Students may have already taken the first round of tests using new Common Core standards here in New York, but the debate over the new standardized tests is far from over.
State Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk, D-Duanesburg, and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, organized a forum, “Education at a Crossroads: A Forum on the Impacts of Testing and Mandates,” on Wednesday, June 5, in the Legislative Office Building at the Capitol.
Several representatives from Capital District schools talked about the effects standardized testing has on students and the financial constraints districts are facing when implementing state mandates. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were in attendance and questioned educational representatives from students to superintendents.
Tkaczyk said she and Fahy were discussing the “hundreds” of emails from people concerned about the impacts of standardized testing on education programming and student wellbeing.
“We wanted to give the real experts – the superintendents, teachers and students – an opportunity to talk about those issues directly to their legislators and to the public,” Tkaczyk said in a statement. “We spoke with our colleagues from the region – Republican and Democratic – and they enthusiastically agreed to join us.”
Within Tkaczyk’s five-county 46th Senate District is a wide variety of schools districts from “wealthy low-need suburban districts to poor, high-needs rural and urban districts,” she said. A common thread is the concern over increased testing, she said.
Colin Winters, an eighth-grader at O’Rourke Middle School in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District, said increased testing is negatively affecting his education. The amount of time spent testing and how long the tests take to complete is too much, he said.
Fahy said though 45 states have adopted the Common Core Standards, New York state is only one of two states testing on the new standards this year.
“I worry about the self esteem, not just the stress on children,” Fahy said, “especially when I don’t know a single child … in some of our highest performing schools that finished some tests that were given this spring.”
Winters recalled the second day of state testing on English language arts when he hit his “breaking point” after becoming increasingly frustrated.
“I wrote comments all over my test hoping that somebody would see them. After I realized no one would see them I wrote a letter to the commissioner of education and before I even knew about this forum,” Winters said. “I am still looking forward to hearing back from him.”
He said the tests “have done harm” and have added “real stress” for students.
Did you miss our previous two-part series about the Common Core Learning Standards?
The first story, Cracking the Common Core, focuses on the implementation and policy behind the change. The second story, Stress test, focuses on the what it means at the classroom level.
Guilderland Central School District Superintendent Marie Wiles said her main request to the State Education Department is to “please slow down.”
Since the testing on the Common Core has already been done, Wiles said student achievement should be reviewed to determine how tests should be designed for next school year.
Assemblyman James Tedisco, R-Glenville, said he believes there is not enough autonomy for districts when it comes to implementation.
“I think the money would be better and well spent by the school boards, by the administrators,” Tedisco said. “The differences are widespread and the funding needs are different.”
Wiles said Tedisco’s concept is an improvement, because reforms lean towards “one size fits all.” She said the state could define goals while giving districts more ability to determine what is best for its community.
Gregory Diefenbach, assistant superintendent for business at Voorheesville Central School District, stressed more inroads must be made on mandate relief.
“Many of the mandates we are already doing in some fashion, so we are doing it in a redundant way,” Diefenbach said. “They need to be reviewed and in many cases I believe a lot of them can be eliminated, which would save a lot of money.”
Diefenbach said some of the ideas presented by legislators at the forum were interesting and he is looking forward to continuing the dialogue. He urged lawmakers to simply talk to local school officials on how to tackle problems.
Winters said because of the Common Core, he learned the vocabulary word “bureaucracy” firsthand this year.
“These tests are a bureaucratic solution to a problem that often does not exist and there is no reason to have a solution when there is no problem,” he said. “I feel kids are overworked and stressed out. The last thing my peers and I need is another test.”