Education officials to review state exams after error discovery: Fariña
City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña (seen with Deputy Mayor Richard Buery at a Pre-K enrollment center on Thursday) has promised that officials will review state math and reading exams after the discovery of two major errors.
City schools boss Carmen Fariña said Thursday Education Department officials will review state math and reading exams after two glaring errors were found in tests in the past two weeks.
State education officials have admitted the problems with the 2015 exams, which are used in decisions to promote students, evaluate schools and rate teachers.
And passages from the fourth-grade reading test were posted on Facebook Wednesday, adding to the fuss over the optional exams, which are supposed to remain secret.
Fariña altered the school system’s policy for promoting students to reduce the importance of the exams last year, but still says she supports the tests.
“We always review and we always respond, and in some cases we make recommendations, as to what should happen next year,” Fariña said when asked about the quality of the tests.
One of the reading exams administered last week misstated the name of a character in a text students were asked about, state Education Department officials said.
And a Russian-language version of the state math exam administered this week incorrectly contained passages in Korean.
About 200 students who were affected by the translation mistake will be given an error-free, makeup version of the test.
Critics of the exams object to their prominent place in school lesson plans, their level of difficulty and their use in decisions to promote students and evaluate teachers.
A statewide opt-out count for the standardized reading exams administered last week exceeded 190,000, according to the anti-testing group United to Counter the Core.
The group says 62,173 students have skipped out on state math tests given this week. Its unofficial tally is based on media reports and information provided by educators and parents.
And more than 3,100 city students at 93 public schools skipped their state reading exams last week, according to a tally by the anti-testing group Change the Stakes.
Education Department officials say it could be weeks before a complete tally of who took the tests is compiled.Officials to review state exams after errors found: Fariña - NY Daily News: