Parents were right all along — kids need to be in school to learn.
The learning loss resulting from the longest public-school closures imposed on blue-state kids in urban districts where teachers unions hold the most sway is devastating and will have generational consequences.
Now the educators and politicians who supported prolonged school closures are trying to hide the evidence of their unconscionable decisions.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), a former teachers-union member and current teachers-union donee, has introduced the ludicrously entitled More Teaching Less Testing Act, which would abolish the third grade through eighth grade standardized math and English tests — the clearest proof of how costly school closures were for learning.
When you put the title through the Orwellian doublespeak reader you get: Less Learning and No Accountability Act.
New York state Education Commissioner Betty Rosa offered a word salad of thoughts this week to rebut the credible accusation she’s leading the efforts to make it easier to pass state exams.
She proclaims that “each child is unique, each learns differently, and each has a distinctive way of demonstrating what they know and can do.”
“It’s dangerous to rely on a single test to inform our view of student achievement,” she declares; “our systems must evolve in ways that acknowledge and foster the unique abilities of all students.”
What she did not say was how teachers and administrators would be held accountable to do their jobs and make sure their students can read, write and do math at a proficiency level commensurate with international standards.
She failed to outline any program with measurable metrics to assess and remediate pandemic-produced learning loss.
Bowman’s pronouncements were more ridiculous. He proclaimed on Twitter, “Our kids are magic.”
It is certainly magical thinking to suggest relieving educators of all accountability will produce better outcomes for the nation’s students.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman introduced a bill called More Teaching Less Testing Act.Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
Standardized academic tests are families’ best consumer-protection plan for education quality.
They are accessible and objective ways to kick the tires of a school (or school system) and see how it compares to one across the street, in another city or another state.
In short, standardized tests inform families how well their children are truly learning. And in New York City, that is more crucial than ever.
There is well-documented grade inflation in our schools, and teachers are pressured to pass high-school students who have not come to class or shown proficiency.
This results in many high-school graduates having to sign up for remedial coursework in college before being allowed to take regular college courses.
Bowman’s bill would eliminate the third grade through eighth grade standardized math and English tests.Getty Images
In middle schools throughout the city, students can get high grades but are below proficiency based on their state test scores. Some schools have zero students at grade-level proficiency on state tests.
The teachers unions’ renewed efforts to encourage an opt-out movement are part and parcel of the no-accountability endeavor.
If the unions spent more time figuring out why so few kids can read and less time trying to hide that shameful and tragic reality, we might make some progress.
Universal dyslexia testing and in-school remediation, a return to phonics for all readers and ability-grouped classrooms where educators teach children who are all on the same level would be a great start.
The often-unnoticed hypocrisy of those who want to get rid of state tests is how often they rely on state tests for their own purposes.
Principals and School Leadership Teams use them for Comprehensive Education Plan goals, the state Education Department for charter-school recertifications, and politicians for determining Fair Student Funding academic weights — an implicit endorsement of their intrinsic value, and rightly so.
Our students deserve a high-quality public-school education that will prepare them for the workforce or higher education. Objective assessments of what they’re learning are a critical component of that education.
Grades and teacher evaluations have their place as well, but no one is arguing to get rid of those. Parents and students deserve real school and a real range of feedback that includes standardized tests.
Every student should take the state tests this year and every year they are offered. Families should demand that academic standards, upon which the tests are based, are set high and kept constant.
Standards need to be protected against constant dilution by politically and ideologically driven bureaucrats who don’t care if your child is actually learning and has the vital foundational skills for success.
Chien Kwok and Maud Maron are public-school parents and co-presidents of PLACE NYC.
Source link: https://nypost.com/2023/03/30/pols-teachers-unions-aim-to-scrap-tests-to-hide-huge-learning-loss/