Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña doubled down on Common Core standards that are under assault elsewhere in the state, on the eve of the first day of classes.
Fariña said New York City had the lowest opt-out rate on this year’s state Common Core math and English tests in grades 3-8 — just 1.4 percent, compared with 20 percent of students statewide who boycotted the exams.
“I don’t believe in opting out,” Fariña said Tuesday on WNYC radio, adding that boycotting standardized exams sends the wrong message to students.
“The message is, ‘You’re not ready.’ The message is, ‘You’re not accountable.’ . . . We don’t think this is reasonable,” she said.
Her comments come just days after Gov. Cuomo called for another review of the program.
The message sent by opting children out of state tests is not that students or teachers are unaccountable for performance.
The message is that NYSED, the Board of Regents, the Legislature and Governor Cuomo are accountable to the people of this state and if they're going to pursue a harmful education reform agenda, the parents of this state are not going to stand for it.
Tests rigged for 70% failure rates, a teacher evaluation system so irrational that a district just given an award for excellence for six of its schools also had some of the "worst" teachers in the state - this is a harmful agenda and since Cuomo, Tisch, Elia and the Legislature don't seem like they want to fix it, the parents of this state will have to do it for them.
It's a straw man argument to say opt out sends the message to kids that they're unaccountable.
Rather it sends the message to politicians and educrats that they are accountable.
Said it before, saying it again:
ReplyDeleteSmaller opt out rates for '15-'16, even less than 1% = VICTORY for Cuomo/Tisch/Elia/Farina/Reformers
Same opt out rates for '15-'16 = VICTORY for Cuomo/Tisch/Elia/Farina/Reformers
Same opt out rates in '15-'16 as '14-'15 = VICTORY for Cuomo/Tisch/Elia/Farina/Reformers
Slightly higher opt out rates...even 5-10% increase = VICTORY for C/T/E/F/R ("listen, we limited the opt out movement! It could have been 50% increase!")
Deeply higher opt out rates (25% or more) for '15-'16 = Opt Out remains on the field of battle.
Sorry I repeated the "Same..." one...
DeleteDoes Fariña even know the definition of the word UNREASONABLE (not guided by or based on good sense)?
ReplyDeleteThere is indeed a good sense reason why parents and students should opt out of tests based on CC. CC standards are developmentally inappropriate according to volumes of research from Developmental Psychologists dating all the way back to Piaget. Parents who opt out their children from taking these tests, are no more unreasonable than parents who decide that they their children should not see Rated R movies by themselves without an adult. In both cases, parents are doing their duty, trying to protect their children from experiencing situations for which they are not developmentally ready.
Unfortunately, there is also a very good reason that parents make their children take these tests. SOMEONE has been telling administrators to tell teachers to tell the parents that OPTING OUT of state tests will disqualify their child from opportunities to enter an Honors program. Parents are scared to opt out their children for fear that they will ruin their future education path.
We want OPT OUT numbers to rise, we must first get this bullying to stop, and then widely communicate to parents that their will be no detrimental consequences for opting out.