DOE Plans 16 New Tests For Kids
By Jason Banrey
In an effort to rate teacher performance, New York City’s Dept. of Education is developing a series of new tests – and the City’s public school students are expected to provide the evaluation.
Designed to spur reforms in state and local district education, the U.S. Dept. of Education’s $4.35 billion program, Race to the Top, funded New York State with nearly $700 million in federal grant money last August.
Of that sum, New York City will receive $256 million, 10 percent of which will be used to develop 16 new standardized exams.
The series of tests would cover English, math, science as well as social studies and would be spread out during a student’s time in the city’s school system; beginning in the third grade and continuing all the way through to high school; where students would be expected to take up to eight extra tests a year.
The series of tests would be an addition to the statewide English and math tests, as well as the Regents exams students already take. The testing would eat up approximately $25.6 million of the federal funding awarded to the City.
Some City Council members are upset about the additional tests and suggest the DOE reevaluate their methods of teacher assessment.
“How much more testing do we really need,” asked Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens), who sits on the City’s education committee. “In short, the children are being used.”
Within the state’s application for funding and under a law passed last year, the DOE will create a portfolio of student assessments to inform instruction and support the development and evaluation of teachers.
Weprin denounced the DOE’s plan to use federal grant money for additional standardized tests for public school students.
“At a time when the DOE is planning to lay off teachers, choosing to spend [federal funding] on additional standardized tests is truly an outrage,” Weprin said. “These tests will do nothing to improve education in our public schools and will only continue to sap time and resources that should be going toward helping our children learn.”
As part of the City’s effort to comply with the federal funding requirements, which obligates that states rate teachers, the tests will be aimed at providing data to analyze student growth as well as a teacher’s contribution to student learning.
The DOE will also use an additional $38 million on other parts of the development of a new principal and teacher evaluation system.
Over the years, the DOE has put a significant emphasis on the importance of evaluating the city’s public school teachers – an effort that has been criticized by many education advocates.
Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), a former public school teacher and also a member of the education committee, said instead of focusing on teacher evaluation the DOE needs to begin taking responsibility for its own actions.
“I’m tired of hearing that teachers need to be evaluated,” Dromm said. “When is someone going to hold the City’s School Chancellor and the DOE accountable for the lack of school space and the lack of providing teachers proper resources to teach our kids?”
The DOE anticipates that the tests will be in effect as early as next academic year.
“Enough is enough,” Weprin said. “It is time for parents to rise up and give the DOE a wake-up call. Stop the insane obsession with testing.”
Reach Reporter Jason Banrey at jbanrey@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 128.