NYSUT adopts resolution against high-stakes testing
WASHINGTON, D.C. April 13, 2013 - Just days before New York state students sit for yet another round of standardized tests, delegates to New York State United Teachers annual policymaking convention unanimously passed a resolution criticizing SED's rocky implementation of new Common Core standards and demanding that this year's test results not be used for high-stakes decisions affecting students and teachers.
Close to 2,000 delegates to NYSUT's 41st Representative Assembly unanimously passed Resolution No. 10 - Common Core Testing Unfair to Students - after roaring "Let us teach" in a chant directed at the State Education Department.
Delegates, who represent more than 600,000 members across New York state, made it clear during a question-and-answer session with State Education Commissioner John King that the state's flawed implementation and obsession with commercial standardized tests is hurting students and narrowing curriculum. One teacher questioned why the rush to test, given that the state has produced only five of the promised 39 math modules for middle school. A teacher called it "heart-breaking" to see special education students and English Language Learners struggle through the grade-level tests "when the data does not support having them sit for those tests." Another spoke of the devastating impact on student morale from test scores which SED has acknowledged will drop dramatically.
NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said that, while the Common Core holds the "potential" to enhance student learning, the State Education Department rushed the tests. "No experienced teacher would test what hasn't been taught, but that is exactly
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