<p>furrydog - These are newly designed tests - not the tests of old, so no one has seen them yet, including the teachers, thus this year may be more difficult.</p>
<p>This all is coming from a student who was taught to teach.
In Minnesota I remember my first standardized test was in third grade. At the time I did not realize what the teachers were doing, we were given mock tests months before the actual tests and based on those scores we were split into groups. Thankfully, I was placed in the highest group, which was called group “A”. We were not pushed as hard and were given more time to read books that we wanted and such because (I learned this later) we had less staff because they knew we would test good. This was fine for me but not so much for the kids in the other groups, they were bombarded with testing strategies and tips, one of my sisters was in group “C” (the groups went to F, ironic right!) and every night she had homework with mini standardized on them.
Then came middle school, they were no longer able to sort us except for in math classes, which meant torture for the advanced students. My communications and science classes were pure boredom. This was due to the school going over the same material constantly to guarantee that all the students knew the material. The teachers and school were evaluated on these tests which meant they quit caring so much about us advancing our education and a lot more about learning how to test good.
Then came high school. Months were spent my freshman and sophomore years to prepare me for the writing and reading tests, respectively. By this point I had caught on to their games. I was so bored in “honors” communication by all the writing tips for the tests in ninth grade that I actually asked my teacher if we could write a ten page paper or something, anything besides test prep. I saw this year how detrimental the test prep during that year was. As a junior I enrolled in a state school for a dual enrollment program with 16-18 college credits each semester on top of some at my school. It was hard but I liked the challenge. But first semester of this year I was in a composition class where my work was torn to pieces. My professor was constantly asking me if I got any writing taught to me in high school, and she meant actual writing not what the state wants for the tests. I was shocked at how far behind I had become in comparison to other dual enrolled students from schools who did not push testing so much.
I am not blaming the teachers or my administration. I understand that they want to keep their jobs but I can see where these parents would want to protest. Standardized tests are already pushed enough and making them tougher would just force school districts to have to reach more testing tips and less actual material.
Oh, and to people saying their not that hard and they should be able to pass, you are right. They are not that hard, I have gotten near perfect every year. But you saying that they should have learned this stuff is a myth. As I explained above, the schools focus so much on getting kids to pass that they stop teaching the material on the tests. It is a horrible cycle to get caught in. I do not have all the answers or well, any of the answers but I do know that something has to be done or my own, my peers and future generations eduacation will be harmed.
Sorry for any spelling/grammar errors, this was typed on an ipad.</p>
<p>furrydog, there is also a lot of mistrust n NY about the administration of the tests. There have been all sorts of mistakes and even cheating.</p>
<p>In my opinion, we have teaching to the test and set curricula because we are not willing to invest what it would take to have really good teachers. If you have to depend on a lot of relatively weak teachers, you can’t give them too much discretion. (This is also why we have zero tolerance policies for administrators as well, in my view.)</p>
<p>@KS1996KS-</p>
<p>Spot on. You’re smart to realize at such an early age the educational flaw in the system. In the K-12 system, I don’t think it matters if we have good or bad teachers because they will end up teaching to the test anyway, to preserve job security and funding. The system makes them do it.</p>
<p>Teachers and parents are putting sooo much pressure on their kids to get good grades that they end up learning nothing. But “hey”, they still got their “A”.</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you’ve rebooted yourself and know that it’s much more important to learn for YOURSELF than to do it for your parents, teachers, or for the sake of just getting a good grade.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>As the parent of three children, two who excelled quite easily in school and 1 second grader with ADHD, memory retention issues, and a host of other learning disorders I find it completely offensive that adults would sit here and judge a 3rd grade test as “easy” or “stuff they should know”. </p>
<p>I think you have no idea the pressure these kids feel. I bumped into my cousin yesterday. She is a NYS licensed Speech/AIS teacher and her 3rd grade son (who does very well in school) has been in knots all week about this and even said he did not want to go to school. I have another friend who is an AIS teacher who proctored the 3rd grade exam and said she saw kids who were normally excellent students that were frustrated and a couple were crying. This is the kind of eduacational experience we want for our 8 year olds?</p>
