Only minutes ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that’s he going to convene a panel of educators and legislators to review the rollout of the controversial Common Core curriculum. Cuomo made the announcement during his 2014-2015 budget presentation. Acknowledging that there have been complaints statewide about the Common Core from parents, teachers, and students, Cuomo said, […]
standardized testing
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Senator Flanagan’s early Christmas gift to testing critics
Many parents, teachers, and education advocates may be sighing with relief today. The reason? At least some of their concerns about high-stakes testing, implementation of the more rigorous Common Core curriculum, and teacher evaluations have been heard by New York State Senator John Flanagan. After five hearings, Flanagan issued a report yesterday that might cause […]
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New York’s City Council says enough testing
Former New York City education chancellor Joel Klein spent years extolling the benefits of high-stakes testing. But now, the NYC City Council is saying enough is enough. And they’re asking the state Education Department to forgo using student test results as a main assessment tool. The council, according to an Ed Week article, unanimously passed […]
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PISA scores forecast dimming future for US students
If students, parents, teachers, and business leaders are wondering about the impact education reform is having on academic performance in most US school districts, the latest results of the Program for International Student Assessment scores provide a stark answer. US students are not improving in core subjects – reading, math, and science. And even worse, […]
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The test score rage: rhetoric versus reform
Well, that gave everybody something to talk about, didn’t it? State education officials released school-district scores on standardized tests last week, and the news was awful. Only 31 percent of the state’s students met or exceeded the “proficiency” standard for math. And only 31.1 percent of them met the English standard. And among the large […]
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Rochester school board member Willa Powell among parents rejecting tests
School districts across the state will begin administering standardized English Language Arts tests next week to students in third through eighth grades. The following week, students will begin taking math and science tests. But not every student will participate, including the son of Rochester school board member Willa Powell. Powell’s son is a student at […]
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Was the Atlanta education scandal inevitable?
The cheating scandal in the Atlanta public school system has shocked the nation, though it’s a little unclear why. Educators and parents concerned about overemphasis on high-stakes standardized tests have been predicting this kind of thing for years. Late last week we learned that Atlanta’s former superintendent, Beverly Hall, had been indicted on racketeering charges. […]
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Rochester school board says there’s too much testing
Last night, the Rochester school board voted 6 to 1 in favor of asking Albany lawmakers and state education officials to develop a new system to evaluate student learning. The new policy, which was largely developed by board member Mary Adams, rejects the state’s reliance on standardized testing as the main way to measure student […]
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Test anxiety
Rochester could join a number of schools around the country that forgo high-stakes standardized testing if the Rochester school board approves a policy proposed by board member Mary Adams. | The resolution will be voted on this month. | High stakes testing was a main feature of the No Child Left Behind law, and it […]
