City
Comptroller
John C. Liu stated the following in response to early reports on City
schools’ results on the new state “Common Core” test scores:
“New
York City public schools’ reportedly dismal results on the new state
tests send a clear
message: Mayor Bloomberg and his Tweed cronies have been cooking the
books on student test scores for 12 years. Pointing to rising
high-school graduation rates, the Mayor claimed that high-stakes testing
was leading to greater student achievement and teacher
accountability. He excoriated teachers and others who pointed out the
flaws in his analysis. In fact, the regime of teaching to the tests
pushed kids out the schoolhouse door, even if their diplomas were
worthless and their skills did not permit them to succeed
in college or jobs. Mayor Bloomberg had 12 years to advance his
so-called reforms and pad his educational legacy. He failed. He cannot
spin these results to mean something they don’t. New York City’s
children deserve better.”
STATEMENT FROM JOE LHOTA ON COMMON CORE TEST SCORES
“We must do
better in educating our children and preparing them for the rigors of
competing in a global 21st Century. The release of today’s Common Core
math and English test scores will undoubtedly solicit varying opinions
about their meaning and efficacy in assessing student’s learning. But
it’s important to look at the entire picture, rather than isolated
facts. Test scores are lower, but for the first time, students were
tested on new, more demanding material.
Education reform
continues to be one of my top priorities and a Lhota Administration will
remain committed to helping our children excel in these new
requirements. We have already begun to transform New York City’s public
education system under mayoral control and the expansion of charter
schools. Our objective must be to set the highest standards possible,
while giving our educators and students the resources they need to help
them achieve their goals. We must not allow politics or special
interests to come between the success of our children.” --Joe Lhota
STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ
RE: Common Core Testing Results
The
dramatic decline in test scores by New York City school children raises
a number of issues, questions and concerns. Standardized testing is
inherently imperfect. We’ve seen this before, as a myriad of objections
have been raised regarding the Specialized High Schools Admissions
Test. In fact, in the complaint filed by the NAACP, LatinoJustice,
AALDEF and others, it is noted that this test has yet to be properly
validated.
In
this case, the alarmingly low passage rates seem to validate all along,
that for 12 years, the DOE has been promoting a policy of teaching to
the test. If real learning and skill development were happening in our
schools, wouldn’t more of that educational attainment have been
reflected in the new tests?
Our
school system is overly reliant on standardized tests, and the debate
on which tests to use only distracts us from the larger challenges
facing our children. In the mean time, testing companies are signing
lucrative contracts and profiting from our children’s misfortune. Who
does Common Core really benefit, the testing companies or our children?
The
other questions we need addressed include: What have we done in 12
years to reduce class size? What have we done to ensure that our
teachers are receiving the necessary professional development to succeed
and stay in the profession? What have we done to adequately fund
after-school programs, so that kids in economically disadvantaged
communities have equal access to growth opportunities outside the class
room? Why haven’t we moved to extend the class day and the school
year?
What
are we doing to mitigate the correlations between poverty and
scholastic underperformance? If we want to raise academic standards,
that’s fine. However, we must also look at which school districts had
the biggest drops, study why those drops occurred and support those
schools with the critical funding and resources they need to succeed.
We
should incorporate, and place greater emphasis, on other and better
pedagogical metrics to ascertain academic growth and achievement. It’s
inconsistent to celebrate Common Core for implementing critical thinking
testing on students, when we as educators invest such incredible blind
faith in the infallibility of standardized test,” said Bronx Borough
President Ruben Diaz Jr.
