On Tuesday, April 16, students in third to eighth grade across New York will sit down for the first day of standardized tests that adhere to the Common Core Standards. But it has been months now that parents and educators have worried pupils are being pushed too far with the sudden shift to more rigorous standards.
“New York is going too far and too fast with its testing regimen, and the system is nearing the point of implosion,” New York State United Teachers Vice President Maria Neira said in a statement. “How are parents going to react when test scores fall off a cliff and their children are wrongly labeled? What is going to be the impact on public education and educators?”
This is the second part of a two-part series on the implantation of the Common Core Learning Standards. For the first part, explaining the implementation and policy behind the change, read Cracking the Common Core.
An online petition by the teachers union against the Common Core implementation has garnered 7,100 signatures in a matter of days, and the union is encouraging its members and parents to rail against the tests, which were adopted by the state Board of Regents in July 2010.
There will be three days of testing this year focusing on English and three on mathematics. The state Education Office explained the shift in a memo to educators across the state.
“This year … we are taking the next step and designing our Grades 3-8 ELA and math assessments to measure the knowledge each grade level to achieve college and career readiness,” wrote Ken Slentz, deputy commissioner of the Department of Education’s Office of P-12 Education. “New York State educators and parents will now have an accurate indicator of how our students are performing and their progress toward college- and career-readiness.”
But Neira counters the state’s “testing obsession is about taking the joy out of learning.” And local educators, including Voorheesville Central School District Superintendent Teresa Thayer Snyder, worry the tests could be leading to an unhealthy atmosphere.
Testing check-up
Snyder sent a message to parents through the district’s website on March 14 explaining her concern students could be “somewhat overwhelmed” by the new standards, the complexity of questions and the length of the actual exams.
“The prototype questions require multiple steps and have reading passages that are challenging for most independent readers,” Snyder said. “I want our students to be confident and to recognize that these tests are nothing more than a snapshot in time and are not indicators of their capacity. I am very worried about the stress these children may experience during the testing timeframe.”
Other area districts have been sending a similar message to parents and have asked them to try to help their children overcome fears and reduce testing stress.
Lynnwood Elementary School Principal Alicia Rizzo wrote in the school’s April newsletter that teachers have “worked hard all year” to prepare students and asked parents to help calm students. The school is part of Guilderland Central School District.
“We expect some of the tests may offer new challenges to our students and ask your assistance in helping students to remain calm and to not feel overly anxious about the tests,” Rizzo said in the newsletter. “We are working to strike a balance in our students to take the test seriously — while not creating test anxiety.”
Snyder recalled her experience as a principal. During periods of testing, visits to the nurse’s office rose markedly.
“The results indicated a huge spike in visits to the nurse — a set of hard data which is as telling to me as the outcomes on the tests. Belly aches, headaches, other indicators of distress were all higher during testing among fourth graders,” Snyder said in a statement.
Test time in Common Core
South Colonie Central School District Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Timothy Backus said the amount of time a student must physically sit and take exams is concerning. Guilderland Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Demian Singleton shared Backus’ concern.
“The shift to Common Core based assessments alone will have an impact because we are really testing the test endurance of students,” Singleton said.
In 2011, English language arts (ELA) testing lasted two days for sixth through eighth graders, but now students are tested for longer periods on three days. The first day of testing in 2011 was 80 minutes, and the second day was 90 minutes. Testing will take place over 90 minutes on each day this year, for a total of 270 minutes.
For third- to fifth-grade ELA testing, the changes are more complicated. When compared to last year, third and fourth graders will spend less time in testing – 210 minutes versus 270 – while fifth graders will spend the same 270 minutes with tests (that’s up from 150 minutes in 2011).
When it comes to math, testing times are similar. This year, fifth to eighth graders will be tested for 270 minutes, and third and fourth graders will be tested at 210 and 230 minutes, respectively. That’s a decrease from 2012 standards for third- and fourth-graders, but up markedly from 2011 levels.
For some educators, no matter how these numbers might be fine tuned, they’re too large.
“I think the length of the exams is way too long for students. I don’t think they should be tested for three days,” said Jody Monroe, assistant superintendent for Educational Programs at Bethlehem Central School District. “I think assessing students in those areas were there is a common assessment across the state is fine, but I think the length of them is too much.”
Between the ELA and Math, a third grader will spend seven hours in testing this year. In fifth through eighth grade, students will take nine hours of testing.
If the testing times remain the same, a student in third grade this year will have spent more than 50 hours in Common Core testing upon completing eighth grade.
Including the state-developed Regents tests now necessary for graduation, students taking all the required tests will by their senior year in high school have completed at least 74 hours of standardized testing, according to an October NYSUT release.
Bracing for disappointment
The state Education Department expects students overall will fare worse under the new standards, but Slentz in his March memo said parents would welcome the new standards if they understood them fully.
“Schools and districts must help parents understand more than just the fact that curricula and assessments are changing in design and rigor,” Slentz said in a statement. “When parents have a broader sense of the importance of this work, they will be more engaged as partners and better prepared to support the progress of their children.”
A Department of Education spokeswoman referred The Spotlight to Slentz’s memo for all questions relating to the Common Core Standards.
NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi said it might be hard for young students to understand exactly why their scores are lower, despite the State Education Department’s warning.
“If it is your child, or my child, you look out there and say they are going to be disappointed and they are going to feel they failed and it is not their fault,” Iannuzzi said. “Little kids don’t understand that it is not their fault, they just assume it is their fault. … It really undermines so much of what is basic to education.”
Monroe said not all students might flounder on the more difficult tests.
“Some students are probably ready for that. … I think potential pitfall of that is that the students who are not able to keep up with that rigor they could potentially fall behind.”
Monroe acknowledged lower test scores might be harder for some students to take in.
“Most students want to perform well. … I think it would be disheartening for some students not to perform well,” Monroe said. “The best we can do is say the state has told us to expect your child’s score to decrease.”
Mike Keane, president of the Roessleville Elementary PTA in the South Colonie Central School District, said the state should have taken more time to implement the changes and integrate the new standards into programming.
Keane has tried to help prepare his son, Liam, in third grade, but said the way some questions are worded seem confusing for his grade level. He said the teachers have been “fantastic” working with Liam, though.
“As I review certain things … it is almost that things are worded in a way to try to confuse the child,” Keane said. “Parents are getting frustrated because they are seeing things worded for a third-grade student that we didn’t see until fifth or sixth grade.”
Last year, Keane said a family friend told him about her child not wanting to be responsible for her teacher potentially being fired. He said teachers have done a “great job” easing students about the tests.
“That is a lot to ask of an 8-, 9- and 10-year-old,” Keane said.
BC’s Elsmere Elementary PTA President Melanie Kvam also said student anxiety is a hot topic amongst parents.
“I think a lot of people are concerned with the amount of testing we are giving at schools and whether or not that is good for the children,” Kvam said. “There is a lot of change right now and I think some it is probably good and some of it is not ideal and that will get worked out as it goes.”
Kvam’s first-grade daughter has not known anything but the Common Core, she said, and for her, the standards appear to be working well.
“I am pleased with the level of education she is receiving. I don’t have any concerns that she is getting too much work or too little work,” she said. “When I talk to my daughter about school she doesn’t talk about tests or testing. It has not been a concern for her. … I am watching her grow in her reading skills and math skills.”
Overall, Kvam is “still forming an opinion” on the new standards.