Educators: Are You Complicit?
Did you attempt to bribe, coerce, or scare your students into "opting in" to this week's NYS ELA Assessment?
If so, you are complicit in the attacks on your students, profession, and our public schools. Many parents across NYS are disappointed in the educators who offered candy, treats, pizza and even field days or trips, to the students who would be taking the ELA Assessment. Others made false claims to scare children that your school would lose funding or students would not be prepared for the high school Regents Exams or SAT.
Are you complicit in harming the education of your students?
As a fellow educator, I find it difficult to understand how those in my profession cannot see how the current NYS Assessment system is a flawed measure of student achievement and hurts our children.
- Have you read the questions and passages, that are often confusing and many times have arguably more than one correct answer?
- How about most of the assessments containing reading passages that are often 2 grade reading levels above your students' grade?
- Do we really need 3 days of testing for 90 minutes for each subject? (or far beyond as a result of "untimed" testing)
- Do you see students break down in tears or banging their heads on their desk as they encounter age-inappropriate tasks on the state assessments?
- The vague assessment results come months later and do not provide detailed information to educators about your students. ( In the case of teachers, often your former students)
- Are you aware that NYSED sets cut and proficiency at inappropriate levels that set up our students for failure?
- Do you want your students' education to be limited to ELA and math skills? Many elementary school classrooms focus primarily on the "tested" subjects of ELA and math, ignoring or Children should not be a number.: Educators: Are You Complicit?: