive economy and society that waits helplessly to pay American workers well-but thy just can't because the kids- they ain't smart. Because teachers unions are failing us. Because you know "investors and job creators" have been waiting since Reagan for kids to be smarter so they could get back to making middle class jobs that support families and allow parents to be involved in the lives and educations of their children....
2
60's and 70's "Drop Out"; 2010-20' "Opt Out";
Parents and their children should embrace this testing as a challenge in preparation for life's many challenges. If the testing material is difficult, then study more! Poor test results do not reflect poor teaching. Poor test results reflect poor study habits and, most of all, poor parenting.
When parents whine about how difficult things are for their children, I ask them what they think the Chinese would do in this situation!!!!!!!
When parents whine about how difficult things are for their children, I ask them what they think the Chinese would do in this situation!!!!!!!
3
Bravo to the parents who are opting out. This obsession with testing is out of control. Going to school now is a year long exercise in test prep. If the states would funnel the money they spend for testing into the classroom everyone would be better off than they are now. In South Florida kids take practice tests every other month in preparation for the BIG ONE in the spring. All instruction stops during those times. The money spent, the staff and instructional time wasted is staggering. No competent teacher needs a standardized test to tell which student in the class can't read or do math.
16
When taking a side on an argument I like to consider the people I'd be siding with on the pro or con side.
The only ones for these tests are government and for profit education conglomerates
The ones against are educators and parents.
So as a parent with children entering the public school system, I side with...
The only ones for these tests are government and for profit education conglomerates
The ones against are educators and parents.
So as a parent with children entering the public school system, I side with...
9
No. It actually is not black and white like this. There are actually parents who, while maintaining some skepticism about testing, preferring that testing per se not dominate education, also see some testing as valuable, particularly in educational accountability. We just need some accountability from the arbiters of accountability - we need to know how these tests are constructed, and we need them to be validated. We need to know what they're testing and whether the tests any good.
From the criticisms I've read here, it's completely obvious that helicoptering plays a role here. Some of the test questions criticized are perfectly fine, age-appropriate, etc., and some of these parents are, to put it quaintly, "overinvolved." From taking a look at some samples myself, however, I can see that some tests are significantly lacking and that the testing industry needs some light and air upon it.
From the criticisms I've read here, it's completely obvious that helicoptering plays a role here. Some of the test questions criticized are perfectly fine, age-appropriate, etc., and some of these parents are, to put it quaintly, "overinvolved." From taking a look at some samples myself, however, I can see that some tests are significantly lacking and that the testing industry needs some light and air upon it.
A few weeks ago, this paper made light of this growing movement by downplaying the numbers. But those numbers are growing across the state and country. Local elections are now being won by opt-out candidates.
Parents understand that teaching to the tests is not the same as teaching. These tests are becoming the only focus of the school day. So much so that The Arts have been cut from many schools. And those profiting from these tests refuse to release the questions because they no longer feel the test should be scrutinized for errors . Yet we the taxpayers have a right to know because so much depends on their outcomes.
Parents understand that teaching to the tests is not the same as teaching. These tests are becoming the only focus of the school day. So much so that The Arts have been cut from many schools. And those profiting from these tests refuse to release the questions because they no longer feel the test should be scrutinized for errors . Yet we the taxpayers have a right to know because so much depends on their outcomes.
11
How do you teach to the test if you don't know the questions?
I understand the sentiments and anguish of the parents about the increased rigor of the new curriculum. But let us be cognizant of the harsh realities of today's world and the hyper competitive environment that we all live in. The American school education curriculum is very mild and slow paced compared to other developed an emerging countries of the world.
The parents and students of this country need to wake up to this harsh reality and gear up to face the challenges that the global society presents us with.
If we really want our children to have a bright future and America to be the epicenter of global innovation, then the children of this great nation need to take the bitter pill sooner than later and their parents need to stop mollycoddling their kids and support the government in their initiative to improve the long overdue indisposed academic system.
As a parent who has traveled across the world, I like my fellow American parents to understand that even the rigor of the common core standard is far below of what is being taught in many countries of the world.
So it is time we stop cribbing about the stress and welcome the new curriculum with open hands. And believe me, our kids can handle much much more stress than would you have ever imagined (if its a stress at all).
The parents and students of this country need to wake up to this harsh reality and gear up to face the challenges that the global society presents us with.
If we really want our children to have a bright future and America to be the epicenter of global innovation, then the children of this great nation need to take the bitter pill sooner than later and their parents need to stop mollycoddling their kids and support the government in their initiative to improve the long overdue indisposed academic system.
As a parent who has traveled across the world, I like my fellow American parents to understand that even the rigor of the common core standard is far below of what is being taught in many countries of the world.
So it is time we stop cribbing about the stress and welcome the new curriculum with open hands. And believe me, our kids can handle much much more stress than would you have ever imagined (if its a stress at all).
7
Highly educated parents who happen to have lots of disposable income are paying upwards of $40,000 to send their children to private schools where these tests are not taken. Are they avoiding this "rigor" and mollycoddling their own children while demanding that the children of the poor and middle class have a very different education?
If this education was what was best for children, the .01% would be demanding that their private schools test their children. The fact that they don't speaks volumes. So Lavanya, all this nonsense you post is out of ignorance or just some gullibility that if someone rich tells you this is best for your child (but not for theirs) it must be true. The rich and powerful just "know" that their child is learning, but middle class and poor parents -- well, we aren't smart enough to think for ourselves. It's about as anti-American as you can get and I'm sorry you are one of the people fooled.
If this education was what was best for children, the .01% would be demanding that their private schools test their children. The fact that they don't speaks volumes. So Lavanya, all this nonsense you post is out of ignorance or just some gullibility that if someone rich tells you this is best for your child (but not for theirs) it must be true. The rich and powerful just "know" that their child is learning, but middle class and poor parents -- well, we aren't smart enough to think for ourselves. It's about as anti-American as you can get and I'm sorry you are one of the people fooled.
1
Most american college grads cannot do basic business math. Our present education system is woeful.
1
All you need to know is that the Teachers' Union is opposed to testing. They are opposed to any accountability.
5
Or maybe they are okay with accountability that is shared and honest. When kids come to some schools/classrooms unwashed, unfed, not really guided and socially/personally developed cradle to pre-K; schools are underfunded; middle class jobs gone; "charters" that skim certain kids and outsource others get praised...what are we really holding more and more teachers accountable for? Like letting the arsonists evict families for not maintaining their fire extinguishers. Who continues to really escape accountability? Talk to me when they move energy drinks, smokes and smutty magazines to the back of the store, take the trash off TV before 10PM, and equally fund public schools.
3
I'm all for accountability. Frankly, I'm all for testing for accountability. But the tests have to be good tests - they have to actually PROVIDE accountability. If their value in measurement or assessment is low, then they are providing only an illusion of accountability.
2
All you need to know is that the rich people who push these tests send their own kids to schools that don't administer the tests.
3
What is bothersome is the hypocrisy of those who push these tests both politically and for financial gain.
Kids at private schools don't have to take these tests.
I am fairly sure Gov. Cuomo did not send his kids to public high schools, (Deerfield Academy). And I am absolutely sure that Bill Gates' children don't take these tests at their private school. It's mostly for the peonage.
Complete waste of time, energy and resources, as well as a boondoggle for these "test" giving companies.
I wonder if these corporations receive special, 'educational' tax breaks?
Kids at private schools don't have to take these tests.
I am fairly sure Gov. Cuomo did not send his kids to public high schools, (Deerfield Academy). And I am absolutely sure that Bill Gates' children don't take these tests at their private school. It's mostly for the peonage.
Complete waste of time, energy and resources, as well as a boondoggle for these "test" giving companies.
I wonder if these corporations receive special, 'educational' tax breaks?
17
Kids in private school take a different set of tests each year.
It is interesting to note that here, in California, a state with strong liberal credentials, testing is a non-issue. One must ask - "Why is testing so controversial in NY, and not controversial in CA?"
Of course, the answer is that in NY testing has been linked to teacher evaluations, whereas in California, there is no such linkage.
One must conclude that the issue which agitates so many educators in NY is not testing per se, but rather the linkage of tests to teacher evaluations.
Of course, the answer is that in NY testing has been linked to teacher evaluations, whereas in California, there is no such linkage.
One must conclude that the issue which agitates so many educators in NY is not testing per se, but rather the linkage of tests to teacher evaluations.
5
What part of "parent driven movement " do you not understand?
4
Precisely. In this town the parents concerned about testing were more concerned with the results affecting teacher evaluation. They worried that test scores might unfairly influence a teacher's "score" on his/her performance evaluation.
2
The phrase "parent driven movement" occurs nowhere in the article. Why do you put it in quotes? Who are you quoting?
The article clearly states:
"In New York State, a potent cocktail of union and parent activism fueled the growth of the anti-testing movement, which was essentially nonexistent just two years ago."
and goes on to describe union members and school employees urging parents to boycott the tests.
So it is not simply a "parent-driven movement".
The article clearly states:
"In New York State, a potent cocktail of union and parent activism fueled the growth of the anti-testing movement, which was essentially nonexistent just two years ago."
and goes on to describe union members and school employees urging parents to boycott the tests.
So it is not simply a "parent-driven movement".
8
Well, isn't this a fine mess? It occurred to me that we had no sub-par teachers when I was a kid in public school in the 50s and 60s. I went to a rural school district that had about 100 kids per grade K-12. We were all so much alike. We with through the system as a group only losing a couple of kids to moves or being held back. I think we all received a good education and many of us continued to college. I have a hard time believing that testing somehow finds the inadequate teachers. The real root causes of systematic failure will never be recognized if some conclusions are not politically acceptable. We have watched urban schools get worse for 50 years and every effort to turn the tide has failed. Common Core is simply another brick in the wall. It will have it's day then be replaced by another flashy sounding initiative that will generate some excitement for a season. Unless it is now past time to be excited about this type of bureaucratic juggling. It was so easy once upon a time.
3
The more comments I read, the more torn I feel. I don't like the whiff of helicopter, but I also don't like the bluntly reactionary "Get off my lawn" responses.
Sorry Heather and the rest of the Luddites. Your children will ALWAYS face testing in life. Your protection at this time will just weaken their future challenges... When the kids move back in after not getting the job, take a look in the mirror and remember, you were the problem.
5
I assume you're living in your parents' home in that case. These tests have only been around for about a decade. It's amazing there any adults living on their own at all, using your logic.
Your must enjoy throwing your tax dollars away.
Your must enjoy throwing your tax dollars away.
6
My kids go to school in a poor, mainly minority school district. At least three of our schools are headed for receivership. I have not heard a single good explanation of how the tests help our kids. Because of the tests they lose hours of instructional time, both during the testing and the grading. The school library is closed for weeks on end to hold make-up exams. And the most experienced teachers are pulled from the classroom to do the grading of the tests. The results come in months after the fact and provide no individualized information for teachers or parents help kids work on their deficiencies.
I think there should be short (1-2 hours in both Math and ELA) annual standardized tests of basic material. Tests where we get to see the questions afterwards and educators actually agree on what the answers should be. That will give everyone all the data they need. And, by the way, we already knew that our scores stunk before this great expansion of testing. Years ago, SED was able to predict a school's test scores very accurately based on poverty levels and transiency. We should be looking closely at those schools that deviate unexpectedly from those predictions in either direction. We don't need to be subjecting kids and teachers to the cr*p that is going on now. And we don't need to be spending the millions of dollars of taxpayer money that is going towards testing now.
I think there should be short (1-2 hours in both Math and ELA) annual standardized tests of basic material. Tests where we get to see the questions afterwards and educators actually agree on what the answers should be. That will give everyone all the data they need. And, by the way, we already knew that our scores stunk before this great expansion of testing. Years ago, SED was able to predict a school's test scores very accurately based on poverty levels and transiency. We should be looking closely at those schools that deviate unexpectedly from those predictions in either direction. We don't need to be subjecting kids and teachers to the cr*p that is going on now. And we don't need to be spending the millions of dollars of taxpayer money that is going towards testing now.
13
A number of comments here seem to question parents' "real" motives, or teachers' "real" motives, in their opposition to these many tests despite the honest, well-considered reasons that parents and teachers state plainly and cogently enough. Why the scorn for parents who dissent? Why the imputation of ill motives?
Why is the idea that parents really care about their OWN CHILDREN'S welfare so hard to grasp and accept? Why is the idea that teachers and parents care for and know of children's needs and welfare so maligned--as though politicians and corporations are the ones to be trusted for that? They aren't, you know.
Why is the idea that parents really care about their OWN CHILDREN'S welfare so hard to grasp and accept? Why is the idea that teachers and parents care for and know of children's needs and welfare so maligned--as though politicians and corporations are the ones to be trusted for that? They aren't, you know.
14
This is a bit like "opting out " of vaccines. Vaccines are not there to protect the individual. They are to protect the entire population. This testing is not designed for "your " child. So to complain that it doesn't suit your individual opinion of what learning should be like is a bit ridiculous. The testing is an attempt to change our entire educational system. You can make the argument that this is not enough to fix the problems our system has, or something else should be done, but its a little hard for me to accept that people refuse to even try it out. I'm not sure why school districts put up with opting out. If you refused to take a test in any other setting, you would just get a lower grade. Lets be realistic, Its not like taking a test is going to harm anyone. Testing is an integral part of almost every large education system worldwide. The bottom line is our educational system is failing a large percentage of young people. Refusing to participate is not a good way to change anything.
5
You fail to realize that not one country in the world tests students to this extent.
4
That is a false analogy. And your rendition of the reasons for dissent from the testing regime is a straw man. Please read the comments and if you can, respond to the commenters who are attempting to be heard as to their reasons, and then answer if you can and still want to.
3
Actually this is the only way to change anything. We have been communicating with school boards and politicians for years and no one has listened. Now they are. Not too difficult to figure out the math on that one.
7
My child attends a Title 1 low income school. With less helicopter parents hovering in the classroom and pulling the ear of the principal the standards are very low. We need testing to ensure every child gets a fair chance at a good education. Parents of low income children don't have the bandwidth to volunteer and advocate for their child's education. Testing is the only way to highlight students needs and create change. Hold the teachers and the school districts accountable. Life is full of tests. Better learn how to take them.
7
We have been testing for years. The same schools have been failing and nothing is being done. It would be simple to have small class sizes in failing schools. Have private tutors for the students. Have programs that insure they get health care and nutrition and homework help. But that costs money, so I guess it won't be done.
The only thing that doesn't cost money is to replace union teacher with newly minted college graduates. And the tests will get harder and harder until parents are convinced that their public schools need to close down and be replaced with a private charter school where the CEO can donate to political candidates and pay himself a high salary. So far, it isn't working.
The only thing that doesn't cost money is to replace union teacher with newly minted college graduates. And the tests will get harder and harder until parents are convinced that their public schools need to close down and be replaced with a private charter school where the CEO can donate to political candidates and pay himself a high salary. So far, it isn't working.
10
"But that costs money, so I guess it won't be done."
As long as we could point at gap data, year after year, the pressure was on. No, not enough has been spent. But people knew this. Some people shouted about this. I like to believe that this was making it increasingly tough to avoid that spending. The media has recently been spending a lot of time addressing the costs and causes of poverty. Maybe this was reaching the change-over point where society could no longer do nothing.
And maybe that's undesirable to some. So now we've this "test refusal" movement. Now, there's no data at which we could point. Now, the pressure to spend more is gone.
The Norquists of the nation are laughing their way to the tax refund window. Our kids, alas, won't be laughing. At least, not all of them. Still, if none of those underserved kids are the unique snowflakes of the middle and upper class, maybe they just don't matter.
...Andrew
As long as we could point at gap data, year after year, the pressure was on. No, not enough has been spent. But people knew this. Some people shouted about this. I like to believe that this was making it increasingly tough to avoid that spending. The media has recently been spending a lot of time addressing the costs and causes of poverty. Maybe this was reaching the change-over point where society could no longer do nothing.
And maybe that's undesirable to some. So now we've this "test refusal" movement. Now, there's no data at which we could point. Now, the pressure to spend more is gone.
The Norquists of the nation are laughing their way to the tax refund window. Our kids, alas, won't be laughing. At least, not all of them. Still, if none of those underserved kids are the unique snowflakes of the middle and upper class, maybe they just don't matter.
...Andrew
2
Nope, the pressure wasn't "on". We just spent billions more to test! Testing showing that schools are underperforming so they need more tests! And those new tests are showing that the schools are still underperforming so we need even more tests! All this money to test, and not one penny to make sure the at-risk students failing these tests get small class sizes.
3
As a product of a system that emphasized heavy testing that eventually led me to earn a Ph.D, here are my two cents. The format of the testing as it is designed in the US to a large extent, i.e. a multiple choice format is plain stupid, I have seen kids attempt to answer math questions by a process of elimination, rather than critical reasoning. It does more harm than good, on the other hand I believe that tests are an important part of one's education, As a student, I absolutely loathed learning classical languages, but the compulsion of taking a test instills discipline so that when kids have to do something they dislike as part of their job, they do it, for an artist it may be lobbying with art galleries to display their art, instead of painting all day long, for a scientist it may be writing grants and making trivial editorial changes over and over again. For an athlete it maybe doing routine drills or eating a restricted diet.
New age parenting that is being pushed through these days will make future generations in America unable to compete in the global marketplace. Quality tests and achievement in tests have to be embraced as a cultural phenomenon, because statistically speaking your child is most likely not a future mozart, picasso or an einstein, and lets face it, a little discipline never hurt anyone.
New age parenting that is being pushed through these days will make future generations in America unable to compete in the global marketplace. Quality tests and achievement in tests have to be embraced as a cultural phenomenon, because statistically speaking your child is most likely not a future mozart, picasso or an einstein, and lets face it, a little discipline never hurt anyone.
11
Good points.
4
One day out of the school year dedicated to one standardized test seems appropriate. Now weeks are dedicated to boring tests. Life is too short, youth too fleeting. Give the man one day, and one day only--make it a law and let the machine work around that.
8
The only group which really benefits from the current scheme of constant standardized and TIMED tests are the companies which make up the tests. A timed test benefits only a few and the knowledge tested is limited. The more who opt-out, the better for the nation. It is funny how the well-to-do seem to realize this although all social classes would benefit from a general opt-out.
8
My daughter is a teacher in a large urban district (not New York City). Her students face 20 days of testing this year. That is one full month during which teachers are not allowed to actually teach. She is teaching sixth-grade special education this year. The tests are designed for sixth graders. Her students began the year reading at a first-grade level. They are now up to a second-grade level (most of them). According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), they are supposed to have accommodations when they take normal tests, i.e., they are supposed to have test questions read to them. In state standardized tests, however, there are no accommodations. So a sixth-grade-level test, prepared by the Pearson Company, is put in front of sixth-grade special education students, who cannot read the questions. They look at the teacher (my daughter, who has taught for 15 years and has numerous certifications, including special ed), look at the tests, and cry. They pull at their hair, their eyebrows, they scratch their skin, they even vomit. Then the next day, they come in for the second consecutive day of this torture. The teacher is supposed to be evaluated on how the students do on the test. "These are my babies," my daughter says. "It pains me to see them have to go through this." Educational policy is being made by the Gates and Broad Foundations, and the Pearson Corporation, none of whom have ever spent any time in front of a real classroom, and this is what happens.
26
In NY, special education students are absolutely entitled to whatever accommodations are in their IEP's or 504's on the state tests. I don't see why this wouldn't apply at the school where your daughter works, as this is primarily based on federal laws like the ADA and IDEAL. Some special ed students are also exempted from testing.
There is a significant portion of our population that is not happy with anything we do collectively as a country. Those in the opt-out movement are not going to improve education, they will however, discourage those who 'really' are trying to improve education.
Test are imperfect- get over it. Your kid is not going to suffer brain damage by taking a test.
While it may not be a great tool for evaluating teaching effectiveness, they do provide a basis to understand how a district, or individual school is performing. That alone, is reason enough to keep them.
Test are imperfect- get over it. Your kid is not going to suffer brain damage by taking a test.
While it may not be a great tool for evaluating teaching effectiveness, they do provide a basis to understand how a district, or individual school is performing. That alone, is reason enough to keep them.
8
Please get informed before you make statements like this. The tests have not even researched. It is impossible to claim that they do a great job of anything because there is no data to support any of it.
4
Whenever I read someone who says "get over it" I know I am reading a dismissive and often ill-informed comment.
As an former educator with a PhD, I support "opt-out" but not for the reasons you write (you say "There is a significant portion of our population that is not happy with anything we do collectively as a country."). No, I support opt-out becuase our schools are run by politicians business people and profiteers who use propaganda and simiiarly dismissive language to discredit educators. I think you might learn a bit more about tests and test construction, about all the time lost on real education by focusing on test-prep and the currrent politics of education.
As an former educator with a PhD, I support "opt-out" but not for the reasons you write (you say "There is a significant portion of our population that is not happy with anything we do collectively as a country."). No, I support opt-out becuase our schools are run by politicians business people and profiteers who use propaganda and simiiarly dismissive language to discredit educators. I think you might learn a bit more about tests and test construction, about all the time lost on real education by focusing on test-prep and the currrent politics of education.
