The head of New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Karen Magee, spoke bluntly in favor of a boycott of the state tests.
The chair of the State Board of Regents, Merryl Tisch, blasted back at Magee and accused her of protecting adults, not children. Of course, this is a favorite meme of the “reform” movement, that anyone who cares about teachers is ipso facto acting in opposition to the interests of children. Michelle Rhee called her group “StudentsFirst,” implying that those who teach children never put children first. Hedge fund managers put children first, not the people who teach them every day for about the same amount of money in a year that the typical hedge fund manager makes in a week. No one has ever explained how education will get better if no one wants to teach because of disrespect, poor working conditions and demoralization.
According to the article:
“I would urge parents at this point in time to opt out of testing,” Karen Magee of the New York State United Teachers said in an appearance on upstate public radio’s “The Capitol Pressroom.”
“They’re not valid indicators of student progress,” she added.
State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch shot back that the tests “provide an important source of objective information.”
“It’s time to stop making noise to protect the adults and start speaking up for the students,” Tisch said.
Parents are leading the test boycott and opt out movement, not teachers and not their unions. Parents, we may safely assume, care more about their children than state officials do.
Parents get it. They see their children stressed out by constant testing. Their children bear the burden of knowing that their performance may cause their teacher to be fired. That’s a heavy burden. Parents understand that tests don’t teach children. Teachers teach children. Without teachers, there is no instruction.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I think Chancellor Tisch should prove it by taking an 8th grade NYS Common Cote test.
Straight from the Cuomo play book.
I would like Regent Tisch to go into the classrooms of New York and tell the kids that this testing is all for them; that she is only thinking of the kids and not the adults. That by testing and sorting children on a test she is assuring they get a better education. I wonder what the kids would say? I bet they would rather have the leak in the roof fixed or the playground equipment repaired.
I’m out in Utah, but my 8th and 9th students would shout her down so fast that it would make her head spin. The kids HATE the tests and KNOW that they are worthless.
Hello,
I have been a follower of yours for some time. When I get into conversations about charter schools in Indiana, people have said they are held accountable. I read in your posts that most or all charter schools are not held accountable. Can you help me address these peoples erroneous information? I really appreciate what you are doing. I went to our State house on a snowy day to support our Democrat Superintendant!
Cherry
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Cherry,
Charter schools choose their students. Public schools can’t do that unless they have entry exams, and no one points to them as models for the entire system. Charter schools have their own discipline codes, so they can suspend or expel students they don’t want, who then return to public schools (but the charter keeps the money). Charter laws vary from state to state, but in some, charter teachers do not need certification, charters may be rated D or F with no consequences, and there may be little or no oversight.
Cherry,
I would encourage you to do your own research.
Diane says that charter schools choose their students, but that is against the law in most states, including Indiana.
She says they expel students they don’t want, but most states require charters to follow the same laws on expulsion as traditional schools, including providing alternative education.
She says charter schools keep the money when a student leaves them, but in most states, billing is “per diem”, so the money goes back to the schools that the students attend.
Here are FAQs from Indiana state government. http://www.in.gov/icsb/2447.htm. As you can see, state law prohibits charters from establishing admission policies or limiting student admissions, except when the number of applicants exceed spaces, in which case as public random lottery is held.
Regarding accountability, charters are held to much higher standards than traditional public schools almost everywhere. They operate under short term agreements that have a performance component, and many have been shut down for not meeting their goals. Here are the details on Indiana’s accountability structure: http://www.in.gov/icsb/2434.htm.
For financial accountability, see http://www.in.gov/icsb/2444.htm.
It looks like Indiana is on its way to becoming a quality charter school authorizer.
John,
Charter accountability varies from state to state. Typically charter schools have far higher suspension rates than public schools. A federal GAO report said charter schools have disproportionately small numbers of students with disabilities. In many cities, charters have very few children who are ELL. In some states, eg Michigan, charters operate with bo accountability. in Ohio, the biggest charter chain has schools graded D or F with no accountability. in North Carolina, charters are allowed to hire uncertified teachers. Those are facts.
Yes, I understand that there are “cherry picked” facts that support what you said. I just think there is another side to the story, that in fact applies to most charters schools.
We can both agree that there are lousy charters, lousy charter laws, lousy operators, and lousy authorizers. I guess we differ on the existence of excellent charters, operators, laws, and authorizers.
