A small group of public high schools in New York City managed to get exempted from the testing regime of the New York Regents many years ago.
And they have proven themselves.
These schools use performance assessments rather than the standardized tests of the Regents (although they do take the Regents exam in English language arts). The performance assessments are demanding. They are judged by teachers, parents, and others.
The students in these schools are succeeding at far higher levels than the students in other public high schools in the city. They have a higher graduation rate, a lower dropout rate, and a higher rate of persistence in college than students from other public high schools in the city. They have higher graduation rates for black students, Hispanic students, Asian students, white students, and students with disabilities than the New York City public schools in general.
Now they want to increase their number from 28 (26 in the city) by adding another 19.
But city and state officials are reluctant. What if they let other schools escape the testing regime? Who knows how many would seek to be exempt next year and the year after. What if no one were left to be tested? What do results matter, as compared to the sense of control and power that high-level officials thrive on?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
What is a performance assessment and how does that differ from a standardized assessment??
It is not a standardized test. No pick the bubble The student picks a topic and with the approval of the teacher, does research and writes up findings. It is a demonstration of knowledge not a guessing game
Diane Ravitch
Thank you. I have no problem with this as long as we are basing the answers on academic content.
In fall 2008, I student taught at one of those schools, after a prior student teaching gig in one of the ‘small-school’, test-is-king high schools elsewhere in Manhattan. The difference is overwhelming. I am a history teacher, and we had the ability to teach thematically, and to assess based on performance on creative, innovative projects also deeply rooted in critical thinking skills. The kids responded in incredibly positive ways, and were producing some amazing work. If I could have gotten hired there, I would have in a heartbeat … But then Bloomburg instituted his hiring freeze (I landed at another fantastic school in Massachusetts, so no regrets). I have no doubt that schools like these are better serving the students of NYC, and I’m thrilled to hear that this might be expanding. I was raised on the Regents exam, and as a student I never worried about them or had problems excelling on them. But when I started teaching in NYC, I saw how much of a toll those tests took on more disadvantaged students, without any real measure of their intelligence or development in their study of history. To have more schools follow the model of performance assessments is a small step in the right direction for once.
Now as a mom and not a teacher, here is my concerns. First of all, I think there are facts and information about history that must be learned and I’d even say memorized.
I looked at my son’s social studies book when he was in 5th grade. I read the questions at the end of the chapter and was shocked that there were NO questions about the facts that they had read. Instead it was a lot of analysis. I believe it was about the Mayans.
I decided to quiz him on the facts in the chapter. I was pleasantly surprised he knew the answers. He then told me his teacher made up a FACT sheet and had them memorize it.
I immediately wrote a note to the teacher and principal thanking her for noting the deficiency in the book and hen acting upon it.
I have no problem with some analysis of the situation, but I want to make sure he gets the facts and learns them.
I also am concerned about the subjectivity when they are doing an analysis.
Yes, but WHAT facts should “everyone” know and memorize? That’s a sticky point, since people would legitimately disagree with what are “essential?”
As a history teacher, I have discovered if I give the kids some background and then have them work to analyze, that they remember the basic facts much better than if I just give them a fact sheet to memorize
Cause and effect are crucial to understanding history. Analyzing and critical thinking are skills that are important. is Dates…students can easily look them up. Now they can Google them.
The thing is this: it’s easy to look up facts. You can’t “look up” critical thinking skills. In addition, an analysis has to be based on facts or it’s poorly done. No student can do a good analysis of an event or a subject without knowing the facts behind it.
Performance based evaluations give teachers a broader view of what their students are actually learning and how they’re synthesizing it all. They allow students who understand material but test poorly to show what they’ve learned. In many ways, they encourage broader and deeper teaching and learning.
Here is a good place to begin: Performance Assessment | The Alternative to High Stakes Testing
This quote in the article pretty much sums up the fear:
“The question remains, how do you expand this type of network without opening the door to many other types of schools asking for waivers from testing?” she said. “There needs to be some testing to show that the kids are surpassing a minimum competency compared with other students in the state.”
And I sigh. Well that quote is loaded with several assumptions and beliefs which include (1) the only acceptable testing is discrete, paper/pencil, perhaps computer-based – and not performance based; (2) tests are needed to compare and sort kids; and (3) even though the schools get high grades per the state’s own system and the group maintains its quality, that is not enough. And of course, while not stated, in the back of the logic would be the lost income from not taking the tests….
I would so rather have my child in a performance-based assessment, showing what they know, understand, and have examined and analyzed. Gee – the school is getting results without the use of the standardized tests – and has the data to prove it – why THERE’s a paradigm shift that will be hard for some to get their heads around and believe the data.
My son was a student at the Institute for Collaborative Education, a member of the consortium, where students learn through research and analysis, not through test prep. Students develop portfolios by which they are also evaluated. We would have to change the culture of education to move toward this model. It also requires smaller class sizes.
As a historian, I felt that his classes truly required critical thinking and not memorization. Students had no formal grades. Teachers wrote evaluations to students. They wrote about what the student learned, where their strengths were, and what they needed to improve. Much more meaningful than traditional letter grades.
I live in what has traditionally been considered a progressive district. Unfortunately, we have had a vocal group of parents who believe that quality is measured by numbers. There has been a push to move down the grade level at which students would receive standard letter grade report cards. Up until now, students in K-6 have received narrative report cards. Teachers spend hours writing multipage reports that really give a picture of where each child shines and where they a relatively weak. The push is on to start giving letter grades to 5th and 6th graders “to prepare them for high school.”
There are a number of high schools in Boston who have followed the same approach as the NY Consortium—including at least on K-8 school (Mission Hill). Another great advantage is that kids truly are proud of themselves when they finally (it sometimes take a second try) pass them. They know they are for real. They are “high stakes”, but ot in a punitive sorting sense. They are the outcome of respect bot for the discipline involved and the student’s competence. They ask for a lot and mostly get it! Many of the nation’s top standardized testing experts have voiced their support. (Read The Power of Their Ideas and/or I Schools We Trust) o ore about how this works in two pubic schools–one K-8 and one 7-12.