9
The article should report why parents opt-out.
11
The data show that the richer and poorer districts opted out the least. The middle class districts are the most prominent group opting out. What do this tell us? Both the poor and rich parents agree that their kids should be tested. Why are middle class parents so afraid of having their kids tested? Don't they want to know how their kids are doing in school?
6
If you seriously think these tests provide any useful information about how children are doing in school you are sorely mistaken. Please, stop with the misinformation. regardless of the socioeconomic class of the parents they are doing what they feel is right for their children. Who cares how much money they make? Who are you to question their motives?
3
Rich kids go to private school. Poor parents often don't have time to be informed or to take on the extra work of opting a kid out.
1
So many opinions, so few facts.
1. This is a parent driven movement. This was my decision as a parent.
2. These tests are not even researched! There is no data to prove that they measure what they claim to.
3. The tests provide no useful information that will improve student learning.
4. The test publisher has been caught trolling children's social media accounts. This is a violation of my child's privacy.
5. Are the test questions developmentally appropriate? Who knows! You'll never see the questions nor will your child's teacher.
6. Most of the individuals and groups defending this testing have taken money from the gates foundation. No credibility.
7. The so "achievement gap" has widened under the high stakes testing regime. It has been a colossal failure.
8. The test takes longer than the bar exam. There are no retakes. I believe your esteemed governor failed the bar three times.
9. Arguing that kids should be subjected to these tests because they will take tests later in life is ridiculous. The GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc. are VOLUNTARY and taken by adults. Should we repeal child labor laws because kids will have to work as adults?
1. This is a parent driven movement. This was my decision as a parent.
2. These tests are not even researched! There is no data to prove that they measure what they claim to.
3. The tests provide no useful information that will improve student learning.
4. The test publisher has been caught trolling children's social media accounts. This is a violation of my child's privacy.
5. Are the test questions developmentally appropriate? Who knows! You'll never see the questions nor will your child's teacher.
6. Most of the individuals and groups defending this testing have taken money from the gates foundation. No credibility.
7. The so "achievement gap" has widened under the high stakes testing regime. It has been a colossal failure.
8. The test takes longer than the bar exam. There are no retakes. I believe your esteemed governor failed the bar three times.
9. Arguing that kids should be subjected to these tests because they will take tests later in life is ridiculous. The GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc. are VOLUNTARY and taken by adults. Should we repeal child labor laws because kids will have to work as adults?
19
It's ironic that rbrooksher complains about few facts, then writes an entire post devoid of facts. Lol.
3
A point-by-point rebuttal:
1. The article says this movement is driven by a "a potent cocktail of union and parent activism". So it is not simply a parent-driven movement.
2. These tests are in fact, researched by testing companies with long experience in developing standardized tests. It is necessary when developing standardized tests that some items be included for evaluation purposes, items which don't actually contribute to the students test score. These new test questions may be turkeys, or they may be good questions which are included in future printings of the test. These questions may be the source of many parents complaints.
3. Actually, these tests *do* evaluate how much students have learned.
4. Your proof of this?
5. Since one doesn't see the questions, it is more difficult to "teach to the test" (whatever that means). Sample questions *are* available.
6. Wrong. I defend testing. I've taken no money from anyone.
7. Actually, many school districts which have implemented high-stakes testing have shown large gains in student achievement. For example, Washington, D.C., is no longer the worst performing school district in the country.
8. This is an irrelevant ad hominem attack.
9. I think what is being stated is that testing is a part of life, so why make an issue of it? No one is seriously going to suggest opting out of Bar exams, CPA exams, or Medical Board exams. Why opt out of elementary/secondary school exams?
I suggest you remove your tin-foil hat.
1. The article says this movement is driven by a "a potent cocktail of union and parent activism". So it is not simply a parent-driven movement.
2. These tests are in fact, researched by testing companies with long experience in developing standardized tests. It is necessary when developing standardized tests that some items be included for evaluation purposes, items which don't actually contribute to the students test score. These new test questions may be turkeys, or they may be good questions which are included in future printings of the test. These questions may be the source of many parents complaints.
3. Actually, these tests *do* evaluate how much students have learned.
4. Your proof of this?
5. Since one doesn't see the questions, it is more difficult to "teach to the test" (whatever that means). Sample questions *are* available.
6. Wrong. I defend testing. I've taken no money from anyone.
7. Actually, many school districts which have implemented high-stakes testing have shown large gains in student achievement. For example, Washington, D.C., is no longer the worst performing school district in the country.
8. This is an irrelevant ad hominem attack.
9. I think what is being stated is that testing is a part of life, so why make an issue of it? No one is seriously going to suggest opting out of Bar exams, CPA exams, or Medical Board exams. Why opt out of elementary/secondary school exams?
I suggest you remove your tin-foil hat.
2
This bit about trolling students' media accounts, what's that about? Could we have a source, please?
Before we spend more billions in taxes, let's actually ask questions. I can't imagine the dread I'd feel if my oldest were just starting school.
The fact that these tests are composed secretly behind closed doors, educators have a gag order, there is no methodology in place for corrections, & the creators of the test have no accountability for it (unlike other standardized tests, such as SATs),should be a huge wake up call.
If politicians love it so much, let them give it to their own children. Mr Obama, that starts with you.
It shows extreme contempt for the American middle & working class--The hubris of those plutocrats who are used to autocratically ordering from the top down to shut us down & extract money from us for their pals.This goes for both political parties, hence this movement had to start with parents.
Please, media, investigate.
1. Should we really have an insider tiny team of unelected officials, many with ties to hedge funds, be in charge go what our nation's children learn? Why is there no open discussion of what is tested, why & how?
2. If the test is poorly written, statistically invalid, etc, who is accountable? What is the procedure for reporting & how is the test adjusted?
3. What is the peer reviewed research to indicate this test is effective in demonstrating how children learn & whether teachers are effective?
4. Follow the money. Pearson & tech companies benefit & the results are used to destroy even more middle class jobs (teachers).
The fact that these tests are composed secretly behind closed doors, educators have a gag order, there is no methodology in place for corrections, & the creators of the test have no accountability for it (unlike other standardized tests, such as SATs),should be a huge wake up call.
If politicians love it so much, let them give it to their own children. Mr Obama, that starts with you.
It shows extreme contempt for the American middle & working class--The hubris of those plutocrats who are used to autocratically ordering from the top down to shut us down & extract money from us for their pals.This goes for both political parties, hence this movement had to start with parents.
Please, media, investigate.
1. Should we really have an insider tiny team of unelected officials, many with ties to hedge funds, be in charge go what our nation's children learn? Why is there no open discussion of what is tested, why & how?
2. If the test is poorly written, statistically invalid, etc, who is accountable? What is the procedure for reporting & how is the test adjusted?
3. What is the peer reviewed research to indicate this test is effective in demonstrating how children learn & whether teachers are effective?
4. Follow the money. Pearson & tech companies benefit & the results are used to destroy even more middle class jobs (teachers).
17
Oh my, dcl. You are actually asking logical and rational questions. That will never fly.
2
I have a friend who writes text books and tests for Pearson. She has no background in education, no experience in teaching, no training in statistics, and has a degree in creative writing. She has no children of her own, and has never worked in a school. While Pearson is her "day job", her "real" job is writing horror stories and goth fiction for adults. While this is interesting I don't think it qualifies her to be involved with educating and testing kid/teachers.
31
I am not sure that makes your friend unqualified. However, I agree we need some facts as to how the tests are created. More accountability from the arbiters of accountability.
1
I'll support these tests when the school Obama's children attend requires their students to take them.
7
His kids go to Sidwell Friends School, a private school, so they do not have to take the standardized tests. On 07 April 2015, the Washington Post had an article about it:
"How the Obamas opted their children out of high-stakes standardized tests"
"How the Obamas opted their children out of high-stakes standardized tests"
5
But see, it is not the Obamas' children who need them. This argument, I think, does not mean what some people think it means.
Disclosure: I am a parent of elementary age children and I am a teacher. My children took the exams in May. When they told me that other students were "opting out", my response was, "just take the test - you will want to know where you stand and it's good practice for the many other tests you will take in life."
Before I continue, I must make it clear that the tests are not the same as the Common Core. Nor is the common core a "curriculum". I have seen many comments here refer to the Common Core as a "Poorly Designed Curriculum." It is not. It is, instead, a set of Standards. In other words, it says, "By the end of grade ___ you should have learned ___." This is a very good thing to have at the national level. Recently a neighbor of mine moved across the country. Before she did, I told her that at least her son will be learning the same things he would have learned here. Previously, when a family moved from one state to another, the children were either way ahead or wildly behind in their new school.
The Common core is a good thing, but these tests are terrible. Standardized testing should be benign. It should be something that happens casually, without preparation to see what a child knows. When intense preparation precedes the exam, the results are flawed. Furthermore, they should be scored electronically (multiple choice). Districts spend money to have teachers score these exams. Yonkers, for example, spends over $150,000 to give and score the ELA exam alone.
Before I continue, I must make it clear that the tests are not the same as the Common Core. Nor is the common core a "curriculum". I have seen many comments here refer to the Common Core as a "Poorly Designed Curriculum." It is not. It is, instead, a set of Standards. In other words, it says, "By the end of grade ___ you should have learned ___." This is a very good thing to have at the national level. Recently a neighbor of mine moved across the country. Before she did, I told her that at least her son will be learning the same things he would have learned here. Previously, when a family moved from one state to another, the children were either way ahead or wildly behind in their new school.
The Common core is a good thing, but these tests are terrible. Standardized testing should be benign. It should be something that happens casually, without preparation to see what a child knows. When intense preparation precedes the exam, the results are flawed. Furthermore, they should be scored electronically (multiple choice). Districts spend money to have teachers score these exams. Yonkers, for example, spends over $150,000 to give and score the ELA exam alone.
11
It's hard to believe you are a teacher. Are you aware that your job is on the line as you are being judged by the scores your students are given on the test? Are you aware of how many days of instruction are lost coaching children to answer multiple choice questions.
2
"It's hard to believe you are a teacher. Are you aware that your job is on the line as you are being judged by the scores your students are given on the test? "
Why is it so hard to believe that some teachers care more about students than they worry about their careers?
...Andrew
Why is it so hard to believe that some teachers care more about students than they worry about their careers?
...Andrew
7
"Standardized testing should be benign. It should be something that happens casually, without preparation to see what a child knows. "
The district here tried to "standardize" midterms, finals, and such for more frequent and therefore lower stakes testing. It couldn't replace state mandated tests, unfortunately, but it could have served as an example from which the state could have learned.
It was killed thanks to our own local version of the "test refusal" movement. Benign testing is apparently a problem because it might be...well...too benign to frighten people.
...Andrew
The district here tried to "standardize" midterms, finals, and such for more frequent and therefore lower stakes testing. It couldn't replace state mandated tests, unfortunately, but it could have served as an example from which the state could have learned.
It was killed thanks to our own local version of the "test refusal" movement. Benign testing is apparently a problem because it might be...well...too benign to frighten people.
...Andrew
I apologize if it is here somewhere and I missed it - but could someone please give an example of what is so bad about these tests? I have certainly seen miserably bad tests, and commiserated with my own kids over stupid test questions, but I'm a few years past this stage with my own kids and I'd really like to know the nature of the complaint that has sparked this movement. That isn't really evident from either the article or the comments. I gather that it is not just the quantity of testing, but a sense that the tests themselves are no good. What is wrong with them exactly?
Again, although when I was a parent of school-age children, I had my share of incidents of getting indignant over bad tests, or bad homework assignments, or plain old bad teaching - which every child will encounter in school at some point - I have never entirely understood the argument, which some people apparently see as self-evident, that it is bad to "teach to the test." Doesn't that depend on the test? If the test covers what the kids need to know, isn't teaching to it what we want teachers to do? If the complaint is that the teaching per se is bad, that's a different problem, but it makes no sense to blame the test.
Again, although when I was a parent of school-age children, I had my share of incidents of getting indignant over bad tests, or bad homework assignments, or plain old bad teaching - which every child will encounter in school at some point - I have never entirely understood the argument, which some people apparently see as self-evident, that it is bad to "teach to the test." Doesn't that depend on the test? If the test covers what the kids need to know, isn't teaching to it what we want teachers to do? If the complaint is that the teaching per se is bad, that's a different problem, but it makes no sense to blame the test.
4
The problem is that the tests are truly worse than they have been. There have always been ambiguous multiple choice questions, but the common core reading passages are rife with them -- sometimes it seems as if 2 of 4 questions in a 3rd or 4th grade reading passage have no good answer unless you use some convoluted way of thinking that schools are now forced to teach. As an adult, you shudder to watch your child being trained to put aside logic and choose a "best" answer out of two or three bad answers. Why? What is the point of training children to do this? It isn't reading comprehension -- it's "bad test-taking training" that will serve her poorly when she takes a better designed test like the SAT or SHSAT.
The math, the questions are needlessly complicated and instead of making sure students have the basics down in elementary school -- adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, decimals, etc. -- 8 and 9 year old are decoding long multi-part word problems. It's great if your child is an advanced mathematician (and reader), but meanwhile teachers are struggling to get ELL students and 8 year olds with less ability to fly before they have nailed walking. No one is really served by this acceleration of all learning. No wonder private schools won't start a K child until they are almost 6. Meanwhile 4.5 year olds enter K in NYC and are expected to meet the same standards despite being a year younger. And it's all in the service of politics.
The math, the questions are needlessly complicated and instead of making sure students have the basics down in elementary school -- adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, decimals, etc. -- 8 and 9 year old are decoding long multi-part word problems. It's great if your child is an advanced mathematician (and reader), but meanwhile teachers are struggling to get ELL students and 8 year olds with less ability to fly before they have nailed walking. No one is really served by this acceleration of all learning. No wonder private schools won't start a K child until they are almost 6. Meanwhile 4.5 year olds enter K in NYC and are expected to meet the same standards despite being a year younger. And it's all in the service of politics.
9
The answer to this question is in John Oliver's segment on the insanity of standardized tests here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6lyURyVz7k
These are not the tests that inform teachers what children know. The teachers are not even allowed to see the tests, for heaven's sake!
These are not the tests that inform teachers what children know. The teachers are not even allowed to see the tests, for heaven's sake!
9
The tests are:
- aligned with standards meant for top performers, but given to students of all levels, ensuring vast majorities will fail. This is the 'cookie cutter' criticism, the federal mandate that kids must perform on par with the top-third in their age range, or it casts aspersions on schools and teachers.
- the test content is often developmentally inappropriate. This years middle grades ELA exams for example had passages that are studied in college. This is the 'federal takeover' criticism, where states formerly had control over what was taught when, but we now have a national set of standards rushing slow learners and slowing advanced learners to match a prescribed "pace" of development.
- Curriculum is narrowed because schools concentrate more on math and ELA, cutting back everything from gym to the arts to field trips
- standardization stifles creative experimentation, divergent teaching styles and innovation
- for years we hear about "unanswerable" questions where experienced teachers cannot agree on what was supposed to be the correct answer. Happened again this year.
- the results come too late to help teachers adjust teaching and learning
- data mining was a huge issue, where kids are profiled without notice or consent
- product placement keeps including brand names of corporations and consumer products
- the length of the tests have increased by 33% just within the last 3-4 years
- test security prevents anyone from discussing the tests so flaws persist
- aligned with standards meant for top performers, but given to students of all levels, ensuring vast majorities will fail. This is the 'cookie cutter' criticism, the federal mandate that kids must perform on par with the top-third in their age range, or it casts aspersions on schools and teachers.
- the test content is often developmentally inappropriate. This years middle grades ELA exams for example had passages that are studied in college. This is the 'federal takeover' criticism, where states formerly had control over what was taught when, but we now have a national set of standards rushing slow learners and slowing advanced learners to match a prescribed "pace" of development.
- Curriculum is narrowed because schools concentrate more on math and ELA, cutting back everything from gym to the arts to field trips
- standardization stifles creative experimentation, divergent teaching styles and innovation
- for years we hear about "unanswerable" questions where experienced teachers cannot agree on what was supposed to be the correct answer. Happened again this year.
- the results come too late to help teachers adjust teaching and learning
- data mining was a huge issue, where kids are profiled without notice or consent
- product placement keeps including brand names of corporations and consumer products
- the length of the tests have increased by 33% just within the last 3-4 years
- test security prevents anyone from discussing the tests so flaws persist
4
Perhaps the NYT should report on the actual content in these tests, so we can truly assess their value in an open and transparent manner.
8
The tests are a secret...no one gets to see them or even discuss them. Period.
3
That would be nice. I agree. But they can't. These tests are kept under lock and key. Teachers sign out the number of test booklets they are given for students and sign them back in when the test is over. Every booklet is accounted for. Reproduction of any questions, copying them down, for instance, is grounds for revocation of a teaching license. The test questions are not released to the general public. They are not even released to the teachers who are being evaluated by them, or the administrators running the schools. The questions sometimes can be shared by teachers from memory during the grading process, which causes teachers to be out of the classroom for up to a week in order to grade the tests, which comes as an expense to the school district.
It would be great if the Times could report on the content, but the content would first need to be made available.
It would be great if the Times could report on the content, but the content would first need to be made available.
4
That would be ideal, wouldn't it? But not possible, until Pearson lifts the veil of secrecy that surrounds the test.
5
I wonder whether all of you parents who are opting your children out of trsting have any idea of what sort of testing children in India, and other Asian countries, have to go through. This is NOTHING. The world is much tougher than you think - and maybe that is why so many technology jobs in Silicon Valley are going begging, being filled by kids who went through schooling outside of these precious United States.
8
Are you serious? Kids in China are offing themselves at a staggering rate. Our jobs go offshore because the 1% want to keep the money to themselves. We have plenty of tech people here, but they expect a living wage.
7
So we should keep using this ineffective practice that is harmful to children because people have it worse elsewhere? I don't really care how they're doing in China. I care about my child.
3
The wages that are paid in Silicon Valley are very high, as evidenced by the price of real estate and rent on apartments in my city. The point I was making is that many of these high-paying jobs - HERE - are being filled by bright, talented kids from India (mostly) as well as Korea and China, who have undergone much more stressful testing in their home countries. In addition, even in the liberal San Francisco Bay Area, the top high schools and universities are VERY competitive - the kids they select are very good at taking tests, otherwise they would never even get there. Opting your children out is not doing them any favors.
4
The bottom line: If these tests are so good, then why aren't the private schools clamoring to have their students tested with the same tests? How can a private school know if their teachers are any good if they aren't giving these tests? How can they know if their students have learned anything at all? Why aren't private school PARENTS insisting that their private schools give their students these tests so they have proof that their child has learned something and their $40,000 tuition wasn't wasted? The ignorant people on here who are criticizing the parents who opt out have most likely never bothered to look closely at the exams. But parents have.
The bottom line: The same parents opting out of these tests are not opting their kids out of the SATs or the ACTs. All students -- no matter where they were educated -- take the same exam, so poorly designed tests affect every student. There is no advantage for the college board to lower everyone's SAT score. Unfortunately, the same is not true for these newest exams pushed by the people who believe public education should be privatized. They WANT more students to fail because it suits their agenda, and the tests (and cut scores) are designed with this in mind. They want to convince parents and the public that their child's public school should be replaced with a new charter.
When private school students start taking these exams and having their scores become the way their teachers are evaluated, then we can talk.
The bottom line: The same parents opting out of these tests are not opting their kids out of the SATs or the ACTs. All students -- no matter where they were educated -- take the same exam, so poorly designed tests affect every student. There is no advantage for the college board to lower everyone's SAT score. Unfortunately, the same is not true for these newest exams pushed by the people who believe public education should be privatized. They WANT more students to fail because it suits their agenda, and the tests (and cut scores) are designed with this in mind. They want to convince parents and the public that their child's public school should be replaced with a new charter.
When private school students start taking these exams and having their scores become the way their teachers are evaluated, then we can talk.
19
As a public school teacher, I saw how the tests require teachers to spend an entire year teaching what's on the test and ONLY what's on the test because in our district, teacher pay/employment is tied to test scores. And passing the tests is not enough: If all kids in the district pass, to keep their job or get a pay raise, a teacher has to beat the district average. If it isn't on the test, it does not get taught.
So, we put our children in private high schools. The total cost to send 2 of them to private, 4-year high schools will top $200,000 (obviously, my husband is not a public school teacher). It was the only way to stay in our neighborhood and ensure that our children actually got an education.
5 days of testing wasn't our issue; the narrowed curriculum all year long because of the testing was our issue.
Poor families can't do this; their children get the same 25 topics crammed down their throats for an entire year so the teacher's scores can beat all the other teachers' scores and she can keep her job.
So, we put our children in private high schools. The total cost to send 2 of them to private, 4-year high schools will top $200,000 (obviously, my husband is not a public school teacher). It was the only way to stay in our neighborhood and ensure that our children actually got an education.
5 days of testing wasn't our issue; the narrowed curriculum all year long because of the testing was our issue.
Poor families can't do this; their children get the same 25 topics crammed down their throats for an entire year so the teacher's scores can beat all the other teachers' scores and she can keep her job.
