Re: State Assessment Results

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by itsagoodlife

Posted by nycbuslady

Posted by Adri

I'm glad DS has taken the tests every year, not because of the tests per se, but to build stamina and to know what to expect when taking tests. The next one is the SHSAT in 2 weeks, and while the content is different, at least he is ready to seat down for 3 hours without complains.

I agree. There are going to be tests in life. Unless the kid gets totally stressed about it, there's no reason why they shouldn't take it, IMO.

There's "no reason" for children to be forced to sit for HOURS at a time to take tests that are developmentally inappropriate and written for children MUCH older. I taught 3rd grade last year and the ELA test was hard. It was written at an 8th grade reading level and I had kids crying. It is too hard for them. The reading passages are boring as all get out and furthermore, they are entirely too difficult for them. The 8th grade test was geared for 12th graders.

Teacher and mom of 3 and my children have never taken a NYS assessment. These tests are designed to set the kids up for failure so they can blame the teachers. Its an absurd and cruel system.

Yes.. there will be tests in life. How about allowing teachers to teach and to then create a FAIR assessment at the end to determine understanding? This system is beyond broken. Politicians and school text book companies need to step back and allow educators to do the work of educating.

To answer the OPS question, the results are out. They are meaningless.
Stepping down now

Thank you for writing this.
I have been on the fence about whether or not my DD should take these tests now that she is in 3rd grade and i have to make a decision.
I have always leaned towards opting her out, but there was always a nagging voice in my "good two shoes" brain that said I shouldn't. She reads well, is good in math, so I was thinking, well maybe I'm doing her an injustice.
But reading this, and the fact that the passages are an EIGHTH GRADE level in 3rd grade- just made my decision for me.
My DD is in 3rd now and I can't see her having the attention span for this or the reading level- and she reads above grade level.
What the hell is wrong with this state?
Disgraceful

Re: State Assessment Results

Posted by nycbuslady

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by itsagoodlife

Posted by nycbuslady

Posted by Adri

I'm glad DS has taken the tests every year, not because of the tests per se, but to build stamina and to know what to expect when taking tests. The next one is the SHSAT in 2 weeks, and while the content is different, at least he is ready to seat down for 3 hours without complains.

I agree. There are going to be tests in life. Unless the kid gets totally stressed about it, there's no reason why they shouldn't take it, IMO.

There's "no reason" for children to be forced to sit for HOURS at a time to take tests that are developmentally inappropriate and written for children MUCH older. I taught 3rd grade last year and the ELA test was hard. It was written at an 8th grade reading level and I had kids crying. It is too hard for them. The reading passages are boring as all get out and furthermore, they are entirely too difficult for them. The 8th grade test was geared for 12th graders.

Teacher and mom of 3 and my children have never taken a NYS assessment. These tests are designed to set the kids up for failure so they can blame the teachers. Its an absurd and cruel system.

Yes.. there will be tests in life. How about allowing teachers to teach and to then create a FAIR assessment at the end to determine understanding? This system is beyond broken. Politicians and school text book companies need to step back and allow educators to do the work of educating.

To answer the OPS question, the results are out. They are meaningless.
Stepping down now

Thank you for writing this.
I have been on the fence about whether or not my DD should take these tests now that she is in 3rd grade and i have to make a decision.
I have always leaned towards opting her out, but there was always a nagging voice in my "good two shoes" brain that said I shouldn't. She reads well, is good in math, so I was thinking, well maybe I'm doing her an injustice.
But reading this, and the fact that the passages are an EIGHTH GRADE level in 3rd grade- just made my decision for me.
My DD is in 3rd now and I can't see her having the attention span for this or the reading level- and she reads above grade level.
What the hell is wrong with this state?
Disgraceful

I figure you before you opt out from the get go, let them take it in 3rd grade and see how they fare. If it turns out to be a really stressful experience, then opt out in the future. But you may be pleasantly surprised! My daughter got in the 99th percentile. i wouldn't have known that without the test. Yes, in the end it doesn't matter, but it's nice to know (at least I think so).

Message edited 10/15/2018 11:57:31 PM.

Re: State Assessment Results

I get that they have to make them harder than grade level (they need kids to get questions wrong and to scale scores). Every test I ever took in life was twisted to be harder than it should be.

The one person who was happy with the test identified that her son had a major deficiency in writing. His score will earn him extra help in school (pull out help). He has not gotten that until now.

I have a 3rd grader. He’s taking the test this year.

Interesting about the NYC High school changes. I went to a specialized school. It was the best education that I ever received (and I had tons of higher education). I predict that this will drive up enrollment (and tuition) to private schools.

