Fred Smith, a veteran testing expert who used to work for the New York City Board of Education, warns parents that Pearson will be administering field tests in the schools in June. He provides a list of schools where the field tests will be given.
He urges parents to opt their children out of the field tests.
The opt out movement is proving to be the most powerful tool that parents have against the whole agenda of test-and-punish “reform” that is being foisted on children and schools, benefiting no one but the testing industry.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
But the question remains how to get that message to the thousands of poor parents who will never get it, just pro testing materials.
Administrators across NYS should be boycotting the Pearson field tests. Just throw the unopened boxes in the Hudson, St. Lawrence, Delaware, Mohawk or Susquehanna rivers; in Erie, Ontario, Champlain, George, Sacandaga, Chautauqua, Oneida, Seneca, Otsego, Canadaigua, Cayuga, or Skaneatlas lakes; in the Croton, Ashokan, Pepacton, Cannonsville, or Roundout reservoir; in the Long island Sound; or smack dab in the middle of the deep blue Atlantic. Send Pearson a message that we run the public schools – not them!
I don’t get it.
Pearson is testing its own test using live subjects to find out what, exactly? That the questions are too hard or easy? What are they measuring? More to the point, if they are the go-to experts on academic testing, why wouldn’t they already know how to design a test or write a test question? If the pharmaceutical companies tested new drugs on live subjects it would be immoral and illegal, so how is this any different?
They don’t know anything, they won’t learning anything & thi$ i$ even more meaningle$$ that the actual te$ting. They’re just making more $$$ on thi$ “field te$ting”
And, BTW, Pear$on $hould be paying the KID$ for taking their $tupid “field te$t$” (a$ has been noted in thi$ blog before). REFU$E!!!
“If the pharmaceutical companies tested new drugs on live subjects it would be immoral and illegal, so how is this any different?”
It is very different!
The pharmaceutical companies have to have the drugs approved at every step of the process by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) from the very beginning through testing it’s drugs on “live subjects” whether animal or human to the final approval process. That testing process is very well known and established (some might argue too established) so as to ensure the safety and efficacy of any pharmaceutical.
There is no equivalent to the FDA in the educational realm. About the most one can ask for at the moment is that these companies would follow human subject protocals and peer reviewed processes which are no where near what the FDA demands (and should demand for our safety). Hell, the US Education Department is part of the problem in “pushing” (yes in the sense that an illegal drug dealer pushes the product) these educational malpractices, i.e., educational standards and standardized testing.
Clear things up, robthequiet???
No that’s doing harm to the environment as these tests do harm to our children. Send them back to Pearson, at their expense, throw them in a large shredder to be recycled or drop them off at the doorstep ofTweed or your local BOE.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
Constance Kamii, a leading (perhaps THE leading) researcher on young children and mathematics, has written an article explaining why she is not in favor of some portions of the math Common Core. You can read it here:
Click to access kamiideyccssmathpaper.pdf
Why aren’t there charter schools on this list? Some of the charter chains are so pro-testing that I would think they would be thrilled to give these field tests. Is there a separate list for them? Or are their students not required for field testing? That seems very weird.
That list includes only traditional district DOE schools located in New York City. If you refer to the full state list, you’ll find most charter schools, plus scores of Catholic and other religious schools, and even some independent schools, like Woodland Hills Montessori.
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/assessment/fieldtest/2015eiftassignments.xlsx
Thank you, Tim — this is very helpful.
So I looked at that list and I was quite surprised to see schools like Xaverian (a Catholic 6 – 12 school) and many Yeshivas on this as field test sites. Does that mean those schools give the ELA/Math exam, or are they paid extra to take it? If those schools do give the exam, how can we see their results? I tried to search for them but could not. But if I want to see if the teachers at a Yeshiva are any good, can I check out their state test scores? Where are those scores (in aggregate by grade, obviously, not individual scores)?
I know that the diocesean schools in the city voluntarily opt in and administer the full ELA/ math NYSED 3-8 tests to their students. I’m assuming the same is true for all the private and parochial schools on the list.
Since the schools participate voluntarily and in part to demonstrate to potential donors and students how well they do vs public schools, I’m sure any school will tell you its scores if you ask. This tool from the Syracuse paper shows raw profiency rates: http://b2.caspio.com/dp.asp?AppKey=18321000d37d672a0edf4f8ca00a
Tim thank you for the link — these results are shocking! I cannot believe that the press has not reported on this long ago because I certainly knew nothing about this until you provided the link.
In Brooklyn, almost all the private and parochial schools are failing schools! They have abysmal results. A small % have more than half the students who meet standards and many have none.
Just for laughs, I did a search of Brooklyn schools (non-public). There were about 132 schools who took the state exams — some had less than 10 students, but I’d estimate at least 100 had reasonable size classes and a small number had over 50% meeting math standards, and even fewer meeting ELA standards.
Who knew there were so many failing Yeshivas? This is where Andrew Cuomo thinks public money needs to be spent? To underwrite failing PRIVATE schools? Or is this evidence that the state tests are as poorly designed as parents have been saying?
I think the point of the tests are to make public schools look bad – perhaps most don’t look closely at the private/parochial schools.