Why teachers are concerned about school reform in New York (Commentary)
Christopher Leahey, of Cicero, teaches in the North Syracuse Central School District.
By Christopher Leahey
In the past several months, school personnel, superintendents, and parents have contributed to a lively debate about Federal Race to the Top initiatives and New York state's implementation of the Common Core Curriculum. While much of the debate has centered on test scores and raising student achievement, the larger questions about the way New York is reforming schools have not been addressed.
As a teacher interested in strengthening public schools, my first concern lies with the arbitrary way in which NYSED has determined which students are and which students are not meeting the standards. In 2009, NYSED lowered the cut scores (the score that separates passing and failing) from 59 percent to 44 percent for standardized exams in ELA and Math for grades 3 to 8. This lowering of the cut scores resulted in more students passing the test and, consequently, it created the illusion of a rise in student achievement. One year later, in 2010, NYSED decided to raise the cut scores, pushing more students below the passing rate, resulting in plummeting test scores across the state. This year, NYSED has once again arbitrarily raised the cut scores, pushing close to 69 percent of New York's students below the cut score in grades 3-8 English and math. While I personally agree that we should all demand students to perform at a high level, and strive to meet the most rigorous standards, it is difficult to understand how