7
I do not think that is the bottom line. The private schools are funded by wealthy parents. They don't have to deal with the state mandated testing because they don't need the state's money.
RJ,
How private schools spend their money is their problem, because they are not funded by public funds. For all I care, they can sing kumbaya for entire time. But we need to find a way to improve our public schools, and testing helps us discover how well we are doing.
Our public schools are ALREADY failing, and it is a fact. As an example:
1) A sample question from http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/ for high-school level is something most 8th graders in Europe or Asia can solve; a 6th grade question is something that most 3rd graders outside U.S. can do. This means that out children are 3 YEARS BEHIND. Think about it!
2) Recent OECD results ranked U.S. 28th.
Our only hope is that those smart foreign kids will come to U.S. and stay here, but make no mistake, OUR SCHOOLS ARE FAILING, and the tests only SHOW THIS PROBLEM. Hiding our failures will not help us fix it.
How private schools spend their money is their problem, because they are not funded by public funds. For all I care, they can sing kumbaya for entire time. But we need to find a way to improve our public schools, and testing helps us discover how well we are doing.
Our public schools are ALREADY failing, and it is a fact. As an example:
1) A sample question from http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/ for high-school level is something most 8th graders in Europe or Asia can solve; a 6th grade question is something that most 3rd graders outside U.S. can do. This means that out children are 3 YEARS BEHIND. Think about it!
2) Recent OECD results ranked U.S. 28th.
Our only hope is that those smart foreign kids will come to U.S. and stay here, but make no mistake, OUR SCHOOLS ARE FAILING, and the tests only SHOW THIS PROBLEM. Hiding our failures will not help us fix it.
1
I believe that the public, or in this case, parents of children of public schools are tired of being powerless. The opting out is a way to speak up. They want to reclaim education for themselves and their children, not for the business people who sell tests, etc.
Testing should be a (small) component of education, not at the heart of education.
Testing should be a (small) component of education, not at the heart of education.
15
Finally, America seems to have awakened from it's 40 year slumber!!
First, $15.00/minimum hr. wage in LA and now opt-out school testing to save our teachers in NY! Again I say, finally.
First, $15.00/minimum hr. wage in LA and now opt-out school testing to save our teachers in NY! Again I say, finally.
5
Finally, the plebs have decided not to listen to their Washington and local masters, and make decisions for THEIR kids. As to the NAACP protest, reminds me of the silly professor in England who argues that if you read to your kids, you are giving them an unfair advantage over negligent parents. Sorry--I will not let the minimum become the norm or have my kid undergo federally imposed standards testing just so Newark gets more money to poor down its educational rat hole.....
7
What this article leaves out (as do too many articles about this issue) leaves out is the strong support of Governor Cuomo for charter schools, and their strong financial support of his campaign war chest. This is where advocates for under served and poor children need to take another look: when the state takes over large numbers of schools deemed failing due to the metric of secretive, flawed tests, and charter schools (private, for profit) blossom who in the end do you think will be getting into the high quality private charter schools? Poor and minority students or the upper middle class white families who are pilloried here for wanting to cushion their tender darlings? See Juan
Gonzales' writing at the Daily News for fuller coverage.
Gonzales' writing at the Daily News for fuller coverage.
10
Exactly. There is a reason why certain charter school chains are now opening their schools in the richest neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn and leaving behind the "143,000 students in failing public schools" who make great props but are not the students they are marketing to. If charter schools think they can do a better job with the most at-risk students who are failing these new common core tests, they are more than welcome to educate those students! But why should they be educating the students who are passing these exams in large numbers -- the middle class and affluent students?
4
Parents should be influential in the manner in which their children are educated and I find nothing wrong in resisting a model that asks for test on test on test so often at the expense of instruction-learning time.
7
This isn't about testing and how to improve education in a positive way this is about modern "parenting" - protecting kids from supposed failure. The greatest successes in life are often achieved after overcoming obstacles which can include failing a test. Why they subsequently succeed is they learn life is highly competitive and to succeed requires fortitude. The lessons the opt out kids are learning from their parents is they can avoid things they don't like such as graded tests. Will they make fine future citizens and learn a work ethic - we'll see.
4
What are you talking about? Students take tests all the time! What kind of ignorant person are you to believe that no public school gives tests the entire year until the state tests. Students have spelling tests and math tests. They write stories and essays and themes. Furthermore, it is the private schools that are opting out of Regents Exams! They are opting out of the AP exams! The private colleges that cater to wealthy students are even allowing those students to opt out of the SATs! If you are concerned about parents who are terrified to have their little scions tested, I suggest you look elsewhere than at public schools.
5
Great point - in a way, this is a civics test of the parents, demonstrating how many believe there are no problems with the Common Core, Race to the Top and private contracts for Pearson. We are seeing how many parents believe that the tests are educationally sound.
This is a test of the attention and apathy of parents to see which ones have noticed that No Child Left Behind hasn't improved learning after 13 years, and has steadily expanded the length and impact of the tests.
This is a lesson kids are learning from their parents - that you should avoid things that are harmful and you should stand against things that waste tax dollars. For those who feel opting out is the easy way out, we'll be patient as you learn - it's those still taking the tests who are not doing their homework. Let's discuss the validity of APPR in an open forum and see....
This is a test of the attention and apathy of parents to see which ones have noticed that No Child Left Behind hasn't improved learning after 13 years, and has steadily expanded the length and impact of the tests.
This is a lesson kids are learning from their parents - that you should avoid things that are harmful and you should stand against things that waste tax dollars. For those who feel opting out is the easy way out, we'll be patient as you learn - it's those still taking the tests who are not doing their homework. Let's discuss the validity of APPR in an open forum and see....
1
Folks who are commenting -- please stop saying that if kids opt out they won't be prepared to take SATs or MCATs. For goodness sakes, this kind of standardized testing only came into vogue in the last decade or so. Funny how so very many of us were able to take SATs, MCAT and all the rest, and we even got into college! Wow. Imagine that.
13
In this debate we forgot that we are talking about public schools, i.e. schools that are financed with public taxes. This means, that if you send your child to the public school your child has an obligation to study, and I, as a tax payer, have the right to know how well the school does in educating children, just as I have the right to know about the work of any other public agency. So, forget private schools, I don't care about them or how they teach, because they are not financed by public money.
As such, all children in public schools must take tests. If you don't want to take a test, send your children to private schools. I know it is not fair, and yes, if you are rich, you have an easier life, but tough luck. Everyone wants to know how well banks do on annual capital adequacy tests because banks get money from public funds, your children are no different. Their education is financed by my taxes.
In addition, many here commented that questions are bad. I went to the website of http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/ and looked through math questions - they're easy. If your child can't solve them, then your child is not smart, and it is a euphemism. Even if some questions are bizarre, a smart child should still do well, as there are many well-written questions.
Finally, those who say kids are taught to the test -- this is a problem with a teacher. Kids should be able to breeze through the test if they are properly taught on the subject, without ever seeing a test.
As such, all children in public schools must take tests. If you don't want to take a test, send your children to private schools. I know it is not fair, and yes, if you are rich, you have an easier life, but tough luck. Everyone wants to know how well banks do on annual capital adequacy tests because banks get money from public funds, your children are no different. Their education is financed by my taxes.
In addition, many here commented that questions are bad. I went to the website of http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/ and looked through math questions - they're easy. If your child can't solve them, then your child is not smart, and it is a euphemism. Even if some questions are bizarre, a smart child should still do well, as there are many well-written questions.
Finally, those who say kids are taught to the test -- this is a problem with a teacher. Kids should be able to breeze through the test if they are properly taught on the subject, without ever seeing a test.
4
Investor 123 -- what a PERFECT name for you! "..my taxes..." (as if parents aren't taxpayers, too -- and in fact, schools are funded locally, so "your" taxes aren't paying for every school.) You don't even understand what a public good is, do you? Public schools can't be run as "investments" because children are not commodities or customers. Maybe you believe public schools should simply refuse to educate any student who isn't testing above average from the first day of K -- just think how efficient those schools will be and the test scores will make you very happy. Unfortunately, that isn't what public education is about. At least, not yet -- but perhaps once the privatizers take over it will be.
4
"So, forget private schools, I don't care about them or how they teach, because they are not financed by public money."
Let's not. Instead, let's look more closely.
We pulled our kids from private and placed them in public. A major reason for this was the lack of testing in the private. It let an issue fester ignored. As we were leaving, the school was finally doing something, but it was too little too late. More, the attitude that served as justification for the lack of testing virtually guaranteed that problems were more to be hidden than sought and corrected.
What finally forced the school to deal with this was an active group of parents. That's fine for a school where many of the parents have the time and resources; where the parents can receive additional reports from the tutors hired. Public school students and schools may not have this layer of protection.
When comparing public and private schools, one needs to look beyond just one variable.
...Andrew
Let's not. Instead, let's look more closely.
We pulled our kids from private and placed them in public. A major reason for this was the lack of testing in the private. It let an issue fester ignored. As we were leaving, the school was finally doing something, but it was too little too late. More, the attitude that served as justification for the lack of testing virtually guaranteed that problems were more to be hidden than sought and corrected.
What finally forced the school to deal with this was an active group of parents. That's fine for a school where many of the parents have the time and resources; where the parents can receive additional reports from the tutors hired. Public school students and schools may not have this layer of protection.
When comparing public and private schools, one needs to look beyond just one variable.
...Andrew
Great news that parents are finally seeing the light. The NAACP position that these tests somehow weed out 'bad' teachers and identify bad schools is misplaced in my view. They might better focus their efforts on the funding inequities. That is probably the more significant driver of poor performance.
With a first grade daughter here in Indiana already being tested to the point of anxiety, I only wish the parents here were as assertive as those in New York.
With a first grade daughter here in Indiana already being tested to the point of anxiety, I only wish the parents here were as assertive as those in New York.
11
They will have plenty of standardized test when they get out of school and try to get a job. Life in the real world is not about who is nice, it is who can do a job they may know little about. Without their moms to say you don't need to take a test, they may not get a job for a long time. But then they can live with their mommy.
6
Here's a five-question yes-or-no test for the current round of testing.
1. Are the tests in question valid measures of learning? (They may be "reliable" -- giving consistent results for the same kid every time s/he takes them -- but so are measurements of eye color. "Valid" means actually measuring what they claim to measure.) I'd guess no. Let's see the evidence before we spend so much time and money on them.
2. Are the tests in question valid measures of teacher quality? No evidence that they are. They seem much better at measuring student family income and parents' educational level.
3. Do the tests help us help students learn? No, because students don't get the test back so they can study the parts they missed.
4. Do the tests make lots of money for the companies that make them? Yes.
5. Do they give a way to look as though we are objectively measuring schools on a national level? Yes.
These tests score 40% on my test.
We've always had tests designed by teachers to fit the students they actually have. Nobody's against testing students. What serious critics oppose is the one-size-fits-all model that pretends to be scientific but which, unlike actual science, both hides in secrecy and also neglects key variables like poverty and nutrition and whether the kid was even in the same class all year.
1. Are the tests in question valid measures of learning? (They may be "reliable" -- giving consistent results for the same kid every time s/he takes them -- but so are measurements of eye color. "Valid" means actually measuring what they claim to measure.) I'd guess no. Let's see the evidence before we spend so much time and money on them.
2. Are the tests in question valid measures of teacher quality? No evidence that they are. They seem much better at measuring student family income and parents' educational level.
3. Do the tests help us help students learn? No, because students don't get the test back so they can study the parts they missed.
4. Do the tests make lots of money for the companies that make them? Yes.
5. Do they give a way to look as though we are objectively measuring schools on a national level? Yes.
These tests score 40% on my test.
We've always had tests designed by teachers to fit the students they actually have. Nobody's against testing students. What serious critics oppose is the one-size-fits-all model that pretends to be scientific but which, unlike actual science, both hides in secrecy and also neglects key variables like poverty and nutrition and whether the kid was even in the same class all year.
26
I'm a music teacher in NYC public schools. I love my job, aside from whatever changes get thrown at me from up on high.
The crazy thing is that my effectiveness as a music teacher (aka, if I have a job) is partially based on the results of standardized test scores outside of my classroom. So, if what I valued most highly was my own "effectiveness", I would devote the time set for kids to learn and explore music and the arts to mathematics, reading comprehension, etc. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
The crazy thing is that my effectiveness as a music teacher (aka, if I have a job) is partially based on the results of standardized test scores outside of my classroom. So, if what I valued most highly was my own "effectiveness", I would devote the time set for kids to learn and explore music and the arts to mathematics, reading comprehension, etc. Pretty crazy if you ask me.
10
I'm confused. Tests are conducted to determine if one has learned. I understand why 1-12 teachers do not want testing -- it's being tied to their performance, and they don't want their teaching skills to be assessed. Fine. But why do parents not want to fully understand how their children are performing ?
I've experienced personally the simply abysmal knowledge and skill level that now accompanies most youth upon entering college. Something must be done at the 1-12 levels as something is certainly amiss.
I've experienced personally the simply abysmal knowledge and skill level that now accompanies most youth upon entering college. Something must be done at the 1-12 levels as something is certainly amiss.
6
Are you kidding me? Taking a 7 hour test is going to do what for minorities?
5
Please NYT - People aren't opting their children out because the tests are tough. They are opting them out because they are badly written, wrongly leveled, and parents aren't even allowed to see them. They do not benefit kids. And, yes, because this is not how we want our teachers evaluated.
28
If the test scores had no impact on teacher's rating, I doubt this movement would exist. Using children's future in a teacher job action is unconscionable. If the tests are flawed, then the focus should be on correcting the tests - not eliminating them. As a parent of a public school student, I find the Common Core curriculum promotes critical and strategic thinking. Testing is the means to discovering. If there is a problem with the student or the teacher, the problem can be corrected, not punished. Lastly, standardized curriculum and testing assures that all students across all communities are guaranteed the same opportunities. If the debate were about the quality of education in the United States, perhaps we would be serving the end user, students, better.
10
What is unconscionable is using children's future in a political game to destroy the teachers union and net huge profits. "Testing is the means to discovering"? How much is Pearson paying you to troll here?
5
Comments about Pearson paying people to troll damage the credibility of the opt out movement. Sounds too much like an argument with anti-vaxers, who almost always get around to accusing their interlocutors of being paid "shills" for "Big Pharma." (My advice- don't be tempted to start talking about Big Testing.)
Keep in mind that Pearson is British owned. The Crown is sticking it to the Colonies once more. Can't wait to read of bundles of tests being dumped into Boston Harbour!
12
WHY aren't we demanding that the public schools copy the best private schools?
Private schools don't waste time or money on these tests.
Instead, their students (including the children of the Gateses and the Obamas) get great facilities, great food, small classes, field trips, recess, art classes, and actual school nurses.
Don't the poorest kids deserve the same thing?
Private schools don't waste time or money on these tests.
Instead, their students (including the children of the Gateses and the Obamas) get great facilities, great food, small classes, field trips, recess, art classes, and actual school nurses.
Don't the poorest kids deserve the same thing?
21
All kids deserve the best education we can provide and we are starving public schools to death with paltry budgets and squeezing the collective throats of teaching staffs country-wide with testing regimens that basically benefit testing company's profit margins!!!
7
Private schools can fire teachers who are not performing.
This is one of the many reasons why I opt for a Waldorf education.
1
Comes with quite a bit of its own baggage though, called "anthroposophy." Research it before enrolling, and don't rely on what the school tells you, because they often downplay their connection to anthroposophy.
1
I have spent my entire career in education. I have watched the educational pendulum swing from total freedom for teachers to teach how they see fit to our current practice of ever expanding testing, test prepping and expanding layers of testing. Whoopie-we have accountability and we've murdered creativity-at what cost to future generations?? My child spends his days at school being taught to the state test MCAS and Common Core this year plus MAP tests. MAPS are supposed to help the teachers differentiate instruction but what I see is that he's doing essentially the same work as everyone else. So I can see why the middle class wants to opt out. Their children don't benefit from all these additional tests, the middle and high level students are left to molder!! Bored to their wits end-and for the leader who mentioned that poor people are busy putting food on the table for their children and therefore are left out of these discussions, I have news-we in the middle class are working one or more jobs to put food on our tables and do what is right for our children, and we stay at the discussion table!! In conclusion I'm glad to see that independent thought and the right to a different viewpoint in this country is alive and well! It's refreshing to see parents stand up and get really involved in what's best for their children. Sitting in front of a computer filling in bubbles and/or circles with a Dixon Ticonderoga is NOT education!
13
"Only 30 of the 440 districts where data was available met the 95-percent test participation rate called for by federal requirements, a far cry from just two years ago, when almost every district complied.” Or another (more realistic) way of examining New York state's opt out movement: 5% to 6% of New York test eligible students chose to opt out of the test; more specifically, their parents chose to opt them out of the test. It should also be noted this was after enormous organization efforts and significant sums of money were added to this "movement," some of which, of course emanating from the New York state teachers' union. That translates to approximately 95% of New York parents chose NOT to opt their children out of the tests. Powerful political force? Not so fast.
2
That must be common core math.
1
Parents need to realize that they--and they alone--have the power to bring down the house of cards that is testing--by opting out. When enough high-scoring students opt out, the testing madness will have to change!
12
Parents need to "follow the money" and realize that there is big money in big testing. As a retired teacher, I can say that the overemphasis on testing is bad for just about every aspect of public schools --and, of course, private schools do not over-test as it does not create great political rhetoric.
15
Why are Americans so extreme. Somewhere lies a sensible median between no-testing and over-testing the children. Tests should be diagnostic tools, nothing more, to help students and teachers improve.
Testing is misused when it becomes a the sole measure of success or failure for students, teachers and entire schools. With so much is at stake "teach to the test" drives out time for creative learning and discovery.
Testing is misused when it becomes a the sole measure of success or failure for students, teachers and entire schools. With so much is at stake "teach to the test" drives out time for creative learning and discovery.
44
If you don't like the testing program, find ways to mend it. Don't end it. (Thank you, WJC, for the rhyme.)
2
Critics of the tests are correct; they are (if their sample questions are any guide) utterly bizarre, even those on Math. I would welcome a Times investigation into these tests, who wrote the questions and how are they standardized, etc. Also, using drop down boxes for a math equation is simply ridiculous.
Here are samples; http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/
Here are samples; http://parcc.pearson.com/sample-items/
6
I believe the goal of education should be to prepare our children for the future, not to teach them how to take tests whose sole purpose it is to enrich those who try to legitimize the value of the test.
My children have a lot of friends who scored very well on the test yet are completely unaware of how to actually think for themselves and evaluate an unfamiliar situation.
My children have a lot of friends who scored very well on the test yet are completely unaware of how to actually think for themselves and evaluate an unfamiliar situation.
8
"My children have a lot of friends who scored very well on the test yet are completely unaware of how to actually think for themselves and evaluate an unfamiliar situation."
This complaint would appear to suggest that tests should be even tougher and somehow offer more "unfamiliar situations". I suspect that this would not be a goal of most of those refusing these tests.
I've practiced both the old NJASK and newer PARCC tests with my kids. The latter does a much better job of examining understanding. Of course it could be tougher; if as many students achieve perfect scores as on the NJASK, it should be tougher. A test which permits too many perfect scores is failing those kids because the test provides no guide. Do these kids exceed the test by just a little or by a great deal? The test doesn't answer that.
I suspect that the need to provide useful information for all children - a need which will mean fewer perfect scores - is another factor motivating those refusing the test. They somehow equate a lower score on a completely different test with an offense against or insult of their children.
I doubt a test with more "unknown situations" would be desirable to them.
...Andrew
This complaint would appear to suggest that tests should be even tougher and somehow offer more "unfamiliar situations". I suspect that this would not be a goal of most of those refusing these tests.
I've practiced both the old NJASK and newer PARCC tests with my kids. The latter does a much better job of examining understanding. Of course it could be tougher; if as many students achieve perfect scores as on the NJASK, it should be tougher. A test which permits too many perfect scores is failing those kids because the test provides no guide. Do these kids exceed the test by just a little or by a great deal? The test doesn't answer that.
I suspect that the need to provide useful information for all children - a need which will mean fewer perfect scores - is another factor motivating those refusing the test. They somehow equate a lower score on a completely different test with an offense against or insult of their children.
I doubt a test with more "unknown situations" would be desirable to them.
...Andrew
This debate can terminate quickly if the DOE would withhold federal funding to districts that are in non compliance. Those opposed to testing procedures would think twice considering the end result.
4
Hardly that would just galvanize them. Political leaders would respond on their behalf. On the other side are technocrats and the NAACP. Who will win?
2
My kids are opting out of the SATs and ACTs, etc. My daughter wants to become a doctor. I hope she'll be able to opt-out of the Medical Board tests too. We can only hope. She is not good with tests but is a really great people-person and will make a great doctor.
8
Amen, brother. My kids just opted out of homework. And I plan to opt out of income and property taxes.
7
The only "inequity" in the schools is the innate ability of the students. It is not the fault of the schools or the teachers, it is Nature, who is not politically correct and only creates organisms who can survive in their environment.
2
Make no mistake. Testing is about the corporate agenda to punish and close public schools with low test scores and replace them with charters and vouchers. It's happening right across the river in Newark, NJ. People are waking up and fighting back all over the country to this misguided agenda.