Re: State Assessment Results

To those whose kids "do well" and score in the high percentiles... you DO realize that the results are meaningless in that the opt-out rate is HIGH and the percentage of children who DO NOT finish the test is high as well. Also, children with IEPs and children who are brand new to this country and who do NOT speak the language are also forced to sit for these tests and those students score 0's or 1's?

So if your students score is being compared to THESE kids, then OF COURSE your child scored high! Receiving a 3 or a 4 on these tests is no small feat, so I am not saying your child is not bright... however, bragging about being in the "99th" percentile means nothing more than out of 100 who took the test, your child scored better than 99 of them. 50 may have learning disabilities, another 20 may not have eaten breakfast or gotten a good night of sleep the night before. Another 10 may not have finished and the rest might not speak English and may have guessed on every question.

Again, these tests mean nothing. I am honestly shocked that there has not been a class action lawsuit brought against the state yet by parents. Especially in NYC where they use scare tactics to make people force their kids to sit for these tests KNOWING that they really are not "supposed" to use the results for placement.

Do what you feel is right for your child obviously. But truthfully, the tests are a cruel waste of time.

Re: State Assessment Results

Re: State Assessment Results

Re: State Assessment Results

Re: State Assessment Results

Posted by Straightarrow

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by itsagoodlife

To those whose kids "do well" and score in the high percentiles... you DO realize that the results are meaningless in that the opt-out rate is HIGH and the percentage of children who DO NOT finish the test is high as well. Also, children with IEPs and children who are brand new to this country and who do NOT speak the language are also forced to sit for these tests and those students score 0's or 1's?

So if your students score is being compared to THESE kids, then OF COURSE your child scored high! Receiving a 3 or a 4 on these tests is no small feat, so I am not saying your child is not bright... however, bragging about being in the "99th" percentile means nothing more than out of 100 who took the test, your child scored better than 99 of them. 50 may have learning disabilities, another 20 may not have eaten breakfast or gotten a good night of sleep the night before. Another 10 may not have finished and the rest might not speak English and may have guessed on every question.

Again, these tests mean nothing. I am honestly shocked that there has not been a class action lawsuit brought against the state yet by parents. Especially in NYC where they use scare tactics to make people force their kids to sit for these tests KNOWING that they really are not "supposed" to use the results for placement.

Do what you feel is right for your child obviously. But truthfully, the tests are a cruel waste of time.

See that's another reason I am strongly considering opting out. Not so much for my daughter, but to make a statement. The more people that opt out, the more the state will get the message.
The goal should be 100% opt out rate.
Then what would they do?

Yup! My son always got 1's and 2's, he was a special education student. His tests were not altered to fit his learning, like his regular school work was. Not to mention, the special education teachers have been rated "highly ineffective" because their students can't pass these tests meant for gen ed kids (and beyond), and are at risk of being let go. Meanwhile, they are GREAT teachers, and are really making strides with their students. The whole system is flawed.

My daughter is "bright" but I don't have her take the tests. What indicates that she is a bright student to me is the regular classroom testing her teachers have done (which aren't always easy!), the feedback from her teachers, and her grades on her report card. Right now she is excelling in middle school, and I don't need a "standardized test" full of crap to tell me that.

Exactly. My son is dyslexic and dysgraphic and before he had his device, he most likely would have gotten an automatic 1 because they would not have been able to read his handwriting.

Message edited 10/17/2018 12:51:00 PM.

Re: State Assessment Results

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by Straightarrow

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by itsagoodlife

To those whose kids "do well" and score in the high percentiles... you DO realize that the results are meaningless in that the opt-out rate is HIGH and the percentage of children who DO NOT finish the test is high as well. Also, children with IEPs and children who are brand new to this country and who do NOT speak the language are also forced to sit for these tests and those students score 0's or 1's?

So if your students score is being compared to THESE kids, then OF COURSE your child scored high! Receiving a 3 or a 4 on these tests is no small feat, so I am not saying your child is not bright... however, bragging about being in the "99th" percentile means nothing more than out of 100 who took the test, your child scored better than 99 of them. 50 may have learning disabilities, another 20 may not have eaten breakfast or gotten a good night of sleep the night before. Another 10 may not have finished and the rest might not speak English and may have guessed on every question.

Again, these tests mean nothing. I am honestly shocked that there has not been a class action lawsuit brought against the state yet by parents. Especially in NYC where they use scare tactics to make people force their kids to sit for these tests KNOWING that they really are not "supposed" to use the results for placement.