<p>And let’s discuss the children (like my son) who have testing mods where they are given all of the time they need to complete the test. One Special Ed teacher in NYS reported that an AIS student took SIX AND A HALF HOURS to complete one section of the third grade English assessment. Who in the world can say this is necessary to do to a child?</p>
<p>I have never had a problem with Regents (except when they mandated the Regents diploma for all NYS students). My husband and I both received “Local” (non-Regents) diplomas in HS. He runs a very successful business (does all of his own book work even so no, not stupid) and I work in Compliance for one of the largest banks in the US. I know many people who did not complete the Regents diploma curriculum that went on to both college and professional careers (FYI there are many college options out there, selective schools are great for bragging rights but not a necessity for success in every career). </p>
<p>I think NYS would be a lot better off spending money on programs to teach children real world skills like banking, why not to get into massive debt and the true cost of it all, college and college alternatives (vocational schools and military), resume writing skills, interview skills. You would be shocked at how many schools have cut this from their programs. Trust me when I say that many parents are leading by very poor examples so in order to not leave any children behind and prepare them to be this country’s future these are very necessary skills. </p>
<p>Point is, the more these curriculums become cookie cutter as if every child is of the same mind, the more I begin to say “if” my son graduates from HS someday. For the child with challenges the only purpose these tests serve is to make them feel frustrated and incompetent. My son will be opting out.</p>
<p>limabeans01 - WHO developed the new common core standards then that will be used to measure both student and teacher performance? Did this new common core k-12 standardized curriculum just arrive out of thin air? These are the same core standards are going to be on the new SAT that eventually every student will take in order to get into college. </p>
<p>Pearson. Coming to a school near you.</p>
<p>Momof3stars,
Very well written. I too am a NYS Speech Therapist in a public school and have seen many of the same scenarios you describe.</p>
<p>“I have never had a problem with Regents (except when they mandated the Regents diploma for all NYS students). My husband and I both received “Local” (non-Regents) diplomas in HS. He runs a very successful business (does all of his own book work even so no, not stupid) and I work in Compliance for one of the largest banks in the US. I know many people who did not complete the Regents diploma curriculum that went on to both college and professional careers.”</p>
<p>When I was in high school in the early 70’s in an upper middle class suburban town most kids never took the regents. It was basically only important for kids who needed the small Regents scholarship one received if attending a college in NYS.</p>
<p>Kudos to any parents opting their kids out of state testing. Opting out is the only way to send a message to the education policy makers. They are not listening to their constituents through normal lobbying routes.</p>
<p>It really is all about the money for the testing companies, publishing companies, for-profit charter companies, etc. Having the students do poorly on the tests could result in highly-paid, great teachers being fired and replaced by new teachers who are much lower on the pay scale. Then there will be more education funding available to funnel into the pockets of the people profiting off public education.</p>
<p>I’m in Washington State, not New York, but I encourage all of the parents with kids taking these test to make the effort to view your students’ tests. They are ambiguous (smart students will over-think the answers) and some of the questions are inappropriate for the grade level. Here is an example of a question my oldest daughter got on her 10th grade math exam several years ago: </p>
<p>Martina is starting to drive; she will be driving the family car. The insurance will be $375 (my daughter doesn’t remember if it stated the amount of time this rate covered–it doesn’t matter anyway) but she will get the “good student” discount so it will only be $250. What other piece of information factors into the cost of the insurance?</p>
<p>a. The current insurance rate (this was the cost of insurance the family was currently paying)
b. (my daughter didn’t remember this choice)
c. Martina’s age
d. Which car she will be driving</p>
<p>First of all, what “math” is being measured here? How many 10th graders know what factors influence the cost of automobile insurance and why would that information EVER be taught in a 10th grade math class (which should be geometry)? </p>
<p>Our students are losing out on an education because our schools have become test-prep factories. If the powers that be who have an impact on our education policies think testing is the way to go, why don’t they send their kids to public schools? No, they send their kids to private schools where the classes are small and the kids are actually educated instead of taught how to take a few tests. Those private schools don’t close down for several days for testing each year. They get a full education: art, PE, civics, field trips, music, etc. while the public school kids get their curriculum narrowed to whatever is tested: reading, math, writing, science. Since they spend so much money and time on the tests and test prep, there is no money or time for art, PE and music.</p>