24
Are you arguing that ineffective schools shouldn't be closed?
4 points:
-These tests in no way prepare students to get into top colleges. Every year, tens of thousands of students from all manner of private schools (where the tests aren't given) are accepted into top colleges.
-The biggest proponents of these tests send their own children to private schools where the tests aren't given. Tests, test prep and billions spent on computers to administer the tests don't apply to private schools.
-We don't get the data until the end of the year (here in Dallas we still don't have our test results and we have 8 days left before finals).
-The actual score needed to "pass" changes every year. Sometimes, students "pass" if they only get 35% of the questions correct. In other words, the tests offer no useful info to students or parents.
Everyone: quit paying Pearson. Opt out.
-These tests in no way prepare students to get into top colleges. Every year, tens of thousands of students from all manner of private schools (where the tests aren't given) are accepted into top colleges.
-The biggest proponents of these tests send their own children to private schools where the tests aren't given. Tests, test prep and billions spent on computers to administer the tests don't apply to private schools.
-We don't get the data until the end of the year (here in Dallas we still don't have our test results and we have 8 days left before finals).
-The actual score needed to "pass" changes every year. Sometimes, students "pass" if they only get 35% of the questions correct. In other words, the tests offer no useful info to students or parents.
Everyone: quit paying Pearson. Opt out.
20
This is the wrong message to teach children. Don't think for one minute that children in countries with higher math and reading skills "opt out" of tests. We continue to dumb down our children and provide excuses because it's too hard to pass the test. Not good.
8
This isn't dumbing children down and it's not about the tests being hard. It's about the state's egregious misuse of test scores to supplant the judgment of parents and educators about what's best for children. Bear in mind the parents of children attending elite private schools have a 100% opt-out rate. In fact independence from federal curriculum and testing mandates is now an up-front selling point for private schools, where teachers are accountable to parents and vice versa, and together they decide, independently from state dictates, what is best for the children they are jointly raising. Public school parents demand and deserve the same professional autonomy for their kids' teachers. That demand is non-negotiable, as Arne Duncan, Andrew Cuomo, Meryl Tisch et al are finding out.
9
Private schools have the luxury of selective admissions and small student populations. Standardized tests were designed for application in larger school systems who aspired to teach equally across large areas and student populations. As I understand these tests from our school the only prep you can really do is how to take tests. The facts are in the tests so there isn't wide spread memorization to do in prep for them. How to pace yourself through the test and how to read essays and answer questions effectively are valuable skills. Grading tests that aren't multiple choice is expensive. Kids who are exposed to the common core guidelines from k on should have an easier time than those seeing them for the first time in later grades.
It seems that the teaching community is against these tests because the teachers will also be graded. However, as our education system continues to fall further behind the rest of the world, the education professionals seem to have offered no alternatives except some form a of Lake Wobegon rating system where all teachers and all students are well above average. As for the parents, good luck getting your kids into a good college if they can't pass tests.
39
Of course, teachers and parents are not against tests; they are against the MISUSE of tests.
For example, these group tests are being used to evaluate teachers even though they are not designed to do so and even though the American Statistical Association has determined that using them in this way is not valid. They are also being used in ways that label and harm the child.
For example, these group tests are being used to evaluate teachers even though they are not designed to do so and even though the American Statistical Association has determined that using them in this way is not valid. They are also being used in ways that label and harm the child.
5
Private schools don't use these tests, or any tests like them. My own child went to a private high school. The only standardized tests he took were the PSAT and SAT.
He was never subjected to test prep or a curriculum designed to prepare him for a flawed test, so of course he did very well on the SAT.
Teachers, like me, want to copy what private schools do: arts, recess, field trips, school libraries, nurses, outstanding food, teachers evaluated by other teachers or principals who have been teachers.
We've given suggestions, but have been ignored.
He was never subjected to test prep or a curriculum designed to prepare him for a flawed test, so of course he did very well on the SAT.
Teachers, like me, want to copy what private schools do: arts, recess, field trips, school libraries, nurses, outstanding food, teachers evaluated by other teachers or principals who have been teachers.
We've given suggestions, but have been ignored.
11
@Greg: I challenge you to name one important innovation or creative idea over the last 30 years from the test-taking countries we have fallen so far behind (China, So. Korea, et al). We drive the world in science and technology and even art. Moreover, here in America, we seek to educate everyone, not just those who can pay for school. We actually do pretty well except for the urban poor and financially marginalized communities and populations. The answer for them is not to turn over public education funds to private companies, but to provide those struggling communities with jobs and an educational model that emulates the best suburban schools.
16
I don't have children myself, but I've been following this issue with great interest for a few years now.
I live in a high-poverty area where many city schools have 98-99% eligibility for free lunch. I also have a number of hard-working friends and family who teach in this district.
I have to take issue with the argument raised by the NAACP, et al., that this kind of testing benefits poor and minority students in struggling districts. The existing problems are *extremely* well known and well documented here, and I imagine it's the same in most other parts of the country.
We don't need more testing to confirm that serious problems exist. There is just no political will to fix the root problem (i.e., the extreme concentrations of poverty). There is no will (for example) to create a metro school district that would include higher-income students from surrounding areas.
It's ridiculous to take *more* classroom instruction time away from already-struggling kids for tests of questionable educational value. It's also wrong to use the results to penalize teachers in high-poverty areas, where (regardless of how hard they work) they're often facing an uphill battle.
I live in a high-poverty area where many city schools have 98-99% eligibility for free lunch. I also have a number of hard-working friends and family who teach in this district.
I have to take issue with the argument raised by the NAACP, et al., that this kind of testing benefits poor and minority students in struggling districts. The existing problems are *extremely* well known and well documented here, and I imagine it's the same in most other parts of the country.
We don't need more testing to confirm that serious problems exist. There is just no political will to fix the root problem (i.e., the extreme concentrations of poverty). There is no will (for example) to create a metro school district that would include higher-income students from surrounding areas.
It's ridiculous to take *more* classroom instruction time away from already-struggling kids for tests of questionable educational value. It's also wrong to use the results to penalize teachers in high-poverty areas, where (regardless of how hard they work) they're often facing an uphill battle.
17
Amen!
How is it that no one must be required to do any task that presents the slightest difficulty? A test in school. Imagine that. Testing for college and professional school acceptance is being abolished. In view of this clear trend toward the triumph of self over objective knowledge, let us hope that in the not distant future, tests for competency in driving an automobile, or perhaps surgery, can likewise fall by the wayside, to the greater health and safety of all.
4
All research shows that even on college admissions tests, family income trumps everything.
In one class I teach, half the kids are white and middle class, which is unheard of in my urban district. The other half of the same class is low-income and either Hispanic or AA.
On the last round of tests (district tests modeled on the state test), EVERY middle-class child passed, but only half of the low-income kids passed.
Same school, same teacher, same lessons, class same time of day, exact same interventions for struggling students. But ONLY the middle-class kids had a 100% pass rate.
These tests are not what you think they are.
In one class I teach, half the kids are white and middle class, which is unheard of in my urban district. The other half of the same class is low-income and either Hispanic or AA.
On the last round of tests (district tests modeled on the state test), EVERY middle-class child passed, but only half of the low-income kids passed.
Same school, same teacher, same lessons, class same time of day, exact same interventions for struggling students. But ONLY the middle-class kids had a 100% pass rate.
These tests are not what you think they are.
4
Question: I hear a lot of complaints about the prep involved with this testing. Does opting out include the prep time?
1
EXACTLY! How is opting out going to eliminate all the prep, practice tests, stamina exercises, and worksheets emblazoned with "Common Core?"
2
No, but if enough opt out, the districts will no longer worry about pass rates. As a result, the district will replace curriculum sold by the test makers (and designed simply to test prep the kids) with good curriculum.
4
Yes I opted my child out of the exams this year and I had her removed from the mandatory in school test prep session she had been assigned to attend and got her put into an elective during that school time period. Her school grades have gone up not down since then and her stress level has dropped significantly. It was clearly the best decision for her.
5
"What was educationally significant and hard to measure HAS BEEN REPLACED by what is educationally insignificant and easy to measure." Arthur Costa, Cal State University.
This encapsulates the flawed emphasis on standardized testing within the corporate education reform movement.
America's "horrendous" public schools have produced the largest, by far, number of Nobel Laureates (344) followed by Great Britain (119) and where is China? Oh yes, China with four times as many people has garnered (9).
The price China and South Korea pay for excellent test taking skills?
Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.
These reformers have swayed (bought?) the media that repeat their unsubstantiated claims (i.e. NPR consistently begins education interviews with: "How do we FIX America's public schools?" and other ridiculous leading questions).
Exasperation at the grassroots has created these organic anti-testing, anti corporate reform organizations. Bashing of public schools has gone far enough.
This encapsulates the flawed emphasis on standardized testing within the corporate education reform movement.
America's "horrendous" public schools have produced the largest, by far, number of Nobel Laureates (344) followed by Great Britain (119) and where is China? Oh yes, China with four times as many people has garnered (9).
The price China and South Korea pay for excellent test taking skills?
Creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit.
These reformers have swayed (bought?) the media that repeat their unsubstantiated claims (i.e. NPR consistently begins education interviews with: "How do we FIX America's public schools?" and other ridiculous leading questions).
Exasperation at the grassroots has created these organic anti-testing, anti corporate reform organizations. Bashing of public schools has gone far enough.
21
@Kerry: EXACTLY! Been waiting forever for someone to ask why we would want to emulate the People's Republic of China in anything? Democracy much?
8
With two children completing their Master's degrees (and from what they tell me, taking the occasional test), I really don't understand the "opt out" position. If you think the tests up to 8th grade are poorly written, there are similar complaints lodged against the SATs. So you want your children to opt out of all tests? You're helping them opt out of college as well, since I'm sure you're aware that colleges still put a lot of weight on the SAT and ACT exams. And woe to the poor child who enters the workforce, and actually has to face performance reviews! As many have pointed out, this seems to be a statement more about the parent's political opinions than a genuine concern for their children.
45
In exclusive and expensive private independent schools, the first standardized tests students are often exposed to are the SAT and the ACT. They do just fine. Possibly that is because the have been educated rather than tested for the preceding 11 years.
5
Those children will never enter the workforce as they cannot write a decent resume, even with spell check.
1
Let me explain the difference. In high school the teachers aren't evaluated on the SAT scores. With this system, in New York and many states, the majority of a teacher's evaluation will be based on these tests. This will only result in the teachers teaching to the test rather than properly teaching students. We are not opting out of all tests, just this one because we think it is a misguided method of evaluating student learning.
Many of the pro-testing comments seem to assume that the standardize tests actually are a good measure of student learning. Your SAT example is a great illustration. A student taking a SAT test prep course can significantly raise their test scores. Did they suddenly learn significantly more. No - they learned a certain test format, types of questions, test taking strategies, how to eliminate answers and make guesses, and they became comfortable with taking the test. By the way, many colleges are trying to de-emphasize SAT/ACT scores and most performance reviews aren't multiple choice.
A parting thought. The tests are designed by Pearson, a for-profit company. When they have to make the decision to spend even more money to improve the tests or take more profit which do you think they will choose.
Many of the pro-testing comments seem to assume that the standardize tests actually are a good measure of student learning. Your SAT example is a great illustration. A student taking a SAT test prep course can significantly raise their test scores. Did they suddenly learn significantly more. No - they learned a certain test format, types of questions, test taking strategies, how to eliminate answers and make guesses, and they became comfortable with taking the test. By the way, many colleges are trying to de-emphasize SAT/ACT scores and most performance reviews aren't multiple choice.
A parting thought. The tests are designed by Pearson, a for-profit company. When they have to make the decision to spend even more money to improve the tests or take more profit which do you think they will choose.
8
I grew up in New York and have taught in public schools in Hawaii for eight years. We have the same incompetently written standardized state tests here. I LOVE standardized tests--loved the Regents exams when I took them in the nineties, loved taking my AP exams (I'm now an AP teacher), loved taking my SAT, loved taking the GRE--nobody loves a test more than me. I'm a test nerd. And yet I applaud these parents for opting out of standardized state exams. I know a great standardized test when I see one, and state tests are atrocious. Ugly, poorly written nonsense. It's expensive to write a good exam, and even more expensive to have it scored (that's why AP exams are costly...o beautiful AP exams, masterpieces all). State tests are similar to school cafeteria food. Opt out! Hold out for the good stuff!
86
All testing should be banned, at both all school levels, immediately. This data, which is utterly useless, cannot and should not be used as a basis of making admissions judgements to colleges or graduate programs, is of no value to employers and is of no value to teachers or parents desiring to see how students improve or what their strengths and weaknesses are.
1
Both sides of this debate have important points and emotion rides high everywhere. However, both sides often conflate the issues. What follows is my attempt to clarify the points that get commonly bandied about. Opt out your children if you think it's best for them, but know the facts.
Reason #1: Kids take too many tests.
New York State mandates that kids take an ELA and a Math test (along with science in 4th and 8th grade, and more tests in high school). In total, mandated testing time is ~15 hours, spread out over 6 days. These 15 hours are a small subset of the ~1,300 hours kids spend in school each year.
Many schools also have benchmark tests, and many children are subjected to additional norming (research) tests by Pearson and other companies. Those tests are often overkill and parents can opt their children out of those tests, without opting them out of the state tests.
Reason #2: The tests are poor quality and/or written by testing companies
New York's current state tests are written by Pearson. From all accounts they're terrible. Soon we'll be switching to tests by PARCC (http://www.parcconline.org/) which are written in consultation with classroom teachers around the United States.
Reason #3: The tests hurt teachers
Yes, the tests, especially those with errors can hurt teachers. Value add formulas fix some (but not all) of that. We absolutely need to improve our assessments, but this is a first step.
Reason #1: Kids take too many tests.
New York State mandates that kids take an ELA and a Math test (along with science in 4th and 8th grade, and more tests in high school). In total, mandated testing time is ~15 hours, spread out over 6 days. These 15 hours are a small subset of the ~1,300 hours kids spend in school each year.
Many schools also have benchmark tests, and many children are subjected to additional norming (research) tests by Pearson and other companies. Those tests are often overkill and parents can opt their children out of those tests, without opting them out of the state tests.
Reason #2: The tests are poor quality and/or written by testing companies
New York's current state tests are written by Pearson. From all accounts they're terrible. Soon we'll be switching to tests by PARCC (http://www.parcconline.org/) which are written in consultation with classroom teachers around the United States.
Reason #3: The tests hurt teachers
Yes, the tests, especially those with errors can hurt teachers. Value add formulas fix some (but not all) of that. We absolutely need to improve our assessments, but this is a first step.
31
The PARCC tests as seen in NJ are disgraceful. These computer-based tests have a user interface done by an incompetent (lowest bid? offshore?) developer. Example: text boxes that take paragraphs of input are tiny and cannot be resized. How is it that we let this stuff be foisted on us?
4
The number of hours you allot to testing is the time spent at a computer taking the tests. Far more time than that is needed to administer the tests. Primary schools rarely have a laptop per kid-- & those in LA & other places provided w/an ipad for every kid found these tests close to impossible to take on an ipad. Bottom line, it takes about 2 full weeks in a primary school to get through one round of PARCC as they're ushered group by group into the gym or library to the available laptops. Meanwhile the entire school schedule is topsy-turvy for those 2 wks. That's March. Then do it all over again in May. There goes anything long-range you wanted to accomplish in spring (especially if you wanted to use the library!)
Oh goody NYS will switch to PARCC known nationwide as that test written 'in consultation with teachers nationwide.' (where did you read that? oh, let me guess: at Pearson's PARCC site >yuk yuk<)
Oh goody NYS will switch to PARCC known nationwide as that test written 'in consultation with teachers nationwide.' (where did you read that? oh, let me guess: at Pearson's PARCC site >yuk yuk<)
2
The actual time spent testing is low, but the problem is there's so much riding on the results that schools spend an inordinate amount of time doing test prep. This takes away time and resources from other subjects, forcing kids to do boring, repetitive drills, and is stressful both to students and teachers.
Get good grades but don’t take tests.
Respect your parents but don’t respect your school.
Only participate in things that are fair.
Trust me to tell you what is fair.
Ambiguous authority messages, diminishing job prospects, and kids as political footballs?
At least we’ll have more punk rock bands!
Respect your parents but don’t respect your school.
Only participate in things that are fair.
Trust me to tell you what is fair.
Ambiguous authority messages, diminishing job prospects, and kids as political footballs?
At least we’ll have more punk rock bands!
6
The first individuals to be held accountable should be the parents. They are, after all, a childs first teacher. A typical classroom teacher cannot possibly be expected to be able to remediate a student who has not been interacted with, read to, taken on trips, gone to pre-k etc with having to "teach to the test" to satisfy politicians and greedy corporate hacks who no nothing of the art and science of teaching. Pearson is a world wide educational conglomerate only pedaling their "wares" for share holders. Go read your kid a book and talk to them once in a while.
3
This anti-testing hysteria is hilarious. What is really at stake here? A few days or weeks prepping for some tests? Big deal. I'd recommend that my child take every test. If the questions are ambiguous and poorly designed as some claim, perhaps he'll learn to be good at solving riddles. Either way, it should give him a leg up on all of the "opt outs". There's still plenty of time for "real learning".
9
No, it's not a few days of testing. It's the rest of the time that is being used to teach to the test because the teachers and administrators know that test scores is how they will be evaluated. Standardized testing is just another cop out. Lots of talk about improving education, but when you have to spend the money to perform time and labor intensive reviews of teachers and children the choice is the cheaper standardized tests, no doubt farmed out to the lowest bidder.
3
"A few days or weeks of prepping"...now that's hilarious. Please educate yourself on the topic, then comment. And what exactly is a "resonable" person?
1
There are only 36 weeks in the school year. Do you really want kids spending several weeks test-prepping, plus another 2-4 wks (during the last 16 wks of the year) taking the tests? This will quite likely result in their having to spend the balance of the year introducing, reinforcing (h.w.) & assessing progress (quizzes) on the material to be tested, without benefit of any longer-range projects to consolidate info, research, write about it. And--oops-- that's just math & engl. Won't be much time for science & history. Forget foreign language. You'll probably have to cut art, music, & phys ed time by half.
6
If Americans were serious about education, they would insist that their children became bilingual starting in Kg. They would also insist that math and reading programs not be changed every two or three years -- not only expensive but the teachers need about two years to become well acquainted with the materials at hand. (John Hopkins had a decent reading program called Success for All that was dropped after three years for a New Zealand program -- which was very strange). Transparency is key and should be demanded. Teaching methods and methods of evaluation should be clear to all -- teachers and parents. Believe me much is NOT taught in teachers' training classes. The tests sometimes indicate to the teacher shat s/he should be teaching or how s/he should be teaching. In fact, it's really more impt. to know what is going on during the school day, than to know what is being served for lunch.
3
I read this from the west coast where we have our own version of this controversy. I may be wrong, but it appears to me that opposition or support somehow flows from the political preferences of the parents and others, rather than an objective view as to what is really best for the students. It is very telling that minority leaders tend to support testing, and opponents tend to fall in the middle class. This despite the particular burden the tests might place on minority students who may lack the support system available to others.
Opponents say the test puts too much "stress" on students? Well, let's just shield our children from stress until they enter the real world, then have them crumble in the face of the stress adulthood and responsibility imposes on all of us.
Overtesting should be avoided, but a test designed to measure the students' and teachers' progress is an essential measuring tool for the effectiveness of our entire educational system. And, the challenge and responsibility it places on students can only better prepare them for the challenges they will face in the future. Parents, do you really care about the welfare of your children, or do you have some self serving agenda which in reality disregards their welfare?
Opponents say the test puts too much "stress" on students? Well, let's just shield our children from stress until they enter the real world, then have them crumble in the face of the stress adulthood and responsibility imposes on all of us.
Overtesting should be avoided, but a test designed to measure the students' and teachers' progress is an essential measuring tool for the effectiveness of our entire educational system. And, the challenge and responsibility it places on students can only better prepare them for the challenges they will face in the future. Parents, do you really care about the welfare of your children, or do you have some self serving agenda which in reality disregards their welfare?
4
So, any test will do? These tests are developed to please politicians and make money, not to give a true reflection of what teachers and students can do. Numbers do not equal objectivity: they are arbitrary in the end, a tool for punishing teachers in order to satisfy those looking for a scapegoat or to keep the focus away from an imperative to address poverty. So why force your child to "stress" for that?
10
Gene,
we live in a society where parents seem to think their little darlings are geniuses, should not be faced with real-life stress and should not have their self-esteem damaged. There are also a few parents who are unwilling to put in the extra work needed to help their kids. These are all probably the REAL reasons so many parents are opposed to testing.
we live in a society where parents seem to think their little darlings are geniuses, should not be faced with real-life stress and should not have their self-esteem damaged. There are also a few parents who are unwilling to put in the extra work needed to help their kids. These are all probably the REAL reasons so many parents are opposed to testing.
2
To D. Franks,
First, in the inteests of full disclosure, are you a teacher? Next, what alternative do you propose for measuring the effectiveness of teachers? If, even under your alternative, a teacher is found to be ineffective, what sanctions would you propose?
