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Monday, January 21, 2013

Students Last: Where Have All The Instructional Days Gone?

Students Last: Where Have All The Instructional Days Gone?:


Where Have All The Instructional Days Gone?

Albany - Yesterday's release of the New York State testing schedule for the 2013 - 2014 school year held a surprise. For the first time in the state's history, more days will be spent on testing and test preparation than on actual instruction.

New York State's Education Commissioner John King held a press conference to confirm this unusual occurrence.  "We acknowledge that given the number of days for benchmark assessments, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, state tests, mid-terms, finals, exams for English Language Learners and those taking alternative assessments, unit tests, make-up days for those who were absent and given that teachers typically use the weeks before a high-stakes exam for test preparation, that for the first time in New York State history there are actually fewer instructional days than testing days."