<p>I think it’s a big problem when you walk into a bookstore like Barnes and Noble, and there are ELA Prep Books for 3rd graders sitting next to the prep books for SAT’s, ACT’s, GMAT’s, MCAT’s, etc. </p>
<p>I think part of the problem today is the belief that “everybody goes to college.” You know what? Not everybody belongs in college! Why must a college education determine a person’s success? I think back to when I was in high school…there was ONE honor’s geometry class…because that’s who belonged there! Today, there are plenty, plenty of students sitting in “honors” classes that should not be there in the first place. </p>
<p>As a high school teacher, I see many, many students who are being done a major disservice by being pushed into college when they don’t belong there. Why is there such shame in learning a trade, skill, etc. and becoming a productive, self-sufficient member of society without having that magical college degree? As we know, so many of these students start college and don’t finish anyway. Then what?</p>
<p>These tests are killing creativity. Why are we moving away from the type of education that worked so well and towards a system that other countries have proven doesn’t work well?</p>
<p>This is utterly ridiculous. Why is it a problem if average scores go down if the test itself is more difficult? Why do people feel that they need high test scores?</p>
<p>The purpose of state testing is to provide a common minimum standard and to identify subject matter that need to be emphasized. A harder test with a lower average score only helps officials do this.</p>
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</p>
<p>This sort of question is definitely not indicative of what is usually on a math test. It’s not the system that has issues, it’s the school in question. And FYI, geometry is generally a 9th grade class.</p>
<p>Well, one problem in NYC is that test scores from 4th and 7th grades are considered when kids are applying to middle school and high school. Applying to public schools here can be very competitive, and not getting top scores can seriously impact a student’s chances.</p>
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<p>This varies widely by state/district. In my area it’s algebra in 9th, geometry in 10th, precalc in 11th, and calc in 12th, although there is a great deal of flexibility and it is easy to move up or down as needed.</p>
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<p>This completely changes what I cam here to say. I’ve always been one of the top-performing students on standardized/state tests, and I doubt they’re at all accurate with students at or above my level because it’s too easy to get a perfect score. The percentiles help somewhat with clarifying what scores mean what about a student’s ability, but it’s still not useful for students who are beyond the test, which is a good number at least in my area (small town CT).</p>
<p>I figured that upping the difficulty of test makes sense for that reason, but if the scores actually affect the students, that’s different. While I hope that the new standard scores for the tests will adjust with the difficulty (and thus the admissions to middle/high schools will respond accordingly), I can see your concern.</p>
<p>Testing of this kind seems to me to be a temporarily necessary evil. We all know these tests are far from perfect, but I can’t think of a better system to objectively evaluate students’ academic abilities, and sadly that’s something we probably need to do for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>There is something very wrong when a publishing company is driving common core and then making millions of dollars from tests and test prep materials from the common core. And doing a lousy job to boot. This article highlights just one of the problems with Pearson.<br>
[Error</a> by testing giant Pearson shuts 2,700 out of city’s gifted and talented programs - NY Daily News](<a href=“New York News - New York Daily News”>Error by testing giant Pearson shuts 2,700 out of city's gifted and talented programs) </p>
<p>If it has its way, Pearson will soon be determining what gets taught in schools across the United States with little or no parental or educational oversight. Pearson standardized exams will assess how well teachers implement Pearson instruction modules and Pearson’s common core standards, but not what students really learn or whether students are actually learning things that are important to know. Pearson is already creating teacher certification exams for eighteen states including New York, organizing staff development workshops to promote Pearson products, and providing school district Pearson assessment tools. In New York, Pearson Education currently has a five-year, $32 million contract to administer state test and provides other “testing services” to the State Education Department. It also recently received a share of a federal Race to the Top grant to create what the company calls the “next-generation” of online assessments.</p>