First, in the inteests of full disclosure, are you a teacher? Next, what alternative do you propose for measuring the effectiveness of teachers? If, even under your alternative, a teacher is found to be ineffective, what sanctions would you propose?
1
Sorry, but did this article ever explain WHY an increasing number of parents are opting out??? For crying out loud, what reasons are they citing? What's the content of that Facebook video? Is the issue the sheer number of tests (and can the reporters give an estimate of how many standardized tests per year in NY state?) -- or is one standardized test per year too many for most of these parents? Or do they object to the content of the test? Or do they object to tying teacher evaluations or pay to test scores? All of the above? None of the above? WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS? As a reader I can't even begin to evaluate this movement without answers to these questions.
8
Short answer: Testing has not improved the quality of education since its inception. Ranked against students of other countries, our schools still fall short despite an extensive increase in the number of evaluations and exams now given. The only people that have actually profited from testing, are the companies that make, grade, and provide the tests.
5
The reason is that the parents believe their special snowflakes should never face any stress in life and the teachers do not want testing to grade their teaching abilities.
It's not only New Yorkers that are opting their kids out of the endless array of unnecessary tests. We're doing it in Colorado, too.
Standardized tests in the public schools are not being used to benefit children. Instead, they are being used to undermine teacher job security and pay, to enrich Pearson, to force conformity upon every child and classroom in the country, and to lower the emphasize on or reduce instruction in science, geography, history, music, art, and physical education.
This country's prosperity has been built on foundations of creativity, a willingness to question, and trust in teachers who have actually done better and better work as time has gone by. Politicians want scapegoats for the fact that they underfund our schools, subsidize the outsourcing of our industries, and encourage less prosperity by skewing policy toward monopolists and financial cheats. Our children are paying the price with lost instructional time, needless test stress, unstable school leadership, test-driven instruction, and a rejection of the most important aspect of education: learning to think.
Opt out. Do it for your kids, your school, your community, your country.
Standardized tests in the public schools are not being used to benefit children. Instead, they are being used to undermine teacher job security and pay, to enrich Pearson, to force conformity upon every child and classroom in the country, and to lower the emphasize on or reduce instruction in science, geography, history, music, art, and physical education.
This country's prosperity has been built on foundations of creativity, a willingness to question, and trust in teachers who have actually done better and better work as time has gone by. Politicians want scapegoats for the fact that they underfund our schools, subsidize the outsourcing of our industries, and encourage less prosperity by skewing policy toward monopolists and financial cheats. Our children are paying the price with lost instructional time, needless test stress, unstable school leadership, test-driven instruction, and a rejection of the most important aspect of education: learning to think.
Opt out. Do it for your kids, your school, your community, your country.
100
Yes, and if the NYTimes would get on the ball they would have told us all this!
"It's not only New Yorkers that are opting their kids out of the endless array of unnecessary tests. "
without tests how are you going to figure out how a student is improving (or not) over time? What about finding his weaknesses and strengths? What do you use as a basis of admision into colleges? What about performance of school systems and teachers?
Please, be specific as possible in what should be (cost-effectively) used as a substitute for testing.
without tests how are you going to figure out how a student is improving (or not) over time? What about finding his weaknesses and strengths? What do you use as a basis of admision into colleges? What about performance of school systems and teachers?
Please, be specific as possible in what should be (cost-effectively) used as a substitute for testing.
4
The article is very poorly researched. "At the same time, some education officials and advocacy groups fear the opt-out movement will reverse a long-term effort to identify teachers and schools — and students — who are not up to par, at least as far as their test performance goes. "
The effort to "identify teacher and schools who are NOT UP TO PAR. Says who? Do the reporters question where these tests are coming from? It's the multi-million dollar U.K. corporation Pearson. The reason questioning teachers has started? To demonize teachers and break the union and turn teaching into a temp position. Every school already ACCESSES the students. Wasting money and time and eliminating art, physical education, music, social studies, foreign languages and science to fill out bubbles is an obscenity. Are the reporters and their editor asking WHY the parents are opting out? And, why aren't private schools holding test prep?
The effort to "identify teacher and schools who are NOT UP TO PAR. Says who? Do the reporters question where these tests are coming from? It's the multi-million dollar U.K. corporation Pearson. The reason questioning teachers has started? To demonize teachers and break the union and turn teaching into a temp position. Every school already ACCESSES the students. Wasting money and time and eliminating art, physical education, music, social studies, foreign languages and science to fill out bubbles is an obscenity. Are the reporters and their editor asking WHY the parents are opting out? And, why aren't private schools holding test prep?
6
Below are typical questions from the NYS test.
Please let me know why we should let schools off the hook for teaching these skills to our kids?
We expect hospitals to help the sick and worry when too many people die. When too many kids fail a test we might want to know that and worry about the school.
6th grade ELA -
Which line or lines illustrate knowledge the narrator has that the characters
in the story do not?
A “There had been a time when the Trojans had gone out and fought with
their enemies on the plain.” (lines 4 and 5)
B “We can easily believe then that Priam, King of Troy, and his people were
very glad to hear that one day the Greeks had gone home.” (lines 10 and
11)
C “No one was quite sure what it [the horse] was, or what it meant.” (line 22)
D “A great rattling sound was heard, and the Trojans, if they had not been
very blind and foolish, might have known that there was something
wrong.”
6th grade math
A clothing store offers a 30% discount on all items in the store.
Part A: If the original price of a sweater is $40, how much will it cost after the discount?
Show your work.
Answer: ____________________
Part B: A shopper bought three of the same shirt and paid $63 after the 30%
discount. What was the original price of one of the shirts?
Show your work.
Answer: ____________________
Part C: Every store employee gets an additional 10% off the already discounted
price. If an employee buys an item with an original price of $40, how
much will the employee pay?
Please let me know why we should let schools off the hook for teaching these skills to our kids?
We expect hospitals to help the sick and worry when too many people die. When too many kids fail a test we might want to know that and worry about the school.
6th grade ELA -
Which line or lines illustrate knowledge the narrator has that the characters
in the story do not?
A “There had been a time when the Trojans had gone out and fought with
their enemies on the plain.” (lines 4 and 5)
B “We can easily believe then that Priam, King of Troy, and his people were
very glad to hear that one day the Greeks had gone home.” (lines 10 and
11)
C “No one was quite sure what it [the horse] was, or what it meant.” (line 22)
D “A great rattling sound was heard, and the Trojans, if they had not been
very blind and foolish, might have known that there was something
wrong.”
6th grade math
A clothing store offers a 30% discount on all items in the store.
Part A: If the original price of a sweater is $40, how much will it cost after the discount?
Show your work.
Answer: ____________________
Part B: A shopper bought three of the same shirt and paid $63 after the 30%
discount. What was the original price of one of the shirts?
Show your work.
Answer: ____________________
Part C: Every store employee gets an additional 10% off the already discounted
price. If an employee buys an item with an original price of $40, how
much will the employee pay?
10
I did not grow up with the New York school system, but are these really typical questions? What 6th grader (other than special needs, of course) could possibly get these questions wrong? I assume such questions are meant to ensure an absolute minimum skill set before allowing student to progress to middle school/high school. I hope all the apparent outrage over this test isn't based on an argument that it's too challenging. I would question whether these questions are even worth asking. Any 6th grade student who cannot answer a hundred such questions of similar difficulty with near perfect accuracy needs serious academic support beyond what public education can realistically provide. They certainly should not be forced to tackle more abstract concepts like algebra or calculus before they have a firm grip on these basic principles.
2
Don't mistake your trouble solving these as a flaw in the test. These seem to be reasonable test questions for 6th graders.
2
My 5th grader was given homework similar to math problem just yesterday. She needed help, but liked it because it felt like solving a puzzle. Actually she asked me to get few more similar questions. I'm going to give this to her. Thank you. (That said, I do see a point of the resistance to corporate monopoly over school testing. Perhaps some constructive alternatives should be the focus, rather than passive resistance.)
1
I'm failing to understand this drive for constant standardized testing and (be married to a teacher) the fascination with the "common core". The Common Core, from the modest sampling I've experienced, is reviled by teachers. It's poorly constructed and the curriculum is both hurried and usually not developmentally appropriate.
But, as to testing, my generation (let's call it the early side of X-ish) went through school, our common testing being IOWA's in elementary, Regents and SAT/ACT in high school. The rest of the time, we were taught a curriculum that built either to the Regents, or more generally, to the requirements of the various courses. My own kids probably loose a solid week of learning time while they take these tests. They don't even learn cursive - god help them if the computer fails for a moment. My suggestion - teach them with depth and interest; it seems the more we try to "fix" this "crisis" the worse the education becomes. Let's skip the testing and focus on the learning!
Of course, the conspiracy theorist in me says that this is part of the bigger program to create a generation of people that don't know history, don't think critically - just drone workers - that's the population who they can get to do their bidding.
But, as to testing, my generation (let's call it the early side of X-ish) went through school, our common testing being IOWA's in elementary, Regents and SAT/ACT in high school. The rest of the time, we were taught a curriculum that built either to the Regents, or more generally, to the requirements of the various courses. My own kids probably loose a solid week of learning time while they take these tests. They don't even learn cursive - god help them if the computer fails for a moment. My suggestion - teach them with depth and interest; it seems the more we try to "fix" this "crisis" the worse the education becomes. Let's skip the testing and focus on the learning!
Of course, the conspiracy theorist in me says that this is part of the bigger program to create a generation of people that don't know history, don't think critically - just drone workers - that's the population who they can get to do their bidding.
7
'...My own kids probably loose a solid week of learning time while they take these tests...'
Perhaps the word you were looking for is 'lose'?
Perhaps the word you were looking for is 'lose'?
2
It is disgusting how rationale for "testing" is vital for the continuation of education as we know it.
Are they saying adults who weren't "over tested" as children have been shortchanged?
Obama , Duncan , Cuomo, and the usual hedge fund suspects are attempting to sell the need for testing as a panacea.; subeterfuge.
To begin with,we treat our teachers horribly. There are unqualified teachers, same as there are unqualified police officers, but there is no national push to determine which police are unqualified. Despite the contentiousness between police and citizens rising.
They blame parents. Irony is, urban parents mainly black/latino are okay with "testing", yet they are denigrated, accused of being poor parents. If they don't acquiesce they are castigated, if they do, they are castigated by proponents of Charter schools and that ilk. Test proponents know its a "Catch 22"
Students become nothing but pawns. Big money interests have turned our nations education system into a profit making venture. "Education for profit"
They have all ready removed phys.ed, music, art, extracurricular activities from urban schools. Foolishly, using test focus as a substitution.
Test promoters create a "do or die" narrative to dupe the least informed.
Anytime you vilify the very people who signed on to teach children in a public school setting you are attacking our future as a nation.
Opt Out is a revolution to save what's left of our waning education system..
Step up and "Opt Out" NYC...
Are they saying adults who weren't "over tested" as children have been shortchanged?
Obama , Duncan , Cuomo, and the usual hedge fund suspects are attempting to sell the need for testing as a panacea.; subeterfuge.
To begin with,we treat our teachers horribly. There are unqualified teachers, same as there are unqualified police officers, but there is no national push to determine which police are unqualified. Despite the contentiousness between police and citizens rising.
They blame parents. Irony is, urban parents mainly black/latino are okay with "testing", yet they are denigrated, accused of being poor parents. If they don't acquiesce they are castigated, if they do, they are castigated by proponents of Charter schools and that ilk. Test proponents know its a "Catch 22"
Students become nothing but pawns. Big money interests have turned our nations education system into a profit making venture. "Education for profit"
They have all ready removed phys.ed, music, art, extracurricular activities from urban schools. Foolishly, using test focus as a substitution.
Test promoters create a "do or die" narrative to dupe the least informed.
Anytime you vilify the very people who signed on to teach children in a public school setting you are attacking our future as a nation.
Opt Out is a revolution to save what's left of our waning education system..
Step up and "Opt Out" NYC...
22
Why does both the teaser headline and article refer to this as a "small movement"? When, if ever, has an educational movement against the prescribed agenda ever gained such steam?
You do not need a majority to be influential and significant!
You do not need a majority to be influential and significant!
21
Students spend three times as much time testing as they did 20 years ago. That is lost teaching time. It also makes students blase about the tests; they get testing overload and stop caring.
Even worse, an excellent article in The Atlantic discussed the fact that Pearson textbooks align extremely well with Pearson tests (including sometimes handling topics in a counter-intuitive way), but Pearson texts are quite pricey, so only the more expensive districts tend to buy them. In other words, we are really testing districts' ability to purchase Pearson textbooks.
There are many reasons to distrust these tests that have nothing to do with not wanting "accountability." The biggest of all: not a single nation in the world excelling in test scores uses tests like this.
Even worse, an excellent article in The Atlantic discussed the fact that Pearson textbooks align extremely well with Pearson tests (including sometimes handling topics in a counter-intuitive way), but Pearson texts are quite pricey, so only the more expensive districts tend to buy them. In other words, we are really testing districts' ability to purchase Pearson textbooks.
There are many reasons to distrust these tests that have nothing to do with not wanting "accountability." The biggest of all: not a single nation in the world excelling in test scores uses tests like this.
20
As I understand it, standardized tests like Georgia's CRCT were invented to compare relative student attainment across school systems. Surely a Best Linear Unbiased Estimator that ranks teachers, schools, and systems while accounting for individual differences would be helpful in improving troubled school systems.
However, performance discrepancies are highly correlated with race, income, parent education, single parents, tax base, community appeal, and the quality of administrators. As far as I know, test scores are not weighted to account for these advantages and disadvantages.
A child's teacher is next to their parents in importance so we understandably want to evaluate them with rewards or remediation in mind. However, students are not assigned teachers randomly. Gifted students get better teachers, aggressive, connected parents can finagle better teachers, and goal driven HS students often pick challenging teachers. This leaves less able teachers teaching the more challenging students.
It is very possible that tests formulated to test students may not be good at evaluating teachers. Evaluating teacher performance with standardized tests is done indirectly by reflecting the student's attainment onto them. Statistically, this must create huge variance and validity problems. Perhaps it would be better if teachers were directly evaluated using a metric common to all systems and states, but weighted to reflect demographics.
However, performance discrepancies are highly correlated with race, income, parent education, single parents, tax base, community appeal, and the quality of administrators. As far as I know, test scores are not weighted to account for these advantages and disadvantages.
A child's teacher is next to their parents in importance so we understandably want to evaluate them with rewards or remediation in mind. However, students are not assigned teachers randomly. Gifted students get better teachers, aggressive, connected parents can finagle better teachers, and goal driven HS students often pick challenging teachers. This leaves less able teachers teaching the more challenging students.
It is very possible that tests formulated to test students may not be good at evaluating teachers. Evaluating teacher performance with standardized tests is done indirectly by reflecting the student's attainment onto them. Statistically, this must create huge variance and validity problems. Perhaps it would be better if teachers were directly evaluated using a metric common to all systems and states, but weighted to reflect demographics.
+1 for dropping the phrase "Best Linear Unbiased Estimator".
Here are some other phrases you may wish to acquaint yourself with: Hierarchical Linear Regression. Panel Data. Shrinkage estimator. Fixed effect. Random effect. Heteroscedasticity.
You do not seem to be familiar with the Value Added literature. The best predictor of a child's test performance is not parental income. The best predictor of their test performance this year iis their test performance last year. All of the factors you mention - race, poverty, IQ - because they tend to persist year-to-year, are included in last year's score.
You mention student tracking. This concern was raised by a Berkeley economist named Jesse Rothstein. It's still an open question, but it appears that it won't be a major issue in most instances.
Here are some other phrases you may wish to acquaint yourself with: Hierarchical Linear Regression. Panel Data. Shrinkage estimator. Fixed effect. Random effect. Heteroscedasticity.
You do not seem to be familiar with the Value Added literature. The best predictor of a child's test performance is not parental income. The best predictor of their test performance this year iis their test performance last year. All of the factors you mention - race, poverty, IQ - because they tend to persist year-to-year, are included in last year's score.
You mention student tracking. This concern was raised by a Berkeley economist named Jesse Rothstein. It's still an open question, but it appears that it won't be a major issue in most instances.
What there's not enough anecdotal evidence to verify the conclusion that children in schools from lower socioeconomic communities and demographics are not already receiving less resources and instructional services for programs than those in higher ones? Parents should feel outraged that all this testing only diminishes the services they're already not receiving but focusing the time in class on things not beneficial to the students themselves but data fodder for politicians and bureaucrats to wave around toe justify their positions or to get reelected. Making kids lab rats for pedagogical experiments might be good if it could be done without killing them in order to do it.
7
We will also hear the frustrating argument for continuing Pearson's testing---
No matter how poorly quantitative testing reflects student learning, SUPPOSEDLY the same series of tests MUST continue, because the only way this year's learning can be COMPARED with last year's is by continuing the same sorts of tests.
With this argument trumping all efforts to change the ways to evaluate students' learning and their teachers' abilities, we are locked into the same tests, which benefit no one but the testing and curriculum developers (such as Pearson).
There must be a way out of this.
(OK, now all typos are gone)
No matter how poorly quantitative testing reflects student learning, SUPPOSEDLY the same series of tests MUST continue, because the only way this year's learning can be COMPARED with last year's is by continuing the same sorts of tests.
With this argument trumping all efforts to change the ways to evaluate students' learning and their teachers' abilities, we are locked into the same tests, which benefit no one but the testing and curriculum developers (such as Pearson).
There must be a way out of this.
(OK, now all typos are gone)
3
The way I see it, it's a poor decision by parents to withdraw their kid from testing because it has the opposite effect of what they want -- it gives the children who take the standardized tests a leg up. Why?
Because no parent who knows their child will perform well on standardized tests would withdraw their child. The parents know a good test score is beneficial for their child and they're confident their kid will get a good test score, so standardized testing is in the child's best interest regardless of how much you loathe the system. Notice how withdrawal was low among the very rich. Those two points are related.
That means the parents withdrawing their kids from testing are more likely to have kids who would perform poorly. That leaves us with the smarter kids taking the tests and the less smart kids not taking the tests. (I use the term "smarter" loosely -- settle down.) It's reverse adverse selection.
The taking of standardized tests in and of itself will turn into a positive mark on a transcript whereas the lack of standardized test scores will turn into a negative.
Furthermore, since the field taking these tests is known to be more talented and the tests are generally curved, the best of the best will shine even brighter, particularly in comparison to those with no scores.
This is not a smart way for middle class parents to go about changing the system. Instead, standardized tests should be seen and treated as an opportunity to show what you're made of.
Because no parent who knows their child will perform well on standardized tests would withdraw their child. The parents know a good test score is beneficial for their child and they're confident their kid will get a good test score, so standardized testing is in the child's best interest regardless of how much you loathe the system. Notice how withdrawal was low among the very rich. Those two points are related.
That means the parents withdrawing their kids from testing are more likely to have kids who would perform poorly. That leaves us with the smarter kids taking the tests and the less smart kids not taking the tests. (I use the term "smarter" loosely -- settle down.) It's reverse adverse selection.
The taking of standardized tests in and of itself will turn into a positive mark on a transcript whereas the lack of standardized test scores will turn into a negative.
Furthermore, since the field taking these tests is known to be more talented and the tests are generally curved, the best of the best will shine even brighter, particularly in comparison to those with no scores.
This is not a smart way for middle class parents to go about changing the system. Instead, standardized tests should be seen and treated as an opportunity to show what you're made of.
4
What you are saying is we should continue to take part in these deeply flawed tests even though they've been shown time and time again to have no practical application,out of fear that opting out will be held against us. That is deeply flawed thinking. There are increasingly more schools that use portfolio assessments, as our movement grows, other schools will be encouraged to cast these tests aside. My children happen to test well, I'm still opting them out. We choose not to be ruled by fear. Thanks, but no thanks.
5
"Because no parent who knows their child will perform well on standardized tests would withdraw their child."
It's *completely* the opposite here where I live (in upstate NY). Most of the parents choosing to opt out here are better-educated, upper-income folks whose children are statistically likely to do very well on standardized tests.
The big controversy here is whether opting out ends up hurting the school, because the best test-takers (who could skew the school's results in a positive manner) end up not taking part. There are some concerns that individual schools could be financially penalized as a result.
I haven't seen *any* evidence whatsoever that those parents are opting out because they don't think their kids will do well on the test. The main concerns they have (e.g., the for-profit, opaque nature of the testing industry, the loss of instruction time for other pursuits, the way that focusing on testing kills kids' love of learning, etc.) are completely unrelated to that.
It's *completely* the opposite here where I live (in upstate NY). Most of the parents choosing to opt out here are better-educated, upper-income folks whose children are statistically likely to do very well on standardized tests.
The big controversy here is whether opting out ends up hurting the school, because the best test-takers (who could skew the school's results in a positive manner) end up not taking part. There are some concerns that individual schools could be financially penalized as a result.
I haven't seen *any* evidence whatsoever that those parents are opting out because they don't think their kids will do well on the test. The main concerns they have (e.g., the for-profit, opaque nature of the testing industry, the loss of instruction time for other pursuits, the way that focusing on testing kills kids' love of learning, etc.) are completely unrelated to that.