Do what you feel is right for your child obviously. But truthfully, the tests are a cruel waste of time.

See that's another reason I am strongly considering opting out. Not so much for my daughter, but to make a statement. The more people that opt out, the more the state will get the message.
The goal should be 100% opt out rate.
Then what would they do?

Yup! My son always got 1's and 2's, he was a special education student. His tests were not altered to fit his learning, like his regular school work was. Not to mention, the special education teachers have been rated "highly ineffective" because their students can't pass these tests meant for gen ed kids (and beyond), and are at risk of being let go. Meanwhile, they are GREAT teachers, and are really making strides with their students. The whole system is flawed.

My daughter is "bright" but I don't have her take the tests. What indicates that she is a bright student to me is the regular classroom testing her teachers have done (which aren't always easy!), the feedback from her teachers, and her grades on her report card. Right now she is excelling in middle school, and I don't need a "standardized test" full of crap to tell me that.

Exactly. My son is dyslexic and dysgraphic and before he had his device, he most likely would have gotten an automatic 1 because they would not have been able to read his handwriting.

See I feel like we should all be standing up to this then. Even if our children can score super high on these tests. If they mean nothing, then why not take a stand by saying, you know what, I am not letting my child take this test. Even if MY child can score well, it's clearly not a fair test for EVERYONE. And if that is the case, it's broken and needs to be fixed. But nothing will be done about it unless everyone starts opting out.
Then the state can go analyze THESE results:
Nothing, times nothing is NOTHING.
Maybe then things will change.

Re: State Assessment Results

Posted by itsagoodlife

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by Straightarrow

Posted by BargainMama

Posted by NervousNell

Posted by itsagoodlife

To those whose kids "do well" and score in the high percentiles... you DO realize that the results are meaningless in that the opt-out rate is HIGH and the percentage of children who DO NOT finish the test is high as well. Also, children with IEPs and children who are brand new to this country and who do NOT speak the language are also forced to sit for these tests and those students score 0's or 1's?

So if your students score is being compared to THESE kids, then OF COURSE your child scored high! Receiving a 3 or a 4 on these tests is no small feat, so I am not saying your child is not bright... however, bragging about being in the "99th" percentile means nothing more than out of 100 who took the test, your child scored better than 99 of them. 50 may have learning disabilities, another 20 may not have eaten breakfast or gotten a good night of sleep the night before. Another 10 may not have finished and the rest might not speak English and may have guessed on every question.

Again, these tests mean nothing. I am honestly shocked that there has not been a class action lawsuit brought against the state yet by parents. Especially in NYC where they use scare tactics to make people force their kids to sit for these tests KNOWING that they really are not "supposed" to use the results for placement.

Do what you feel is right for your child obviously. But truthfully, the tests are a cruel waste of time.

See that's another reason I am strongly considering opting out. Not so much for my daughter, but to make a statement. The more people that opt out, the more the state will get the message.
The goal should be 100% opt out rate.
Then what would they do?

Yup! My son always got 1's and 2's, he was a special education student. His tests were not altered to fit his learning, like his regular school work was. Not to mention, the special education teachers have been rated "highly ineffective" because their students can't pass these tests meant for gen ed kids (and beyond), and are at risk of being let go. Meanwhile, they are GREAT teachers, and are really making strides with their students. The whole system is flawed.

My daughter is "bright" but I don't have her take the tests. What indicates that she is a bright student to me is the regular classroom testing her teachers have done (which aren't always easy!), the feedback from her teachers, and her grades on her report card. Right now she is excelling in middle school, and I don't need a "standardized test" full of crap to tell me that.

Exactly. My son is dyslexic and dysgraphic and before he had his device, he most likely would have gotten an automatic 1 because they would not have been able to read his handwriting.

See I feel like we should all be standing up to this then. Even if our children can score super high on these tests. If they mean nothing, then why not take a stand by saying, you know what, I am not letting my child take this test. Even if MY child can score well, it's clearly not a fair test for EVERYONE. And if that is the case, it's broken and needs to be fixed. But nothing will be done about it unless everyone starts opting out.
Then the state can go analyze THESE results:
Nothing, times nothing is NOTHING.
Maybe then things will change.

That is the entire point of the opt-out movement.

Someone asked "But then what will they do?"

Um.. how about let TEACHERS do our jobs and teach and assess our students. Why does the state need a standardized test? I am REQUIRED to differentiate my instruction for each of my students, yet the state thinks they should all take the same cookie-cutter test. How does that make sense? Portfolio or project based assessments are a wonderful alternative to pen and paper tests.

There NEEDS to be a change.

Re: State Assessment Results