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Garden City Teachers’ Association
170 Rockaway Avenue Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: 516.984.6536  Fax: 516.742.1894
E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.gardencityta.org
March 23, 2015
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Learning is more than a test score. It’s that simple. Currently there is great discussion, both in the media and in living
rooms, regarding the New York State ELA and Mathematics Assessments for Grades 3-8 based on the Common Core
Learning Standards. These discussions include the age-appropriateness of the exams, the length of seat time required to
take the exams, and the usefulness of the data the exams provide educators.
Each assessment is based on the Common Core Learning Standards that correlate with that grade level, and there is an
incredible amount of debate that has taken place on whether or not the standards themselves are developmentally
appropriate. An example of a kindergarten Common Core standard is “read emergent reader texts with purpose and
understanding,” even though research shows that the average age when children learn to read independently is six and
one-half years (6.5). I encourage you to look at the research and come to your own conclusion on if the Common Core
standards are developmentally appropriate.
The length of seat time for the assessments is surprisingly high in my opinion. Each subject area requires three days of
testing, so a third grade student has three days of ELA testing and three days of mathematics testing. In third grade, the
ELA assessment has three 70 minute sessions, with the math assessment utilizing two 60 minute sessions and one 70
minute session. Combined, a third grade student in the state of New York has 400 minutes of seat time (instead of
instructional time). Comparatively, the New York State Bar Examination provides 375 minutes of seat time. The testing
cycle repeats for children each year for the next five years.
Every good assessment should inform instruction, yet the NYS standardized tests in grades 3-8 do not. Once the
examination period has been completed, school districts are not provided with any data from the state until after your
child has left the classroom for the year. The data that finally is provided is merely statistical, not meaningful. Raw scores
are converted to the infamous 1-4 scale, and growth scores for teacher evaluations are provided to the school district.
Parents and teachers are not provided with the opportunity to look at the exam and identify the specific questions that
were marked incorrect.
Last year, many Garden City parents made a personal decision to “refuse” (also referred to as opting-out) the state
standardized tests in grades 3-8. Other parents have questioned their classroom teacher on refusing the test, seeking
advice. It would be inappropriate for any individual teacher to advise a parent on refusing the test, but I want to make it
clear that the Garden City Teachers’ Association, along with our state affiliate NYSUT, fully support a parent’s right to
choose what is best for their child and a parent’s right to “refuse” the state standardized assessments. I am also very proud
to work in a school district that did not institute a “sit and stare” policy, choosing to respect parents’ decisions as well and
maintained the dignity of students whose parents refused the exams.
The most common questions that are asked of me regarding potential consequences of “refusing” are: Will refusing affect
my child receiving remedial/AIS services? Will refusing hurt my child’s teacher? Will refusing hurt our school district in terms of
funding or being labeled as failing?
Regarding services, the Garden City School District has a comprehensive AIS (academic intervention services) plan that
looks at various criteria when determining the eligibility of services. Those decisions are not based solely on the child’s
performance on a standardized assessment. Asking if refusing will hurt your child’s teacher is a noble question, but I
believe the wrong question. The question to ask is how these assessments help your child and child’s teacher and the
answer is they don’t. Finally, you may have heard about AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) and that if a school district
doesn’t test at least 95% of students, they could be subject to sanctions and labeled as a failing school. To date, school
districts that have not met AYP due to a high percentage of student refusals have NOT been subject to any sanctions nor
have they been labeled as failing schools. There is no correlation between AYP and state aid either. In fact, there is
currently a bill known as the “Common Core Parental Refusal Act” that has bi-partisan support in both the NYS
Assembly (A06025) and NYS Senate (S04161) specifically stating that participation rates can not be used for allocating
state aid or labeling schools as failing.
I have included links below that contain more information on your right to refuse, as well as our school district’s AIS
policy, the testing guides provided by New York State, information on AYP, and links to the refusal bills in both houses.
I implore you to educate yourself on this issue, along with the many other recently proposed education reforms. As
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” You must
advocate for your children.
The New York State Education Department’s overreliance on state assessments irresponsibly uses these scores to attempt
to label students, schools, and teachers as “failing.” Teaching is an art, not a science – please know that we value your
children as more than a test score.
Sincerely,
Kevin Pollitt
President, Garden City Teachers’ Association
NYSUT Parent Resources - http://www.nysut.org/resources/all-listing/2013/june/getting-it-right-a-parents-guide-to-student-assessment
Facts about AYP - http://www.fairtest.org/why-you-can-boycott-testing-without-fear
New York State Allies for Public Education - www.nysape.org
Garden City AIS Plan - http://www.gardencity.k12.ny.us/Page/3851
NYS Testing Guides - https://www.engageny.org/resource/test-guides-english-language-arts-and-mathematics-archive
“Common Core Parental Refusal Act” - http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?term=2015&bn=A06025
*To access links, a copy of this letter can be found on our website at www.gardencityta.org