5
Portfolio assessments also help children reflect on their own learning.
And when parents see their child's portfolio during parent-teacher meetings at the end of the year, the experience feels like a REWARD for learning, rather than the PUNISHMENT tone of "bubble tests".
And when parents see their child's portfolio during parent-teacher meetings at the end of the year, the experience feels like a REWARD for learning, rather than the PUNISHMENT tone of "bubble tests".
2
I wonder if pro-testing advocates realize that the test questions are secret. I've seen sample tests and they're absolutely bizarre, full of ambiguous questions and outright errors. I took one into an office where most of the employees have advanced degrees, and we argued over the questions and answers. This was for a 4th grade test. They're poorly designed, and the scoring is suspect. Only afterward is the cutoff passing grade decided upon. So if officials want to show progress, the cutoff is set low. If they want to cry wolf, that our schools are falling apart and the teachers are incompetent, they set the cutoff high.
And lost in all of this are the kids. Doctors are reporting a rise in stress-related ailments. They get months of test prep. The curriculum itself is hollowed out; it's all about process with no substance. The "deep dive" that the Common Core mandates means that boring reading passages are analyzed to death; the kids are turned off to reading and learning. Is this what we really want?
(I won't mention except here that all of this is a way to divert more public funds into private hands.)
And lost in all of this are the kids. Doctors are reporting a rise in stress-related ailments. They get months of test prep. The curriculum itself is hollowed out; it's all about process with no substance. The "deep dive" that the Common Core mandates means that boring reading passages are analyzed to death; the kids are turned off to reading and learning. Is this what we really want?
(I won't mention except here that all of this is a way to divert more public funds into private hands.)
170
"Doctors are reporting a rise in stress-related ailments."
And how will these little darlings do when, in the real world, they actually do have to face real stress? You are only shielding the child from the inevitable, not training him/her for it. by doing so you are doing your child a very serious disservice.
And how will these little darlings do when, in the real world, they actually do have to face real stress? You are only shielding the child from the inevitable, not training him/her for it. by doing so you are doing your child a very serious disservice.
1
You are correct. I will add that the scorers are not in all likelihood highly qualified, at least judging by the pay rate. When my husband (Masters plus 30 and 33 years of teaching) retired 12 years ago, he thought he might apply for the job - until he found out they were paying around 8.00 an hour. Plus, even if he had been willing to work for that amount, they were not looking for educated people to do it. (This is not the same in any way shape or form as the SATS or Advanced Placement Test scoring -- which is very rigorous, done by educators who are trained and trained and trained and calibrated and validated.)
2
"Of particular concern is that without reliable, consistent data, children in minority communities may be left to drift through schools that fail them, without consequences.
This month, a dozen civil rights groups, including the N.A.A.C.P. and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released a statement saying they were opposed to “anti-testing efforts” because tests provide data that is crucial for catching and combating inequities in public schools."
Ah, the disingenuousness of current "education reformers." When it comes to inequities towards children in poorer schools and districts, everyone loves relying on testing data to "single out the bad teachers." In poor schools in poor districts for decades, principals have been well aware of who the bad and good teachers are. Testing and numbers just provides a convenient process substitute, a misdirect, for dealing with the _actual_ inequity in the system: Unfair distribution of resources. How many well-off, liberal, largely white "reformers" are willing to put their money where their mouth is, and distribute the property tax revenues budgeted for education in a truly equitable way? Pay teacher's true professional's salaries, equal in every district, and provide equal per-student resources no matter the zip code. Stop funneling the money for private business to solve a fundamental human resource problem.
The problem isn't knowing who's a bad teacher or who's a good one. It's about distribution of resources.
This month, a dozen civil rights groups, including the N.A.A.C.P. and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released a statement saying they were opposed to “anti-testing efforts” because tests provide data that is crucial for catching and combating inequities in public schools."
Ah, the disingenuousness of current "education reformers." When it comes to inequities towards children in poorer schools and districts, everyone loves relying on testing data to "single out the bad teachers." In poor schools in poor districts for decades, principals have been well aware of who the bad and good teachers are. Testing and numbers just provides a convenient process substitute, a misdirect, for dealing with the _actual_ inequity in the system: Unfair distribution of resources. How many well-off, liberal, largely white "reformers" are willing to put their money where their mouth is, and distribute the property tax revenues budgeted for education in a truly equitable way? Pay teacher's true professional's salaries, equal in every district, and provide equal per-student resources no matter the zip code. Stop funneling the money for private business to solve a fundamental human resource problem.
The problem isn't knowing who's a bad teacher or who's a good one. It's about distribution of resources.
10
These testing regimens were designed to demonize public education, reap immense profits for testing companies, and give "privatizers" the "data" they needed to dismantle public education by creating a charter school euphoria that is more accurately termed a charter school fraud. The sad part is for years this test obsession has devastated inner-city instruction eliminating arts instruction, PE and even recess as curriculum was reduced to little more than "test prep" and "remediation" (another word for still more test prep), and led to hundreds if not thousands of inner-city teachers losing their jobs. Think Michelle Rhee (DC) and John Deasy (L.A.)
The truly sad thing is now that the detrimental effects of this testing madness has reached the middle class, it "suddenly" is an issue. No one cared when the brutality was heaped upon poor minorities. Is there a single person of color pictured in this article? Poor people of color have been lamenting this issue for years as their children suffered daily under this testing dictatorship where divergent thinking is penalized, and creativity dismissed as irrelevant.
Where was the NY Times (and the mainstream media) then? Where was the public then? Where were these (white) middle-class parents then? Many were applauding "increased accountability". Denying a well-rounded education to minorities was just fine. Cutting out huge swaths of instructional time for "test prep" was "just fine" when it came to poor minorities. Why?
The truly sad thing is now that the detrimental effects of this testing madness has reached the middle class, it "suddenly" is an issue. No one cared when the brutality was heaped upon poor minorities. Is there a single person of color pictured in this article? Poor people of color have been lamenting this issue for years as their children suffered daily under this testing dictatorship where divergent thinking is penalized, and creativity dismissed as irrelevant.
Where was the NY Times (and the mainstream media) then? Where was the public then? Where were these (white) middle-class parents then? Many were applauding "increased accountability". Denying a well-rounded education to minorities was just fine. Cutting out huge swaths of instructional time for "test prep" was "just fine" when it came to poor minorities. Why?
13
Our children should be judged and promoted based who they are (my precious child), not because of what they know.
3
you should tell that to a college/graduate admission office or to an employer. see how quickly they ask you what you propose to substitute for a test. What exactly, would you use? Please, be as specific as possible.
1
These parents are being tricked by organizations that represent teachers. There are plenty of legitimate gripes parents can have about testing: they may not like the particular tests being used, they may feel the number of required tests is too high and they should be consolidated, or that too much time is spent teaching to the tests. Opting out does nothing to address those concerns, though. Opting out is a movement to prevent teachers from being held accountable for doing their jobs. In terms of teacher accountability, teacher and student interests are at odds. Concerned parents should be focusing their efforts on pressuring legislators and school boards to address the specific things they don't like while preserving some form of testing to hold teachers accountable.
There's an easy way to tell if someone is actually trying to help students or simply protect all teachers (good and bad). If someone advocates ending standardized testing and doesn't propose an alternative that includes objective standards of accountability (i.e., something other than peer/principal evaluations that traditionally rate over 95% of teachers as good), then they don't care about the kids.
There's an easy way to tell if someone is actually trying to help students or simply protect all teachers (good and bad). If someone advocates ending standardized testing and doesn't propose an alternative that includes objective standards of accountability (i.e., something other than peer/principal evaluations that traditionally rate over 95% of teachers as good), then they don't care about the kids.
7
Ah--so the tests hold TEACHERS accountable. Not students, not parents, not communities--do you see the problem here? Teachers can't do it alone, whether you want to pretend they can or not, and test-weary students who have little at stake will be mentally opting out in droves anyway--making the tests an invalid measure of much of anything.
2
I know teachers can't do it alone. I'm definitely in favor of putting more pressure on students, parents, and communities to value education more. If you have ideas of how to do that, I'd honestly be happy to hear them. I'm not the type to blame teachers and let everyone else off the hook.
That said, differences from one teacher to the next do make a difference in changes in test scores (e.g., beginning of the year to end of the year). As paid public employees, teachers have to be held accountable to some degree even if others aren't pulling their weight. Every job has to have some form of accountability, especially important ones. Value-added testing helps to separate out individual differences in the students/parents/communities. Testing shouldn't be the ONLY thing included in teacher evaluations but we've seen again and again that without some objective measure, the subjective measures simply don't work.
That said, differences from one teacher to the next do make a difference in changes in test scores (e.g., beginning of the year to end of the year). As paid public employees, teachers have to be held accountable to some degree even if others aren't pulling their weight. Every job has to have some form of accountability, especially important ones. Value-added testing helps to separate out individual differences in the students/parents/communities. Testing shouldn't be the ONLY thing included in teacher evaluations but we've seen again and again that without some objective measure, the subjective measures simply don't work.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s children attended the University of Chicago School, one of the city’s most elite prep schools. It’s director, David Magill, wrote in 2009:
“Physical education, world languages, libraries, and the arts are not frills. They are an essential piece of a well-rounded education. Measuring outcomes through standardized testing and referring to those results as the evidence of learning and the bottom line is, in my opinion, MISGUIDED and, unfortunately, continues to be advocated under a new name and supported by the [Obama] administration.”
Diane Ravitch: Do Politicians Know Anything At All About Schools And Education? Anything? http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view&ask...
“Are you aware that there is a large body of research by testing experts warning that it is wrong to judge teacher quality by student test scores? Are you aware that these measures may be strongly influenced by the composition of a teacher’s classroom, over which she or he has no control?
“Did you know that family income is the single most reliable predictor of student test scores? Did you know that more than 20% of our children live in poverty and that this is far greater than in the nations to which we compare ourselves?
“Do you know of any high-performing nation in the world that got that way by privatizing public schools, closing those with low test scores, and firing teachers? The answer: NONE.”
“Physical education, world languages, libraries, and the arts are not frills. They are an essential piece of a well-rounded education. Measuring outcomes through standardized testing and referring to those results as the evidence of learning and the bottom line is, in my opinion, MISGUIDED and, unfortunately, continues to be advocated under a new name and supported by the [Obama] administration.”
Diane Ravitch: Do Politicians Know Anything At All About Schools And Education? Anything? http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view&ask...
“Are you aware that there is a large body of research by testing experts warning that it is wrong to judge teacher quality by student test scores? Are you aware that these measures may be strongly influenced by the composition of a teacher’s classroom, over which she or he has no control?
“Did you know that family income is the single most reliable predictor of student test scores? Did you know that more than 20% of our children live in poverty and that this is far greater than in the nations to which we compare ourselves?
“Do you know of any high-performing nation in the world that got that way by privatizing public schools, closing those with low test scores, and firing teachers? The answer: NONE.”
51
I fear that the trend toward evaluating teachers via their students' test scores is part of a very CALCULATED STRATEGY to break teachers unions in order to PRIVATIZE public education.
The motive behind privatization has everything to do with opening a huge new REVENUE STREAM for companies like Pearson, and has nothing at all to do with improving education for our children.
The motive behind privatization has everything to do with opening a huge new REVENUE STREAM for companies like Pearson, and has nothing at all to do with improving education for our children.
4
do you know how many reputable colleges/universities and grad programs do not use testing as a basis of admission? The answer is almost none. Why do you suppose? How else would they judge the strengths/weaknesses of students? Please, be specific as possible. This is the real weakness in the argument of those who oppose tests. What do they propose to take their place (in a cost effective and neutral way)?
2
Perhaps you are not aware that over 800 colleges now make SAT/ACT scores optional. The list includes some very prestigious and rigorous schools.
My daughter did take the SAT, but she did not have any AP test scores or SAT II test scores; she decided not to take that path. Instead, she spent two years as a dual-enrolled community college student, 11th and 12 grades. She was admitted into nearly every college she applied to on that basis, including fancy name schools (Reed, Carnegie Mellon; she was wait listed at Williams, perhaps the premier liberal arts college in the country). A couple of the colleges she applied to were test-optional, and the majority of applicants do not submit test scores. High school courses of study, grades, essays, and letters of recombination are what these colleges feel are more valid predictors of college performance.
My daughter had two years of community college grades, my homeschool write-up of what she had done over the previous four years, an extensive book list (single spaced, double columns, selected not inclusive, six full pages), and glowing letters of recommendation.
The colleges evidently felt not only able to judge her strengths and weaknesses, but they also commented specifically on her reading, her love of learning, her independence and motivation, and her perseverance. She was chosen for the Honors Program at multiple universities and awarded huge merit scholarships at those colleges which award merit-based aid.
My daughter did take the SAT, but she did not have any AP test scores or SAT II test scores; she decided not to take that path. Instead, she spent two years as a dual-enrolled community college student, 11th and 12 grades. She was admitted into nearly every college she applied to on that basis, including fancy name schools (Reed, Carnegie Mellon; she was wait listed at Williams, perhaps the premier liberal arts college in the country). A couple of the colleges she applied to were test-optional, and the majority of applicants do not submit test scores. High school courses of study, grades, essays, and letters of recombination are what these colleges feel are more valid predictors of college performance.
My daughter had two years of community college grades, my homeschool write-up of what she had done over the previous four years, an extensive book list (single spaced, double columns, selected not inclusive, six full pages), and glowing letters of recommendation.
The colleges evidently felt not only able to judge her strengths and weaknesses, but they also commented specifically on her reading, her love of learning, her independence and motivation, and her perseverance. She was chosen for the Honors Program at multiple universities and awarded huge merit scholarships at those colleges which award merit-based aid.
1
I live in the heart of the opt out. A majority of the Bellmore parents who opt out had their kids do poorly on a common core test. We have grade inflation in Bellmore and what was once a D is now a B. The kids get B's and should have gotten lower grades. Parents see a common core score where their kids do not pass. Who do they blame? The test. The new SAT in 2016 is common core aligned. Are these same kids going to opt out of the new SAT? Regents exams? AP exams? I attended the JFK High school night and the Principal Poppe had to make an announcement due to hundreds of parents asking how their kids could opt out in high school. She told a stunned group they could not and graduate. These parents do not really know what they are opting out of. The top level colleges want to see a student challenge themselves. So are these parents opting out of top colleges and looking for one that does not need a SAT? This is not some great revolution of rights and more of a race to the bottom for these parents. I have a daughter that struggled for awhile with new math. We worked with her and this year she got it. The math is not supposed to be easy, it forces you to think instead of doing rote math the old way. My son moved into honors math as a result of doing very well on common core tests. We were once a society where failure was not an option, now we opt out if it gets too tough.
48
Thank you for posting your perspective. I was beginning to think opting out was a useful movement. Now I see a big downside.
4
We were once a society that respected teachers, trusted them to do their jobs, allowed schools to encourage creativity and writing and thinking, and cared about the quality of that education instead of Pearson's profits, anti-union hysteria from right-wing crazies, and politicians' unfailing desire to shift responsibility from their feckless and corrupt leadership to those who are working hard for little pay to help our children learn.
2
I don't think you can draw sweeping conclusions from the experience of your 2 children, nor do I believe you can know that most Bellmore parents opted out due to last year's CC exam grade not matching their inflated grades. These are just 2 or 3 scenarios which must be multiplied infinitely to reflect a myriad of particular students. That's because a stdzd test is just a snapshot of a few hrs in a kid's school year, hardly anything you'd want to use to determine the fates of teacher's careers or the viability of a whole school. Even less here in NJ, where the stds were only 'implemented' (simultaneously with teacher-training to stds) the year before they brought in VAM & PARCC. Even less when you actually read the CCSS-ELA stds & realize (a)they're a mishmosh of vague platitudes & stds so specific as to represent mini-curricula, (b)the younger you go the more crazily inappropriate they are for the grade level, (c)the sample questions released suggest the assessments are not formatted properly to accurately assess the std addressed (d)when [seldom] they are aligned to the stds at all.
As to NY students not being able to opt out & graduate hs, you can thank Cuomo for that (if it's accurate-- I wonder.) Although Christie cynically bought into CCSS, VAM & PARCC-- despite our state's perennial placement in the top few states for p.s. ed achievement-- for political reasons, he at least had the sense to back a postponement of high-stakes application for a few years.
As to NY students not being able to opt out & graduate hs, you can thank Cuomo for that (if it's accurate-- I wonder.) Although Christie cynically bought into CCSS, VAM & PARCC-- despite our state's perennial placement in the top few states for p.s. ed achievement-- for political reasons, he at least had the sense to back a postponement of high-stakes application for a few years.
2
This highlights a broader challenge--namely, how do you make the public school system work for students in the top half, without undermining efforts to lift the bottom? Reading between the lines of this story, it seems the main argument for having average and above average schools take the test is to provide a baseline for underperforming schools in poorer districts. That's laudable, but a huge waste of time for students working to be a "baseline." My guess is the richest districts are able to rise above this because they have the resources to do well on the tests without wasting time on test prep. Other than those districts, it seems there's a clear correlation between opting out and income. If you want a baseline, test students but without wasting time on test prep--i.e. don't tie a teacher's career to the test, which encourages them and the principals to focus disproportionately on test prep.
1
"This highlights a broader challenge--namely, how do you make the public school system work for students in the top half, without undermining efforts to lift the bottom? "
wrong question. The right one should be how do we improve effort for ALL students. Testing offers many advantages. It finds strengths / weknesses, in a cost effective and neutral way, that no other way can.
wrong question. The right one should be how do we improve effort for ALL students. Testing offers many advantages. It finds strengths / weknesses, in a cost effective and neutral way, that no other way can.
1
Recently on the radio I heard one test-writer complain that it would be a problem if too many kids opted out, because he hoped to see how his questions performed across groups of students. Not, mind you, how the KIDS performed across different tests. Clear to see what's near & dear to their hearts (making money off the test data) and what isn't (our children).
A biopsy is a rigorous exam, too, but it's not appropriate for measuring whether you have the right glasses prescription. With tests, as with other things, you find what you're looking for; and these tests have nothing to do with either teaching or learning. All they want to do is come in and say, "Oh, dear, another failing school, looks like a case for Charter Schools." Shame on these money grubbers.
A biopsy is a rigorous exam, too, but it's not appropriate for measuring whether you have the right glasses prescription. With tests, as with other things, you find what you're looking for; and these tests have nothing to do with either teaching or learning. All they want to do is come in and say, "Oh, dear, another failing school, looks like a case for Charter Schools." Shame on these money grubbers.
27
All test questions are tested and reviewed, this has been true for decades.
As for Charter School, the only people threatened by them are public school teachers. Parents and students seem to love them which is a great thing.
As for Charter School, the only people threatened by them are public school teachers. Parents and students seem to love them which is a great thing.
1
Another favorite metaphor of mine, addressed to those who think schools could be more efficient if run on a business model: would you subject every single product on the assembly line to a full-battery Q/A checklist, or would you sample? With the former method, you might hope to get some of the product out to the marketplace before it's obsolete..
1
That doesn't seem fair. I didn't hear the radio program, but I can understand how someone who writes test questions would be interested in learning later how "his" questions had fared. That sounds like professional enthusiasm to me. I also do not think the writers of test questions are making money off the tests, except in the sense that they are doing a job that pays them, probably not a salary as I suspect a lot of the actual writing of test questions is done freelance. These are not people who are somehow getting rich off of testing.
The demographics supplied in this article say it all. These parents are wealthy, spoiled and unused to having someone tell them what to do. The anti-vaccine rallying cry has now become unattractive because of this year's measles scare, so they need something new on which to focus their attention. What does it matter if their kid takes a couple of days out of the school year to take a test? Is it going to scar them for life? No. But this protest, and using this amount of energy to accomplish something that in reality doesn't really help them in any meaningful way just teaches their children that if they can't get what they want to whine and cry as middle aged adults just like their parents are doing now. These standardized tests are not perfect, but then again, there is no perfect way to measure how schools are doing, and certainly no yardstick by which to measure a school in the poorest section of the Bronx against a school in the richest section of Nassau county. Even if the immediate result of testing is for the benefit of the educators, the long term effect will hopefully be passed on to the children to come. I may be wrong in this, but I find the whining to be ridiculous. My kids both take the standardized tests the schools give, and life goes on.
14
it's what's being done with the tests that parents are protesting. it's being used in arbitrary and broad ways to fire educators. it's also the overemphasis in teaching to these tests, because they are overvalued, that they are against. there's nothing whiny about that. it's a valid position and smart parenting.
1
So is Bill Gates wealthy and spoiled for sending his children to private schools instead of subjecting them to the state tests?
What about the Obamas? They're just wealthy and spoiled, too?
What about the Obamas? They're just wealthy and spoiled, too?
