Educators say moving test up means more cost, less access for students
Area educators are bristling at a recent change with the state English Regents exam that moves the testing date up a full two weeks.
The state Education Department said the change was made in response to requests from school districts, but here in the Capital District most, if not all, educational leaders say the change will mean less time to prepare pupils, pulling kids out of class for testing and, in some cases, assuming more costs for substitutes.
We heard about the date change a couple weeks ago, and that’s the same time we heard about the rationale, said Shenendehowa Central Schools Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson. `I don’t know what school districts they spoke to, but it certainly wasn’t us.`
Students usually take mid-year Regents exams during a few days in late January during which schools are otherwise closed. The Education Department says the new Jan. 11 testing date is necessary because a new format is being introduced, and time is needed to analyze the results to create conversion charts by Jan. 28. Those charts ensure a student in Rochester, or anywhere else, is being graded the same as every other student.
A memo sent to schools and provided to The Spotlight by the Education Department indicates districts have asked for the test to be moved up to ensure course grades can be completed and graduating seniors can get their results in time.
In the suburban areas of the Capital District, though, mid-year graduations are fairly uncommon.
`From our point of view, we didn’t see any reason that it’s advantageous to do it in this time frame,` said Schalmont Central School District Superintendent Valerie Kelsey. `This scheduling change is cause for concern and has created multiple issues for our school district.`
Some educators said it’s likely downstate schools, with poorer graduation rates, pushed for the change.
Multiple attempts to reach an Education Department representative for further comment were unsuccessful. A reporter was, in one instance, told the memo indicating districts had asked for the change was self explanatory.
The memo also authorized schools to cancel classes to administer the exam, but few, if any, local schools will be taking that measure.
`Instructional time is important, and it’s not easy to just throw a day away,` Kelsey said.
Schalmont will have to hire substitutes and will lose the use of facilities where the testing will be held. Kelsey said an exact cost for the change hasn’t been established.
Bethlehem Central School District Superintendent Michael Tebbano said his district would probably spend around $5,000 in various expenses for about 100 students to take the exam. That unbudgeted figure would be higher if most students in advanced classes were taking the test ` another 200 pupils. Instead, the school is advising only those students who need the exam in January for graduation take the test, and all others stay in class.
`It saves us a lot of money, because we’re not buying and setting up tables in an exam room,` Tebbano said, adding, `It’s still an imposition.`
Most schools are doing the same, but in Shenendehowa the high school is forced to have advanced students wait until the end of the year. Administrators had hoped to have 700 students take the exam, but the district will only receive 150 tests.
`We’re only getting a certain number of exams from the state, so the state’s going to compel us to restrict the number of students taking the exam anyway,` Robinson said.
The rest of Regents testing will continue as scheduled, Jan. 25 to 28. “
