The Monroe County Federation of Teachers has drafted a resolution opposing the emphasis on standardized tests in New York schools.
The federation, representing Monroe County’s 20 teacher unions, says it stands shoulder to shoulder with parents who want their kids to opt out of the testing.
Students will have more time to take more time to complete the tests this spring, which are shorter, but BOCES teacher and MCFT secretary Andrew Jordan says these adjustments don't reflect positive change.
"Only a handful of test questions have been removed from the test; just a couple of multiple choice questions and one short answer question. In addition, students have unlimited time to take them; so in many cases these could take more than the current six hours."
The teachers' group wants a more open and transparent testing process, and a continuation of the moratorium on use of the tests to evaluate teachers and schools.
"For sixteen years I've been a teacher,” Jordan said. “Never once have I given a test without knowing exactly why and what information I wanted to learn from it. These 3 to 8 tests are scored with a single digit. The scores are not released until after the school year is over, and very little can be determined about individual student skills."
Jordan applauded newly elected Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa for expressing doubts about the state’s implementation of the standardized tests related to the Common Core learning standards. Rosa, who has been a Regent since 2008, said if she were not on the board, she would join the opt out movement and not allow her children to take the tests.
MCFT is sending a copy of the resolution to the State Education Department, Governor Cuomo, and state legislators representing the region.