By Sarah Hall
Editor
There will be no changes to the state ELA and math tests for grades three through eight in the next two years, according to New York State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia.
The New York State Department of Education announced Nov. 14 that the tests will be kept at three sessions for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. While the Department of Education and the Board of Regents had examined the possibility of shortening the examination period to two sessions, they determined it would “not be feasible to do that and still be able to have meaningful growth comparisons for students, schools or statewide,” Elia said.
“After listening to concerns and feedback from countless educators and parents, last year we made significant changes to the ELA and math tests to reduce the pressure for children and provide educators with more information about tests than ever before,” Elia said in a release. NYSED examined the possibility of shortening the testing period after numerous reports of children breaking down crying after days of testing, complaints from parents and school staff and concerns from legislators, but ultimately rejected the change. “We will reexamine shortening the testing days as part of designing the tests for the state’s new learning standards.”
According to the release, shortening the testing period would have “rendered it inappropriate to make longitudinal student growth comparisons of the test results at the school, district or statewide level.”
The decision brought criticism from those who had hoped the state would respond to concerns that the length of testing was just too long for students.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the State Education Department has passed on the opportunity to reduce the length of student testing,” said Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) in a statement. “While it’s important to have fair evaluations that ensure children are learning what they need to succeed, three days of testing is excessive and takes students out of the classroom for far too long. The bottom line is the focus has to get back on learning, not testing, and I will keep fighting that fight.”
There are changes coming down the pike, however. The state is making changes to its Common Core curriculum with the help of feedback from educators, parents and members of the community. A public comment period seeking feedback on the proposed changes closed Nov. 14. According to NYSED, the Board of Regents will begin considering final revisions early next year; after reviewing what the public had to say this time around, they may put the revisions up for a second round of public comment. Once they have established the final standards, NYSED will work with BOCES and school superintendents across the state to develop sample curriculum models, professional development and guidance for teachers to prepare them to implement the new standards in the coming school years. The new assessments, which will be developed with “significant input” from teachers, will be implemented in the 2018-19 school year.