<p>Pearson, which claims to be the “world’s leading learning company,” is in the process of designing mind-numbing “multimedia textbooks… designed for pre-schoolers, school students and learners of all ages” for use on Apple’s iPad so school systems will have more products to purchase instead of investing in quality teaching and instruction. In case you are not already worried about children seating dazed in front of computer screens for hours on end, Pearson promises its “respected learning content” will be “brought to life with video, audio, assessment, interactive images and 3D animations.”</p>
<p>According to the New York Times, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is “investigating whether the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of one of the nation’s largest educational publishers, acted improperly to influence state education officials by paying for overseas trips and other perks.” Since 2008, state education officials have been treated to trips to London, Helsinki, Finland, Singapore, and Rio de Janeiro</p>
<p>
That is not the case everywhere.</p>
<p>Might as well have these kids be taught by a robot or on-line. Who needs a teacher with creative ideas standing in front of a class.</p>
<p>When did Pearson become the experts on writing curriculum? Where is their data? Why are we putting so much stock into their program (literally and figuratively.)</p>
<p>My kids attended Montessori school through 8th grade and then transferred to a great small private school. They have scholarships (combination of merit and needs based); I’m a single parent and we’re a low income family. Coming out of Montessori they were 2-3 grade levels ahead of the public schools in core subjects and had had French from 1st grade and Latin from 3rd grade. In Montessori they were never given a grade on anything, rarely took tests and occasionally (twice in 8 years I think) took the ERB tests to reassure parents that their kids were on track. In their current school they don’t take any state tests. Their friends who transferred from Montessori to local public schools and are in the Regents program are incredibly stressed out with the amount of testing: all those regents on top of whatever AP’s and school tests they have. Even the smart kids who do well easily on the tests are stressed just by the rigors of the testing process. And as others have said, the curriculum is bland, boring, uninspired, constrained by the necessity of teaching to the test. If you look at the performance pf students and the teaching records at private schools where these tests are never given, it’s superior across the boards. Why wouldn’t that fact in itself suggest the futility and in fact counterproductive nature of state testing, esp failed NY state testing! Waste of money, waste of time and waste of talented teachers who could be inspiring their students. One of the things that sold me on this small school when we were deciding where to put the kids after Montessori was that during a series of school visits, tours and shadowing, every single student said some version of “I love my school. I love coming to school. I hate it when I miss a day” etc. It breaks my heart to read that a little 3rd grader is afraid to go to school because of the stress of tests. As we walked down the halls our student guides greeted their teachers with affection and told us “Mr X is such an amazing chemistry teacher; he makes everyone love chemistry” and so on. It is cool to be smart and the classrooms (not the halls or the lunchroom or the bathrooms) are the locus of community life. This excitement about school and learning was the selling point for us. I have since learned that the teachers here make less than their public school colleagues but it is worth it for them to have autonomy in the classroom and to teach students who really want to learn. The idea that talented teachers have to be told what and how to teach by a textbook company is just bizarre and wrong headed. Not to mention the dull vanilla curriculum that is forced into the classroom. My youngest, now a sophomore, is taking 3 AP’s this year and 3 foreign languages, and her older sister has truly excelled in school in both humanities and sciences. She has exceptional scores on SAT’s and AP’s despite the fact that none of her teachers teach a mandated curriculum. They choose the books, the content, etc. It’s challenging, interesting and keeps teachers and students engaged. Often people try to say that independent schools excel because 1) the students are superior from the get-go, coming from families with education, resources, etc. Of course this is sometimes the case, although in our little school, 75% of the student body receives over $3 M in FA and that 2) the teachers just are better. I would argue that the excellent students are produced by the atmosphere in which learning is exciting and they are inspired and cultivated by teachers who in turn are motivated by having freedom to teach without having to teach to any arbitrary mandated tests.
I dont mean to suggest that there aren’t some fantastic teachers in public schools and brilliant diligent students in probably every school in the US. But I am convinced that the current system is more than broken, it is hobbling the learning process, disempowering teachers and robbing children of their native excitement about learning, the curiosity that young learners deserve to have nurtured so they can succeed in school and life.</p>