NYC Parents star at Senator Flanagan's hearings on Common Core, testing and privacy
Wednesday's NY Senate hearings on the Common Core, testing and privacy were long but revealing. After our press conference, the morning started off with Merryl Tisch, head of the Regents, saying that the tests had caused much upset and displacement but the state must move ahead with the program, no matter what.Many of the Senators present were former teachers who decried the amount of standardized testing and test prep, the stressful effect on schoolchildren, and their total uselessness for the purposes of diagnostic assessment or teaching. But Tisch said that it was important to carry on, given the low rates of college-readiness throughout the state (as though flawed, lengthy and stressful tests are necessary to prepare kids for college.)
Sen. Hoylman asked her why Commissioner King is holding 16 forums around the state, but none are scheduled so far in NYC, where one third of the entire state's public school students are enrolled. She said they would be announcing some NYC forums soon -- either three or five, she was unclear. She used as an excuse that the DOE had adopted their teacher evaluation system later than the rest of the state. (Why this is relevant?) When asked about why the state's providing personal student information to inBloom, Tisch deferred to Ira Schwartz of SED, saying the issue was "too technical for me", although she has been supporting this unconscionable plan from the
