8/11/2019 NYSAPE-Press Release NYS Tests 08-14-14

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 14, 2014

More information contact:

Eric Mihelbergel (716) 553-1123; nys.allies@gmail.com Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) www.nysape.org

Parents and Educators Reject the Tests, the Scores and Corporate Agenda of NYSED & Pearson

Today Commissioner John King and Chancellor Merryl Tisch released the test scores of the state examsin 3-8 th grades, showing that, more than 68% of the states students were judged not proficient inEnglish Language Arts (ELA) and more than 64% not proficient in Math. The overall results were largelyflat with little to no change year over year with only small gains and drops for specific demographicgroups.

Members of the New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE), a coalition of more than 50 parentand educator advocacy groups, challenge the quality of the tests, the accuracy of the scores, and themotives of those who have manufactured these results. This past spring, NYSAPE estimated that at least44,000 students had opted out of the state exams; today the Commissioner admitted that the numberwas as large as 60,000 compared to 10,000 in 2013.

As the growing problems with New York's excessive and speculative testing reforms are exposed,parents across the state are outraged and calling for an overhaul at the state education department.

Lisa Rudley, Westchester county public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE said, Though Commissioner John King assured us that the new Common Core state tests would be a much betterreflection of the skills students will need for college and car eer success with the release of 50% of the

questions last week, we learned what educators were forbidden by law from telling us: these wereflawed tests, riddled with vague questions, inappropriate reading passages and multiple productplacements. In its new Pearson contract signed amidst a financial crisis, NYSED doubled annual spendingon testing and even worse, eliminated the transparency of the previous McGraw-Hill contract. Where isthe management from NYSED and the oversight from the Board of Regents?"

Dr. Carol Burris, principal of South Side High School on Long Island said, "Considering the more than $28million taxpayer investment in curriculum modules, this paltry increase in scores is one more indicationof the ineffectiveness of State Education Department's reforms, and the inappropriateness of theCommon Core tests. Parents should take heart in knowing that the college readiness proficiency scoreshave no connection with reality. My high school and many other well-resourced high schools in NY haveproven records of preparing students for college success that are no way connected to the state'snewest measure of proficiency."

Eric Mihelbergel, Erie County public school parent and founding member of NYSAPE said, "If the releasedquestions are this bad, you have to wonder how much worse the other half were. I have no confidencein the results released today. Parents now demand new leadership for a Board of Regents andCommissioner of Education who repeatedly fail to adequately respond to their legitimate concerns.

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8/11/2019 NYSAPE-Press Release NYS Tests 08-14-14

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Many of the multiple choice questions required up to five steps and compelled 8 year olds to flip backforth between numbered paragraphs. The question becomes more of a measure of attention, memoryand test taking skills rather than their deep understanding of a text. The commissioner has stated thateducation should not be about test prep, but these tricky assessments all but ensure that test prep willcontinue -- to the detriment of real learning, said Bianca Tanis, an Ulster County public school parentand special education teacher.

Jeanette Deutermann, Nassau County public school parent and founder of Long Opt Out said, This pastspring, 55,000 to 60,000 New York State students were spared from yet another year of test scores thatwere designed to show a large majority of failures. The number of opt outs will steadily grow untilNYSED takes the concerns of parents seriously and makes the necessary changes to our children'sexcessive high stakes testing regimen. High stakes testing and the Regents Agenda have hijacked ourclassrooms, and every day more parents become aware of how they too must protect their childrenfrom these harmful policies.

Jessica McNair, Oneida County public school parent and educator notes, "Until the NYSED acknowledges

that these developmentally inappropriate exams take time away from instruction, cost taxpayers, andset kids up to fail -- in an attempt to perpetuate the false narrative of Governor Cuomos deathpenalty for schools -- parents will continue to refuse to allow their children to participate in these statetests .

The test content was not sufficiently disclosed and there was no quality assurance or mechanism forparents or educators to obtain valuable feedback. The bottom line is that students are getting hurt,money is being wasted and precious time is being spent on high stakes testing at the expense of moremeaningful instruction. The system surrounding the NYS testing program is dysfunctional to say the

least, said Anna Shah, Dutchess County public school parent.

Fred Smith, a test specialist formerly with the NYC Department of Education (DOE) stated, The StateEducation Department took a half-step by releasing 50 percent of the English and math questions fromthe April 2014 exams. It was a half-step not just because it falls halfway short of full disclosure, but alsobecause SED fails to provide data at its disposal that would enable objective evaluation of the questions,each of which is a brick in the wall of the testing program.

Like many other parents, I see how flawed the tests are as a measure of learning, and fear for all those

millions of students who are told, unjustly, and at an early age, they arent college and career ready .These tests which ask our children to prove the existence of Big Foot and expose them to numerous andinappropriate product placements are the furthest from rigor one could imagine. I question the motivesof the bureaucrats and the testing companies who are forcing these inappropriate exams onto ourchildren to try to prove to the public that our schools and children are failing, so they can betterpursue their privatization agenda and the outsourcing of education into corporate hands, said LeonieHaimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters.

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