Most recent CREDO study on urban charters says they serve as many students with disabilities and ELL. It also says more of those charters outperform traditional counterparts than not, and by a very large margin.
It looks like Indiana has a good law and good policies, which hopefully will lead to strong, quality charter schools. Why not acknowledge that?
And in my district, every single traditional public school is a “failing school” (some for more than a decade), but with no accountability. No charter is, yet many have been shut down for not meeting their accountability plans.
Read: http://www.livingindialogue.com/what-can-teachers-in-illinois-learn-from-indiana/#comments
Still with the “teachers and their unions only want to protect adults” nonsense? It sounds like the reform-bot audio loop is stuck… and it’s time for some new sound bites…
If I may correct Tisch’s statement: “State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch shot back that the tests “provide an important source of Bovine Excrement.”
“It’s time to stop making noise to protect the thneeds and start speaking up for the trees” Meryl Tisch said. “I speak for the trees”
So Tisch thinks that it is wrong to support those who have devoted their careers to teaching, caring for, and helping children? Does she also believe that we should stop supporting nurses and start sticking up for the sick and injured? And of course we should stop protecting firefighters and simply care about those whose houses are engulfed in flame while they’re screaming for help from the upstairs window. And can we please stop supporting pediatricians and start worrying about all those children. And while we’re at it, lets just vilify the oncologists and start sticking up for cancer patients.
Meryl Tisch is a public embarrassment. Her obvious senility should disqualify her to be Regents Chancellor.
And would you please stop sending your donations to Hospice and please start supporting the terminally ill! And God forbid you ever helped support Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity, didn’t you know that it was the lepers that needed your support.
For the last year Tisch has been heavily medicated. She can barely talk and clearly cannot think. Sanax and vodka combined can be brain numbing. That is the condition of the person acting as Chancellor. She gets away with it because she is part of the uber wealthy class–but in the mean time the children of NY State suffer because of her leadership. Could Tuschie have selected two bigger clowns as Commissioner–David Steiner had to be removed from office because he took expensive trips paid for by Pearson right before he signed a $32M contract with them. John King got laughed out of Albany after calling parents a “special interst” group–and after he and Tuschie conducted their “not listening” tour of NY State. Tuschie has one year left. She is hopeful she can inflict another decade of damage on public education prior to departing office.
I just don’t buy that kids are stressed out by 90 minutes of testing, 6 days per year (NY 8th grade ELA & Math).
They’re stressed out because of the messages they are getting in the classroom.
You must not be in the classroom or have kids of your own at a tested grade level. It’s hard to see clearly when you’re standing on the outside.
Tricia, I have 2 kids in testing grades and am responsible for 300 others.
I’m curious as to where you are, John, because your idea of testing is different than in Utah, my state. Each student (grades 7-9) in my school takes 15 days of 70 minute testing sessions in ELA, math, and science. That doesn’t count the countless practice tests and computer practice sessions.
And these are children as young as eight years old, taking 20 or more hours of standardized testing per year. Third graders are so stressed out about these tests that they’re asking their parents to take typing classes, and fifth graders are staying up nights worrying about what their tests will do to their school’s grade.
And you’re not even counting the ELL and Special Education students, who get extended time (sometimes up to 1 1/2 times long) to complete these tests. Some of the students at my school take 10 or 12 ours just on the writing portion of the test.
And why wouldn’t the teachers need to tell their students that these tests are important? According to NY state, these scores are now 50% of a teacher’s evaluation, and a teacher cannot be rated “effective” if their test scores are low.
I’m in New York. Those are the test administration times for NYS exams. Yes, this doesn’t count extended time.
Value add on test scores is 20% in NY, maybe to rise depending on negotiations.
Yes, I expect teachers would tell the students that the tests are important and to do their best, but schools are obviously doing way more than that.
You haven’t read the latest in NY, then, John. The new budget bill just upped the amount that the tests will count for evaluations to 50%. I’m not even in New York and I know this.
Keep it comin’ NY Teacher. You’re on a roll! Love it.
It seems like there is this great cooperation between teacher, student and parent… but if legislators are sometimes parents, shouldn’t they also be in this cooperative triangle? Instead they seem to want to separate these three actors and pin them against each other in order to make reform that doesn’t benefit anyone because they’re getting false information.