4
I think you underestimate the scope of what is being implemented in our schools. The effect is particularly stark in primary schools. Throughout the year a new 'subject' must be addressed with 8-10 y.o.'s: keyboarding for speed of writing, drag-&-drop, learning to scroll to read articles that only display a few ll. at a time in a small window, how to negotiate back & forth from questions not visible on the same screen as the text then scroll to find the desired segment-- & perhaps hardest of all, how to keep from hitting stray keys that will freeze the screen. This alone-- just training in computer-savvy needed to take the test-- because the technology is not user-friendly for young children-- represents a waste of students' time & taxpayers $. There is also the issue of availability of laptops in primary: typically the library &/or gym has to be co-opted for 2wks, 2 times (4wks total) during the last 16 wks of the school year, while groups are shuffled in & out of the testing area, which disrupts the entire school schedule during those 4 wks. (I'm told by a h.s. teacher that 11th-gr can manage the logistics in 1/2 that time, that's 2wks out of 16). So this is not just "a couple of days a year."
BTW, educators do not benefit from these tests. Teachers are not allowed to see them when administered, & scores arrive after the class is disbanded. Nor parents: scores are delivered as a number (1-4); there is never a period of reviewing questions & learning from wrong answers.
BTW, educators do not benefit from these tests. Teachers are not allowed to see them when administered, & scores arrive after the class is disbanded. Nor parents: scores are delivered as a number (1-4); there is never a period of reviewing questions & learning from wrong answers.
4
Parents in New York aren't against testing. What we are against is testing that is of poor quality, is of excessive length, does not match what students do everyday in classrooms, and is not used to inform instruction.
The NYS tests are a waste of time for our students and a waste of money for taxpayers. Give us better, appropriate tests and we will not object to having our children participate.
The NYS tests are a waste of time for our students and a waste of money for taxpayers. Give us better, appropriate tests and we will not object to having our children participate.
54
"The NYS tests are a waste of time for our students and a waste of money for taxpayers. Give us better, appropriate tests and we will not object to having our children participate."
and what happens if the test shows your little angel is weak in some area(s)? Will you define that as an appropriate or inappropriate test? Somehow I have the feeling this is the real reason so many parents oppose these tests.
and what happens if the test shows your little angel is weak in some area(s)? Will you define that as an appropriate or inappropriate test? Somehow I have the feeling this is the real reason so many parents oppose these tests.
1
Many of these comments seem to assume that children are just occasionally tested and hey will be somehow harmed by opting out. The problem is that the rules now call for excessive testing that tends to be a waste of time that could otherwise be used for teaching, and that the results are used to drive excessive changes in curriculum and to punish underfunded schools in poor areas where the students cannot attain the achievement levels of those in wealthier, more educated towns. The government has gone in for excessive testing and has not studied or adopted more successful models of education, like those utilized in Finland, that are somewhat the opposite of what we are doing. Wealthy families avoid this altogether by sending their children to private school.
40
"The high numbers will also push state and federal officials to make an uncomfortable decision: whether to use their power to financially punish districts with low participation rates."
I think the answer to this has to be "yes". And teachers/administrators really need to keep their mouths shut here. They are 100% out of line for urging opt-outs. Please note the state's best public school systems do not opt out.
I think the answer to this has to be "yes". And teachers/administrators really need to keep their mouths shut here. They are 100% out of line for urging opt-outs. Please note the state's best public school systems do not opt out.
6
The whole movement lost any signs of credibility once the teachers union got involved.
1
Your comment lost credibility when it became clear you don't have anything thoughtful to say, you just want to bash unions.
1
It's difficult to gauge how pervasive this is - 5% to 50% is a very wide range. There is a very big difference between a 5% non-participation rate and a 50% non-participation rate
2
Ask a 15 year old child to add one half plus one third. More than half will be unable to find the correct answer. Ask the same child to write a paragraph summary of this article. Most will have trouble.
What we are doing is abandoning the tests because we don't like the results. We don't need 40 hours of testing each year. We need to listen to the results of the first two hours of testing, and stop pretending that there is no problem.
What we are doing is abandoning the tests because we don't like the results. We don't need 40 hours of testing each year. We need to listen to the results of the first two hours of testing, and stop pretending that there is no problem.
33
most parents (and society) seem unable to see the problem with the poor performance of so many of their little angels. Hence they blame the tests. A much easier solution than doing something to remedy the problem. The very core of what the real problem is.
1
You want to teach children to write? Give them writing assignments every day. It works. I know. I remember 500 word theme assignments, three times a week in high school English in the junior year. Test on real subjects like literature, history, civics and yes, science and math -- test learning, not teaching.
2
Hear, hear! If testing were about improving education, we'd (as you say) focus on 2hrs of results & proceed to apply remedies. And if testing were about improving education, we wouldn't have governors buying into expensive standards/computerized-testing schemes in order to qualify for some federal money (w/a wink to big$ ed-reform donors)-- while merrily continuing the wholesale slashing of state aid to ed.
2
This should teach governors and other policymakers that parents refuse to be pitted against their children's teachers and we refuse to allow our children to be used as pawns in your effort to destroy teachers unions as a political force. We will not allow our children to be turned into instruments of data-collection just because it serves your third way political agenda. The wholesale rejection of the test obsessed agenda of New York's governor and his appointees should be a wake-up call to any others who are Democrats in name only that we will not allow you to destroy public education. Are you listening, Hillary? I hope so.
7
I am a former public school teacher who left the system 3 years ago due to the oppressive level of standardization, and the accompanying overwhelming level of paperwork, now saturating every aspect of public education. There are many comments I could make about the effectiveness, or lack of same, of this trend, but I would like to focus on addressing the concerns of the NAACP and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
I taught Spanish-speaking children at the elementary level. More than 85% of the children in my former school qualified for free or reduced-cost lunch. It happens that I am white. In my view, the current trend toward the excessive use of data, along with standardized curricula, is not a boon to poor children. On the contrary, it is a disguised attempt to drastically reduce the cost of educating poor children. Those who support the current approach, again in my view, hope to use data and standardization to reduce the need for human teachers in the classroom. This is not what children need. Children learn from adults who model for them. If, as a society, we were really committed to educating poor children, we would cut maximum class size in poor school districts to 10 students, and hire as many teachers, and classroom assistants, as it took to reach that goal. Public education budgets might increase ten-fold under such a plan, but the kids would learn.
How would you like to spend your tax dollars?
I taught Spanish-speaking children at the elementary level. More than 85% of the children in my former school qualified for free or reduced-cost lunch. It happens that I am white. In my view, the current trend toward the excessive use of data, along with standardized curricula, is not a boon to poor children. On the contrary, it is a disguised attempt to drastically reduce the cost of educating poor children. Those who support the current approach, again in my view, hope to use data and standardization to reduce the need for human teachers in the classroom. This is not what children need. Children learn from adults who model for them. If, as a society, we were really committed to educating poor children, we would cut maximum class size in poor school districts to 10 students, and hire as many teachers, and classroom assistants, as it took to reach that goal. Public education budgets might increase ten-fold under such a plan, but the kids would learn.
How would you like to spend your tax dollars?
51
My children, 16 and 18 yoa and attending public school never had an issue with any standardized testing, this in a State that tests frequently. What I absolutely have encountered is my fair cross section of parents who are fanatical about opting out. My sense is this after listening to and knowing the back story of the majority of parents who are "opt outers". They are by and large helicopter type parents who are driven to distraction by the fact that not everyone (maybe even there own beloved Johnny or Judy) is going to get a trophy after this activity. They seem to truly believe that spending their lives clearing a path and making sure that their kids deal with as little real world problems/stress as possible is going to be a healthy thing in the long run (and i suppose it might be if your kid has a multi million dollar trust fund falling into their lap when they hit twenty one) but that is not the case with these parents. They are the same hyperventilating parents who hold their kids out of competitive sports and believe with their soul that self esteem and self esteem alone is the holy grail of parenting, to the ultimate detriment of their kids.
26
I think you generalize. We opted our kids out and we did not care at all how they would have scored. In prior years, when they took the tests, they did very well. We aren't concerned about our children's academic abilities. They are doing fine in that area. We are concerned about a mania that is hurting schools, hurting communities, hurting children, and undermining the goal for which schools exist: learning.
3
"We opted our kids out and we did not care at all how they would have scored."
you may not but college/grad school admissions boards and many employers actually do. Hence you are doing your child a grave disservice.
you may not but college/grad school admissions boards and many employers actually do. Hence you are doing your child a grave disservice.
1
First of all if your kids are 16 & 18, they were not subject to the disruption caused in primary schools implementing PARCC this year. These are online tests, meaning for example 8-y.o.'s will need to spend weeks learning keyboarding, drag-&-drop, how to read an article that only displays a para at a time, negotiate back & forth from questions to the relative segment of the text, & especially how not to let little finger slip to the wrong key, freezing the screen. (Wouldn't you rather have them spend that time learning cursive?) Worse, few primaries have a laptop for every kid. That means either the library or the gym will be inaccessible for regular activities for on average about 4 of the last 16 weeks of school. In 3rd-8th, the last 16 weeks of school are better spent consolidating the year's content in extended projects, for which the library is often needed.
2
Before common core states could fudge whether students could read, write and perform arithmetic. After common core, it is clear who can and cannot read well and this frightens everyone: teachers, parents and governments. There is a solution but it is not shooting the messenger, the testing. Do that, and the problem of poor student performance goes back under the rug again and everyone gets rewarded like the students were performing at 100% of their expected level.
11
abe, you are assuming that the tests are providing you with useful knowledge. what frightens teachers and parents, and should frighten the government, is they are making decisions based on poorly designed tests that provide a surplus of fairly meaningless data that's then being used in arbitrary ways to rate educators and students.
1
There is no reason to think this new round of stds/tests accomplish anything. We already had NEAP (the 'Nation's Report Card) & PISA (int'l comparisons) results for decades, with lots of breakouts showing who was doing how well. Taxpayers already knew darn well the that their states were squandering $ in poor districts, & a visit to a local school was all you needed to know the extra per-pupil $ was going to the bureaucracy, not to the leaking classrooms & crumbling buildings. NEAP & PISA are done by nationwide sampling so they don't cripple the schedules of every school every year and turn the curriculum into a test-prep factory.
2
My students just finished SBAC testing. They have never taken state tests that were anywhere near this difficult.
To do well on the tests, students need deep understanding of what they have learned, rigor and persistence. The tests appear to accurately measure what we are supposed to be teaching.
This was a top-down mandate to raise the bar. We don't have curriculum to support the new expectations. It will continue to be a struggle to adapt for a couple more years. As new textbooks and materials become available, scores and learning will improve.
Our children have to compete with the entire world. We need to expect more of them than we have. They can do this.
To do well on the tests, students need deep understanding of what they have learned, rigor and persistence. The tests appear to accurately measure what we are supposed to be teaching.
This was a top-down mandate to raise the bar. We don't have curriculum to support the new expectations. It will continue to be a struggle to adapt for a couple more years. As new textbooks and materials become available, scores and learning will improve.
Our children have to compete with the entire world. We need to expect more of them than we have. They can do this.
4
"To do well on the tests, students need deep understanding of what they have learned, rigor and persistence. The tests appear to accurately measure what we are supposed to be teaching."
On what do you base this statement? Did you review the tests and compare them to the standards?
Here in NJ, teachers are not allowed to see the tests even while proctoring an exam. Students are warned not to discuss them with anyone. In a district near me, a student texted a friend after school, to ask how she approached a certain essay question: Pearson's bots monitor students' phones: they reached their long arm out via the State DOE to the supt to the principal to the family by the next morning!
On what do you base this statement? Did you review the tests and compare them to the standards?
Here in NJ, teachers are not allowed to see the tests even while proctoring an exam. Students are warned not to discuss them with anyone. In a district near me, a student texted a friend after school, to ask how she approached a certain essay question: Pearson's bots monitor students' phones: they reached their long arm out via the State DOE to the supt to the principal to the family by the next morning!
2
"These tests are meaningless." Those are the words of Governor Cuomo in response to the opt out movement. If they are "meaningless," then why should students take them? The purpose of these tests is to evaluate teachers, not students. The algorithms used for the evaluations are based on junk science. Cuomo, a feckless legislature and an incompetent State DOE hired Pearson to create exams that would prove that our children, especially in the suburbs, weren't as smart as their parents thought they were. In fact, the cut scores were created after the results were tabulated. That's how former Comm. King knew that 70% would fail. However, the parents weren't buying what the state was selling and they led a grassroots movement to protest the lost days of instruction, the stress being placed on their children and the propaganda of "failing schools" that was being disseminated in the media. The unions were late to the game, but better late then never. Pearson is being paid millions and have created exams that are riddled with errors, are age inappropriate and have no statistical reliability. By the way, it should be noted that the NAACP receives millions of dollars from the Gates Foundation, the prime mover in "educational reform." Their statements should be viewed through that prism.
This is not about evaluating students. This is about the creation of a crisis in order to move further towards privatization. As teachers know, learning and success cannot be measured by bubble sheets.
This is not about evaluating students. This is about the creation of a crisis in order to move further towards privatization. As teachers know, learning and success cannot be measured by bubble sheets.
40
My child is long out of out of the Bronx public schools. I remember each January, that homework and class lessons consisted only of drilling for the upcoming reading and math tests.There were these "cloze" exercises and math exercises for rounding to the nearest tens, hundreds,... Then the tests were taken in April and it seemed that the school year ended, even though there were two months left. My child's education was a less than inspiring because of these tests and what the teachers were expected to do. I applaud the current parents for opting out. I would have done so too.
9
I strongly believe in the use of 'metrics' to assess if my kid's local school is educating them and how their performance is ranked versus other local schools (and international ones). I'm open to a discussion of whether the 'right metrics' are being used but I'm not open to the idea that all metrics are bad and should be abandoned. You have to wonder what 'interest groups' are promoting the idea that all standardized tests are misleading and don't measure what our kids know or don't know. If you read the book, the Smartest Kids in the World, you begin to realize the American Education system needs an 180 degree reform and that the push for this reform must come from parents. Parents must push for the best possible education for their children and not accept anything less.
Moreover, I am concerned that the U.S. ranks 17th in a Global education ranking (see article below).
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-17th-global-education-ranking-finland-south-ko...
Moreover, I am concerned that the U.S. ranks 17th in a Global education ranking (see article below).
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-17th-global-education-ranking-finland-south-ko...
8
As a teacher who just administered the SBAC to my unfortunate students, I say: Bravo!
9
While the Times is to be thanked for compiling eye-opening data (that has been posted on opt-out message boards for weeks), it's education writers once again seem more interested in explaining away a grass roots movement of parents who opt out of a rigged test aimed at undercutting what's left of our state's public education. Seven opt-out parents are photographed, and two parents, an opt-out advocate, and a school official are quoted - but not about *why* they are anti-testing - and unions are again held up as the real force behind the movement. Then we're offered pro-testing quotes from the Governor's staff (Parents? What parents?), "silently bullied" parents whose kids participated, and the NAACP (to go with the "suburban moms can't hack their kids taking tough tests" insult from Arne Duncan), all earnestly wishing these "largely white, middle class" parents would stop drinking a "Facebook-driven," "potent cocktail" of a passing fad. You found a school superintendent who says, "I wouldn't let my kids go near that test." Did you ask him why? Did your editors?
32
I'm the parent of a kid who will be opting out in two years, assuming the tests don't change. It's not about opposition to testing as a concept, or a need to protect my delicate-flower of a child from the rigors of competition. (As a kid, I LOVED standardized tests.) It's that these specific tests -- the ones designed and administered by Pearson with total secrecy -- are deeply flawed, unethically written and virtually useless as tools to evaluate teachers. Their poor design, combined with high stakes, ends up creating stress for both kids and parents for a good chunk of the school year, and taking away from the kind of school day activities that we believe in. When did we start treating public school teachers as the enemy, and celebrating those who want to make a profit off our kids' education?
201
Can you please provide an example or two? I have heard that as a talking point but I have not actually seen the tests. I do know that teachers do not want anyone to assess their teaching and this is causing tha to occur. But I admit that I am baffled as to why there has been such a decline in the educatio of our students from 1960 to 2015. I have seen it. I have taught the university students. It's truly frightening to me.
Easternwa, students (and parents) used to read. Now neither students nor parents do, generally speaking. We read, and talked about what we read; now people text in misspelled monosyllables and look at pictures. And until that changes, no number of teacher evaluations will change things, and neither will corporate or political control over education. Nothing will.
(Btw, as a teacher myself for many years, we didn't mind being assessed or classroom-visited; but being hounded through testing, micro-management, and mountains of paperwork is not assessment; it's harassment. I have no dog in the fight at this point, but just want to correct your impression. Fair evaluation is fine with most teachers, as it is for other professionals.)
(Btw, as a teacher myself for many years, we didn't mind being assessed or classroom-visited; but being hounded through testing, micro-management, and mountains of paperwork is not assessment; it's harassment. I have no dog in the fight at this point, but just want to correct your impression. Fair evaluation is fine with most teachers, as it is for other professionals.)
1
Well put. Indeed, good tests are good, while bad ones, and those imposed as part of yet another iron-triangle "industry", are bad.
1
"Karen E. Magee, president of the New York State United Teachers union, expressly urged parents this year to skip the tests in order to subvert the new teacher evaluations."
And that is why I hate the teacher's unions and the politicians (mostly democrats) who enable their disgraceful behavior. Notice how Karen Magee doesn't encourage the parents to have their children study? Too bad these parents and the Teacher's Unions don't put the same effort into making the kids study and learn. How can we expect children to be responsible when their parents and teachers and encouraging them not to be?
It is pathetic that parents are afraid of testing. If you want to know why the US students don't compare to those of other countries, it is because the Teacher's Union and the lazy, white parents are afraid of honest work and accountability. All of these kids are in school systems with ample resources, and yet the teachers are afraid of being exposed for not teaching well. The helicopter parents are so used to coddling their spoiled narcissistic children that they go along with the teachers.
And that is why I hate the teacher's unions and the politicians (mostly democrats) who enable their disgraceful behavior. Notice how Karen Magee doesn't encourage the parents to have their children study? Too bad these parents and the Teacher's Unions don't put the same effort into making the kids study and learn. How can we expect children to be responsible when their parents and teachers and encouraging them not to be?
It is pathetic that parents are afraid of testing. If you want to know why the US students don't compare to those of other countries, it is because the Teacher's Union and the lazy, white parents are afraid of honest work and accountability. All of these kids are in school systems with ample resources, and yet the teachers are afraid of being exposed for not teaching well. The helicopter parents are so used to coddling their spoiled narcissistic children that they go along with the teachers.
5
I think that you have the wrong idea about what is going on here. Testing is fine, but standardized tests only give you certain results and testing continuously is harmful. Teaching to the test is not the way you want to spend hours in the classroom either. One of the most important things that a teacher can instill in a child is a love of learning. The education corporations such as Pearson who sell their standardized tests operate to make the most money from their products. The testing regime that is being imposed on school districts is not about education, it is about making a profit, like the banks have done with student loans. Most of us are not blind. These test do little if anything for children and take away valuable time for real learning activities in the classroom. Don't drink their koolaid.
6
These tests are used to measure the effectiveness of teachers not the knowledge of students. Municipalities are trying to break unions with these tests providing the foundations for that movement. They're trying to apply a business model to education. Standardize education so you can get anyone to do it. A worker who flips burgers at McDonald's in NY can walk into a McDonalds in Arizona and do the exact same job without missing a beat. There's a reason why these people are on the low end of the pay scale. Anyone can do it. If you can somehow apply the same methods to teaching, you can hire lower skilled labor who won't take heath insurance or get a pension. This is what all this high steaks testing is all about.
10
New York students studied and took the Regents for 100 years. If it's not broke don't fix it. And to the parents who refuse: the only person you harm is your child.
6
This article is not about opting out of the regents.
4
The foolish, bought-out Board of Regents already has plans to re-work every line of Regents exams to reflect the flavor of the decade (CCSS/PARCC). These assessments are a far cry from the a century of regents exams created by star-teacher panels, field-tested years ahead of implementation, with local feedback for suggested updates & improvements. You were right, if it ain't broke don't fix it-- but they're already doing it.
3
This isn't about the Regents. It's about students in classes as low as third grade taking Pearson tests. They already are trying to fix something that isn't broken. The real Tess Harding would have done her research.
4
The idea of accountability and standards are fine but CC got everything wrong from the beginning Why? Because the main impetus for accepting CC in NYS was financial and not educational. As a result, the program was rushed and not thought through. NYS accepted "Race to the Top" aid from the Federal Government of $782m but needed to agree to CC standards. The state couldn't wait for the cash and signed on immediately. The Politicians and Regents never spoke to a single school board in the entire state, they just did it. As a result there was no impute from teachers and administrators on what might work and want wouldn't. Some of the biggest problems are:
1-The standards were never field tested. It was just assumed they were correct. As a result the entire country is the test . All student are subject to these standards and there in absolutely no evidence or research to support the fact that these are the correct standards.
2-Teacher accountability is welcomed but CC testing is not the right solution. Why? Well, for one thing teachers will only teach to the test and anything else will be ignored.The richness of learning is diminished. Individuality in learning is gone. No teacher is going to wast time on anything but testing material, teaching it redundantly. Frankly, most LI schools already have excellent evaluations, with 80% of the districts graduating over 90% of their students.
3-The test are flawed. Unintelligible wording is common. Questions are not age appropriate.
1-The standards were never field tested. It was just assumed they were correct. As a result the entire country is the test . All student are subject to these standards and there in absolutely no evidence or research to support the fact that these are the correct standards.
