An Educator's Argument

You are correct in what you say here. However, the cause is actually the status quo "test and punish" regime that was installed via NCLB in 2002. If too many students are retained, the district would be sanctioned, have their resources limited, and be threatened with closure or takeover. In addition, because standardized tests reveal the effects of poverty, more than anything else, districts in poorer communities were reeling from the punitive effects of the law. Plus, the demographics of failing students seemed to reveal what is considered "discriminatory" - for which civil rights violations have been levied against districts. In response, not only schools, but the state itself began lowering its standards. If you were to have a look at the grade 4 and 8 tests from 2004 (because until RTTT, those were the only grades tested before high school) and a set from 2009, you would see a stark contrast in difficulty. The same would go for the Regents exams. When we were in school, Regents exams were taken by students who were preparing for college in order to earn an additional distinction. With the advent of NCLB, NYS decided to use the touted Regents exam as a graduation requirement for all. As a result, you will also see a decrease in the quality of the exams over the course of that decade. No one wanted to see a decline in graduating students; and certainly no one wanted the sanctions (and civil rights violations). Add in the moving target of cut scores that the state sets AFTER the test is taken and one can clearly recognize the real problem. 
New York State and its standards were the crown jewels of education before the federal government got involved. Now, we want to blame teachers for the results of poor political policy?

Do you know what criteria was used to reach the "30% proficiency?"? Were the questions developmentally appropriate for the ages of the students being tested? Was the number of test items, degree and depth of reading selections, the scope of the questions, or the amount of time given to complete these tasks appropriate?

Were you aware that 13 year olds (8th graders) were expected to read four 2-3 page technical articles written on a 10th grade level, complete 6-10 ambiguously worded multiple choice questions that each required students to go back to the reading passage and for which multiple responses were possible, then students were asked to write 1-2 well-constructed paragraphs for each passage and write an essay unifying ideas from two of the passages. Not so bad, you might say. Higher standards! Except for the fact that they gave these children 90 minutes to do all of the above! This is not a valid approach to measuring a student's abilities.

But the test was not a valid instrument to begin with. In 2013, Commissioner King announced that 70% of students would be failing the tests - this was before ANY items were bubbled. How could he be so sure? Because they spent 4 months massaging the scores in order to achieve the results that had been predetermined. This "data" will not be helping teachers inform their instruction for the children who took the exams - they have moved on. In addition, NO ONE, including the teachers, is allowed to see the actual test results. How is a teacher to be expected to teach to a certain standard when he or she is not permitted to see what the student got wrong and most especially, WHY the child got it wrong? Who in their right mind would consider this sound pedagogy? Why the secrecy? Education MUST be a transparent endeavor or there is something insidious going on that should be investigated. Parents should DEMAND to see these tests and to hold NYSED accountable.

Some state that in prior years, based on too-easy tests and a curriculum that has taught too little critical thinking, we have created an issue where students are unprepared for college and careers. On what do you base this assertion? Of course a child who has not yet completed third grade will not be able to pass a sixth grade test. Were you aware that there were identical items on those two tests? Of course not. Have you investigated the "curriculum(s)" being taught throughout the state? Have you ever been in a classroom to determine that critical thinking is lacking? Have you researched how NCLB has impacted a district's ability to retain students who are underprepared? Have you studied how lack of motivation due to an absence of negative consequences have affected achievement? Have you considered that, contrary to the mission of the "college and career ready" Common Core, every child is not a widget to be prepared for college? I doubt it. We need tradesmen, mechanics, artists, musicians, and poets - not all children should be expected to undertake STEM careers. In fact, were you even aware that the Common Core Standards do not even provide enough Math for pursuit in STEM careers?

Everyone seems to ignore the elephant in the room. They point to children in other countries who seem to be out-performing our own. Has anyone considered that socio-economic levels, demographics, a lack of diversity in population, a relative absence of non-native language-learners, and high level of respect and admiration that people in those countries have towards members of the teaching profession? The students in those countries are tracked and directed into technical or academic programs based on their aptitude. By age 15, those who are academically advanced are permitted to continue on an academic track. Parents and students in those countries take their education very seriously in order to compete for the privilege to continue. These students are not given standardized tests every year.

In our country, all students are accepted and expected to complete the same program as everyone else to age 18 (or until they age out at 21). US public schools do not/cannot turn students away - schools in other countries can and DO! US schools do not have technical/training programs within the system as do these other countries. Lastly, the NCLB (Federal control of what, according to the Constitution, should be under local control) mandates imposed sanctions on "under-performing" schools - essentially pulling the bread out of the starving man's hand. The mandates made it nearly impossible to retain students who weren't making the gains necessary to matriculate. If a student knows that it is not necessary to do the work and he/she will still be pushed through the system (because if the schools retain them, they will be cited for having too many retentions and will LOSE FUNDING) that student has no motivation to do the work. This is an important distinction - in other countries, a child does not move up until he/she has mastered the material for the grade - thereby ensuring that by the time the PISA test is taken (at age 15-16) every student has either been tracked out of the academic program or is at the same proficiency level. But what is most interesting about that international test that so many are pointing to as the downfall of US education, if you take a look at the actual report, when adjusted for demographics US students actually OUTPerformed their international counterparts.

We do, but unless and until the powers that be recognize that according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, children must have their basic needs met before learning can occur. In addition, those in upper socio-economic strata are provided more broad and enriching experiences, social capital, that enhance their ability to make connections between what they are learning and the world around them.

So, these tests are a monumental waste of time, money and resources. They were created as a remedy to a MANUFACTURED crisis. Bill Gates, the champion of the Common Core initiative addressed the National Conference of State Legislatures to explain how common core IS, in its very essences, teaching to a test and is designed to create a marketplace for corporations to peddle their wares.