Well, here is a breath of fresh air.
The teachers in Freeport, Long Island, New York, issued a statement explaining why parents not only have the right to opt their children out of the state tests, but explain why the tests are pointless.
Some important state and local officials have engaged in tactics meant to intimidate parents—threatening their their children and their school will suffer punishment if they dare to opt out.
The Freeport Teachers Association says these are false threats. Parents have the right to opt out.
The tests are meaningless because they are scored over the summer, and the results are returned when the students have a different teacher, who will learn nothing about individual students from the scores.
The tests continue to have no value for children with disabilities and English language learners.
The FTA goes further to urge parents to opt their children out of the tests because it is the only way to force the state to change to a more useful form of assessment.
Parents, you and you alone have the power to compel change. Use it!
For their courage and professional integrity, I place the Freeport Teachers Association on the Honor Roll of this Blog.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I agree! More parents should do this.
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NYSUT reposted this article from the Lo Hud newspapers. While they are not calling for students to opt out, they are calling out the state out for establishing unreasonable and capricious benchmarks on the state exams. They report that the benchmarks or cut scores are designed to give the people a false impression on the state of public education. The cut scores are politically motivated to put more schools and teachers in jeopardy rather than providing useful information to parents and teachers. The article cites the disparity between the cut scores on state exams and the number of students passing Regents exams. They recommend that the state revise its benchmarks in order to restore confidence in the system so that more students will “opt in.” While they are not recommending opting out, they realize why students and parents are protesting the unfair accountability system.https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/contributors/2018/04/02/standardized-testing-states-benchmarks-dont-add-up-view/479234002/
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Bingo. Hammer meets nail.
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What has two thumbs and is a stakeholder in the Freeport Union Free School District? This guy!
Freeport receives a generous share of state aid to run its schools—about $75 million out of its $175 million budget, or $25,664 per student (not bad!).
So as a Freeport UFSD stakeholder I have three questions for the FTA:
What specific, achievable assessment does the FTA propose to replace the NYSED tests with?
How many FTA teachers send their own kids to Freeport UFSD schools?
Thanks!
T
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NYSED tests are a waste of money.
No other nation in the world tests every student every year.
Why should we?
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That is a little different from the position being advanced by the FTA, assuming they are being honest with parents and taxpayers. They are advocating changing “these tests to some system of assessment that can be used correctly and appropriately to help your child succeed.”
So again: what specific, achievable assessment or system does the FTA want to see in place of the NYSED tests?
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Standardized tests should be used only for diagnostic purposes, not accountability. I spent seven years on the NAEP board, and. Think sampling can give all the information needed. If you want to k ow how your child is doing, ask her teacher. Most nations test once in elementary school, once in middle school, once in high school. We are saddled with the George W. Bush legacy.
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Whoa, you’re out on “the Island” now?
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If only! No, what I meant is that Freeport UFSD, somewhat unusually for a suburban district, takes in a big chunk of state aid, a disproportionate share of which comes from hardworking NYC residents like you and me. I am going to be watching them like a hawk from now on!
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Why don’t you watch the charters like a hawk? They are not at all transparent.
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There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who can count and those who can’t.
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“What specific, achievable assessment does the FTA propose to replace the NYSED tests with?”
Since all standardized tests suffer all the onto-epistemological errors and falsehoods and psychometric fudging that render any usage of the results to be COMPLETELY INVALID, why would anyone want to replace one pile of crap with another pile of crap?
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Freeport Rocks! Check out ST Caucus as they are asking all teachers to opt their kids out! This should have been done many years ago when it first started and we wouldn’t be in this predicament now. Teachers, stop letting administrators tell you they need data! You more than anyone know these are not the tests kids took before CC!
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Dear Dianne,
Thank you for recognizing the Freeport Teachers Union for communicating the facts, yet again, about the Civil Right of parents to have their children Opt-out. Freeport is an outstanding school district and their teachers are among the best.
Critics cannot just look at the amount of money that is allocated by the state. The formula for funding is set by NY State, and they have not fully reimbursed the districts on Long Island funding for many years from the Gap Elimintaion Adjustment imposed by the state. So, no, they are not taking money away from the city.
Freeport is different from many of the surrounding districts in that it is very diverse. The population includes a high amount of unaccompanied minors from across the border, in addition to a large English Language Learner population. (The highest amount is in Hempstead, Roosevelt, and two others. The highest other than in Texas). Freeport is a suburban community that has been also largely affected by the devastation, and displacement of students of Hurricane Sandy, even now. They have improved their graduation rate to higher than is reported in the newspaper, considering that there are students who complete high school over the summer which is not reported in the newspaper. The teachers have repeatedly encouraged the children to reach higher and the students respond by doing just that and more. Our students win scholarships and are accepted to higher education at a high rate. Why? The teachers have done the best they can with what they have been given, and always go above and beyond. They know their students and care. Their position is not about the money, it’s about the kids. They know the kids are better than these tests could measure and could come up with a better way of assessment.
Dianne is correct. We need to keep a closer eye on the charter schools. The directives about testing have come from the top of the Department of Education, to the state, to the district. It seems that the districts have to support the test or risk being cited for non-compliance even though the tests say nothing about the children as learners. One goal is to prove public education fails and therefore continue to siphon money away from public education.
Thank you Freeport Teachers Association for standing up for the rights of families, and continuing to putting the children first.
Sincerely,
Chris Waters
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Thank you Ms. Waters
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