2-Teacher accountability is welcomed but CC testing is not the right solution. Why? Well, for one thing teachers will only teach to the test and anything else will be ignored.The richness of learning is diminished. Individuality in learning is gone. No teacher is going to wast time on anything but testing material, teaching it redundantly. Frankly, most LI schools already have excellent evaluations, with 80% of the districts graduating over 90% of their students.
3-The test are flawed. Unintelligible wording is common. Questions are not age appropriate.
13
Follow the money: governments pay the corporations, such as Pearson, that provide these test to school districts. You can bet the farm that in the coming months, we'll see some juicy propaganda from their lobbyists and PR people who'll say that the act of opting out is hurting America. They'll do all they can to hold onto those sweet, sweet government contracts (aka our tax dollars).
27
We will also hear the frustrating argument for continuing Parson's testing---
No matter how poorly quantitative testing reflects student learning, SUPPOSEDLY the same series of tests MUST continue, because the only way this year's learning can be COMPARED with last year's is by continuing the same sorts of tests.
With this argument trumping all efforts change the ways evaluate students' learning and their teachers' abilities, we are locked into the same tests, which benefit no one but the testing and curriculum developers (such as Pearson).
There must be a way out of this.
No matter how poorly quantitative testing reflects student learning, SUPPOSEDLY the same series of tests MUST continue, because the only way this year's learning can be COMPARED with last year's is by continuing the same sorts of tests.
With this argument trumping all efforts change the ways evaluate students' learning and their teachers' abilities, we are locked into the same tests, which benefit no one but the testing and curriculum developers (such as Pearson).
There must be a way out of this.
4
There is. Opt out.
4
"the N.A.A.C.P. says they were opposed to “anti-testing efforts” because tests provide data that is crucial for combating inequities in public schools."
The inequity in public schools is caused by unequal funding, in a wider society strained by escalating economic inequality. It doesn't take a test of students to measure that. The NAACP gets an F. No tenure.
The inequity in public schools is caused by unequal funding, in a wider society strained by escalating economic inequality. It doesn't take a test of students to measure that. The NAACP gets an F. No tenure.
5
At a 'Blue Ribbon' Westchester school our daughter's self confidence and joy of participating in the classroom was destroyed (along with many other of her classmates) by a wretched and tenured instructor who gave incoherent homework assignments and clearly favored boys over girls. The incompetence of this person was known throughout the town but she remained in place because of the cowardice of the administration. Her removal from the classroom would have been an admission of failure on their part and she would have been paid to do nothing.
It would be nice if an evaluation process existed that would mandate such 'teachers' removal but it depends on the administration's willingness to act - and I'm not seeing a testing of these administrators in this issue so I have little hope that this process which puts all the weight on children will improve anything.
We voted with our feet and our daughter attended a private school with teachers and an administration that knew their jobs depended on our daughter's performance, not how they could game the system.
It would be nice if an evaluation process existed that would mandate such 'teachers' removal but it depends on the administration's willingness to act - and I'm not seeing a testing of these administrators in this issue so I have little hope that this process which puts all the weight on children will improve anything.
We voted with our feet and our daughter attended a private school with teachers and an administration that knew their jobs depended on our daughter's performance, not how they could game the system.
9
Just another concept of the anarchy that seems to be thriving in this "neo" America. White collar bankers steal billions, destroying millions of families and wreaking destruction for generations and they get nothing but a monetary penalty of pennies on the dollar in fines. Police blatantly kill black citizens, supported by the white establishment...parents opt out of immunizing their children and now defying the educational system...this is the beginning of the end of America as we new it and the beginning its demise.
4
Take heart, Ardy. This movement is actually parents taking control of their children's education. This is the way change happens in our system. The voters and taxpayers take back control. I taught the concept in fifth grade US history.
7
In NY, the only way to get a High School Diploma is to take and pass the Regents tests which are administered to students in grades 9 to 12. So, the parents of kids who have placed them in a public school in NY have implicitly agreed with the state that their kids fate (in the form of a diploma or no diploma) should be determined by a set of tests. To then also advocate that their kids opt out of other tests (the Core Curriculum tests), seems disingenuous. It would seem to be less hypocritical to place their kids in a school that does not require any tests.
4
In the main, the revolt is not about testing period, but this insane test-after-test-after-test protocol that leaves little room for anything beyond preparing for and taking tests. There's no hypocrisy there.
10
Regents exams are given in secondary school in each subject, & [at least used to be, per recent wiki] are "prepared by a conference of selected New York teachers of each test's specific discipline who assemble a test map that highlights the skills and knowledge required from the specific discipline's learning standards. The conferences meet and design the tests three years before the tests' issuance, which includes time for field testing and evaluating testing questions.
The tests in question are given twice annually to 3rd-8thgraders plus 11th graders. They do not meet a single one of the above exemplary features. I was proud to be a Regents graduate in my day. Today, politics and deep pockets have invaded the Regents. If New York representatives allow the Board of Regents to ditch the time-honored Regents exams by re-writing them per David Coleman's CCSS & Pearson's PARCC assessments as planned, it will be a crying shame.
The tests in question are given twice annually to 3rd-8thgraders plus 11th graders. They do not meet a single one of the above exemplary features. I was proud to be a Regents graduate in my day. Today, politics and deep pockets have invaded the Regents. If New York representatives allow the Board of Regents to ditch the time-honored Regents exams by re-writing them per David Coleman's CCSS & Pearson's PARCC assessments as planned, it will be a crying shame.
6
These opt out parents should follow this through to its logical conclusion. Why not opt out of school altogether? That way their precious snow flake children can bask in the glory of being thought mentally adept without having to show any evidence to back it up. They can just sit around and do nothing and have the parents shower praise on them for being smart, driven, and capable of learning.
Likewise, with no children to teach and test, the teachers could withdraw enmasse to some rubber room where they can collect their union protected wages without having to do any work.
For anyone concerned about the students' employment prospects under this scenario, the solution is easy. Just auto-enroll them into teacher "training" programs, and move them on to the rubber room when they're the right age. Let the do nothings replace the do nothings. I'm sure their parents will be proud to have raised such stellar "teachers."
Likewise, with no children to teach and test, the teachers could withdraw enmasse to some rubber room where they can collect their union protected wages without having to do any work.
For anyone concerned about the students' employment prospects under this scenario, the solution is easy. Just auto-enroll them into teacher "training" programs, and move them on to the rubber room when they're the right age. Let the do nothings replace the do nothings. I'm sure their parents will be proud to have raised such stellar "teachers."
79
Graham, read some of the other anti-test comments, or Google this issue in NY State, and I think you'll see this movement is not anti-test, or even anti-Common Core, but anti-these specific, poorly designed, poorly graded, and for-profit tests. We did follow this through to its logical conclusion - and realized these tests have nothing to do with measuring education, and everything to do with rigging teacher evaluations. I don't know what the situation is in San Jose, but this is a local fight (that may or may not be replicated in California and elsewhere) between public school parents and politicians and charter investors looking to gut public education. Give my kids a standardized test like I took, or even one that doesn't obliterate their school year or threaten to demote/fire their teacher if 3 out of 30 kids have off days that day, and they'll be there.
12
Graham K. ... Testing is not learning. And anger makes people stupid.
5
If teachers don't do anything, then how do you know how to write? How did you read the article? How do you manage to read the material that guided you toward your myopic right-wing opinion about teachers? Try to teach for a DAY and then come back and talk about what teachers don't do.
6
When I went to school, if I did poorly on a test, my parents blamed me. When kids go to school now, and they don't do well on a test, it's the teacher's fault? I believe there are a smattering of bad teachers. I also believe there are a huge number of kids who go to school each day at a significant disadvantage; they have uninvolved parents and little incentive to learn. Teachers can make a tremendous difference in a child's life, but they can't take the place of parents who care. No amount of testing or blustering politicians insisting on these hackneyed tests will change that. However, we can expect that teaching will be demeaned enough that those looking at future professional choices will choose anything but teaching! I'm glad parents have made up their minds to stick the politicians in the eye by refusing to have their kids tested.
10
If President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and other officials believe in standardized testing and judging teachers by student test scores, why do they send their children to schools that follow a different model of smaller classes and providing children with a well-rounded education?
The standards were written behind closed doors by a small group of 27, primarily testing industry representatives. Teachers have been laid off and class sizes have increased, yet schools are required to spend billions to buy computers, bandwidth, and teaching materials for online testing.
Diane Ravitch: Time for Congress to Investigate Bill Gates’ Role in Common Core https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/06/09-1
“The idea that the richest man in America can purchase and—working closely with the Department of Education—impose new and untested academic standards on the nation’s public schools is a national scandal.
“The reality is that the MOST RELIABLE PREDICTORS OF TEST SCORES ARE FAMILY INCOME AND FAMILY EDUCATION. Nearly one-quarter of America’s children live in poverty.
“Who determined that the federal government should promote privatization and neglect public education? Who decided that the federal government should watch in silence as school segregation resumed and grew? Who decided that schools should invest in Common Core instead of smaller classes and school nurses?
“Microsoft, Pearson, and other corporations will reap the rewards of this new marketplace. Our nation’s children will not.”
The standards were written behind closed doors by a small group of 27, primarily testing industry representatives. Teachers have been laid off and class sizes have increased, yet schools are required to spend billions to buy computers, bandwidth, and teaching materials for online testing.
Diane Ravitch: Time for Congress to Investigate Bill Gates’ Role in Common Core https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/06/09-1
“The idea that the richest man in America can purchase and—working closely with the Department of Education—impose new and untested academic standards on the nation’s public schools is a national scandal.
“The reality is that the MOST RELIABLE PREDICTORS OF TEST SCORES ARE FAMILY INCOME AND FAMILY EDUCATION. Nearly one-quarter of America’s children live in poverty.
“Who determined that the federal government should promote privatization and neglect public education? Who decided that the federal government should watch in silence as school segregation resumed and grew? Who decided that schools should invest in Common Core instead of smaller classes and school nurses?
“Microsoft, Pearson, and other corporations will reap the rewards of this new marketplace. Our nation’s children will not.”
116
Right on, RLS!
5
"“The idea that the richest man in America can purchase and—working closely with the Department of Education—impose new and untested academic standards on the nation’s public schools is a national scandal."
Did you see the graph in this article where the richer districts are the ones who are refusing to take the test?
Trying to make this a class battle is completely contradictory to what's actually going on.
Did you see the graph in this article where the richer districts are the ones who are refusing to take the test?
Trying to make this a class battle is completely contradictory to what's actually going on.
2
These short-sighted parents are harming their children. There is a skill to taking standardized tests, and children need to learn this skill. Life is full of tests, and you don't get to "opt out" of most of them. Little Johnny won't grow up to be a doctor if he refuses to take the MCAT. Little Susie won't be a lawyer if she doesn't take the LSAT. Little Kim won't get to be a sanitation worker without taking the civil service exam.
And what message are we giving to children here? If you don't like jury duty, ignore the summons? If you don't like paying taxes, don't file a return? If injections hurt, don't get vaccinated?
And what message are we giving to children here? If you don't like jury duty, ignore the summons? If you don't like paying taxes, don't file a return? If injections hurt, don't get vaccinated?
70
Jay, you seem to assume that all tests are equal. The MCAT, LSAT, and civil service exams are high-stakes tests where individuals are held accountable for their own skills/knowledge. Not so with these Common Core tests.
My son just came out of taking multiple AP tests and has been prepping for the SAT off and on for two years now. Those are important tests-- and I would go so far as to argue that even those tests have assumed out-of-proportion weight in the college prep & admissions game.
This resistance is emanating from the suburbs, and a handful of usually upper- and upper-middle class parents in NYC and a few other metropolitan areas. Just wait until the opt-out movement reaches urban schools outside of NYC in full force. That will put the multi-billion-dollar testing industry (make no mistake, these tests are absolutely about that) on full alert.
My son just came out of taking multiple AP tests and has been prepping for the SAT off and on for two years now. Those are important tests-- and I would go so far as to argue that even those tests have assumed out-of-proportion weight in the college prep & admissions game.
This resistance is emanating from the suburbs, and a handful of usually upper- and upper-middle class parents in NYC and a few other metropolitan areas. Just wait until the opt-out movement reaches urban schools outside of NYC in full force. That will put the multi-billion-dollar testing industry (make no mistake, these tests are absolutely about that) on full alert.
25
lol! Now we're depriving our children by not forcing them to take one of the (numerous apparently) tests in their life. Short sighted parents! Wait, you're serious?
11
The parents objecting to standardized tests aren't calling for the elimination of all tests for schoolchildren. They instead are objecting to a system that relies too heavily on tests, where teachers are forced to teach to the test, and too much time is spent on test preparation. I went to public schools when the testing industry hadn't taken off, and somehow managed to do well on admissions tests (which have their own problems) and otherwise advance professionally.
As for the message to children, my understanding is that opting out of tests isn't a violation of the law. And the vaccination example doesn't work either: opting out of the test doesn't hurt the rest of the population. Not getting vaccinated can.
As for the message to children, my understanding is that opting out of tests isn't a violation of the law. And the vaccination example doesn't work either: opting out of the test doesn't hurt the rest of the population. Not getting vaccinated can.
13
It is about time. I am of an age when my children are long out of school. Thankfully they went to school when it was about teaching and learning, not taking tests. Politicians should leave education to educators.
Testing should be reduced to a bar minimum and teachers should be allowed to teach. Kids don't fail in school because of teachers (no I was not one) they fail because they come from broken homes, bad homes, homes in which four kids have three or four fathers but none at homes; homes without books, without newspapers, without language except shouting and the words don't and no, homes in which the television is the baby sitter, homes in which mothers work two minimum wage jobs to survive.
That is why urban schools are abysmal and all the testing in the world will do what? Prove that schools for the most part can't change what poverty causes.
Education happens first at home or can't happen in school or anywhere else.
I applaud every parent who finally says enough, enough of political interference in my kids' education, enough of badgering and torturing children with stupidly designed, constructed and administered tests.
Let's end the testing assault on children and get back to teaching them.
Testing should be reduced to a bar minimum and teachers should be allowed to teach. Kids don't fail in school because of teachers (no I was not one) they fail because they come from broken homes, bad homes, homes in which four kids have three or four fathers but none at homes; homes without books, without newspapers, without language except shouting and the words don't and no, homes in which the television is the baby sitter, homes in which mothers work two minimum wage jobs to survive.
That is why urban schools are abysmal and all the testing in the world will do what? Prove that schools for the most part can't change what poverty causes.
Education happens first at home or can't happen in school or anywhere else.
I applaud every parent who finally says enough, enough of political interference in my kids' education, enough of badgering and torturing children with stupidly designed, constructed and administered tests.
Let's end the testing assault on children and get back to teaching them.
216
'...Testing should be reduced to a bar minimum...and the words don't and no..'
Enough said.
Enough said.
1
@Notafan
Check the map. The kids that are opting out are not in "urban schools," but in suburbs. In addition, responsibility and accountability are life lessons that people have to learn, too.
You attitude is why Americans speak only one language and score below other countries in Math and Science.
Check the map. The kids that are opting out are not in "urban schools," but in suburbs. In addition, responsibility and accountability are life lessons that people have to learn, too.
You attitude is why Americans speak only one language and score below other countries in Math and Science.
2
They clearly weren't learning anything which is why these tests are now necessary
2
The article fails to mention a factor that has been significant to many I have spoken to about these tests; specifically, how terrible the tests themselves are. This year's fourth grade ELAs are reported (by sources including the Wall Street Journal, not just some crank's blog) to have contained passages rated at a sixth grade reading level and some questions on the third grade exam were also used for fifth graders. Of course, no one can say for sure because the whole process is shrouded in secrecy. But how is that an accurate assessment of our students' proficiency or our teachers' performance?
97
You are incorrect; the passages themselves were not "rated at a sixth grade reading level." The article said that "a person who saw one of the four versions of the fourth-grade language-arts test spotted excerpts from three books that are considered at a fifth- or sixth-grade reading level by several widely used rating systems of children’s literature." But the article also pointed out that "a specific excerpt used as part of the test could be rated at a different grade level than the book overall. 'Ratings of a whole book are not going to match the text complexity of a selected passage.'"
2
This is the most salient and least emotional perspective I have seen about the tests. Tests by their nature are a feedback tool for both student and teacher to understand precisely what they either did not learn well or did not teach well.
There is an inherent unfairness in holding back a student or firing a teacher based in either's results in an exam they cannot review and cannot discuss.
There is an inherent unfairness in holding back a student or firing a teacher based in either's results in an exam they cannot review and cannot discuss.
8
Well, half the questions were released by New York state and I think they plan to release half of the questions again this year. So you can see on the New York department of education a good portion of the actual test questions. I think the idea of having some reading passages and some questions at a higher level is to see how much the more advanced students know.
Has anyone worked out the mechanics of what happens to a child trying to get into a worthwhile college - or high school, for that matter - with an untested, ungraded education behind them? What will there be to determine an adolescent's readiness for higher education, apart from the family's ability to pay?
We're supposed to trust teachers for their judgment on this topic. Are teachers, without numerical evidence, going to begin rating any of their pupils "unqualified" for further education?
We're supposed to trust teachers for their judgment on this topic. Are teachers, without numerical evidence, going to begin rating any of their pupils "unqualified" for further education?
8
The scary answer is that they will look at the kid's ability to pay the tuition bill.
2
"Ungraded"? Who's talking about refusing have the children go through the schools without grades? No one.
Besides, most people involved in the opt-out movement are doing precisely because they are concerned about the quality of their children's education, specifically about the deep impact these high-stakes standardized tests--and all the trappings that go with them--are having on their children's educational experience.
Besides, most people involved in the opt-out movement are doing precisely because they are concerned about the quality of their children's education, specifically about the deep impact these high-stakes standardized tests--and all the trappings that go with them--are having on their children's educational experience.
14
Are these test results actually *useful*, as far as determining whether individual kids will succeed in college? There is no conclusive evidence (that I'm aware of, anyway) to support that.
My understanding is that kids may be given their individual test results, but they typically don't receive any follow-up regarding the questions they missed, what specific areas may need improvement, etc. I doubt many parents are looking at these particular test scores to decide if their kid is really ready for college or not.
The vast majority of students who don't take these particular tests will still have individual class grades, GPAs, SAT/ ACT scores, etc. Their education is hardly "untested" or "ungraded".
My understanding is that kids may be given their individual test results, but they typically don't receive any follow-up regarding the questions they missed, what specific areas may need improvement, etc. I doubt many parents are looking at these particular test scores to decide if their kid is really ready for college or not.
The vast majority of students who don't take these particular tests will still have individual class grades, GPAs, SAT/ ACT scores, etc. Their education is hardly "untested" or "ungraded".
15
There would be a lot more support for testing, if there were solid evidence for the validity of the tests used. Have we seen any such evidence?
45
The Times (or someone else) should do a comparative data analysis of test opt-out rates, with vaccination opt-out rates, and superimpose the maps on one another.
30
You're suggesting there are school districts on Long Island, NY where 60-80% of students are unvaccinated? Seriously?
7
@Mitchie
Brilliant!
Brilliant!
Linking a crank movement to one that is legitimate? Won't work. I hope NY Times takes you up on your suggestion.
7
That's great. Will these parents also be following their kids around throughout their adulthood to make sure employers aren't testing their competence?
59
Fortunately their parents can help them get a job with Pearson as a test grader, who advertised on Craigslist: “Bachelor degree required – any field welcome.”
5
No need to worry. The opt-out kids will be living in their parent's basement while the kids who toughed it out with the exams will have the jobs.
4
That would be hilarious if these tests actually measured competence. The tests exist to enrich Pearson, not to assess students. Results aren't available until each student has already moved on to the next grade.
14
This does put a major wrinkle in the test results data. But in the big picture, the tests are already largely meaningless other than as a very narrow student ranking tool. Our education system and the lives of students/educators are currently dominated by the tests and the testing industry. This is worthy of revolt. If my children were still of elementary school age, I may well have joined the ranks of those families opting out.
105
Notice that there are no Asian-American parents quoted in the article refusing to have their children take the examinations.
Meanwhile, in other news, Harvard is being sued because it is refusing admission to Asian-American students with higher average test scores than other ethnic groups.
I guess the parents in this article decided that if you can't compete on the test, opt out.
Meanwhile, in other news, Harvard is being sued because it is refusing admission to Asian-American students with higher average test scores than other ethnic groups.
I guess the parents in this article decided that if you can't compete on the test, opt out.
42
Notice there are no Eskimos quoted. Perhaps they don't want to test taking to interfere with seal hunts. I wonder what other conclusions we can make?
11
That speaks much to the culture of conformity and duty amongst Asians. It certainly has strengths. It also has weaknesses - creativity, spontaneity, even subversiveness. I would argue that theses latter characteristics are much, more valuable in the modern world, where automation and robotics without end will wash over our societies in the coming years.
You assume the competition is worth playing in.
You assume the competition is worth playing in.
7
No, they are probably parents who have been to the very best schools, have had the benefits of the best of education and know that testing is the worst of it.
2
It's not about all testing. It's about this type of testing.