To: The Board of Education of the Farmingdale Union-Free School District
Board of Education of the Farmingdale School District: Adopt a Resolution Against High-Stakes, St...
ToThe Board of Education of the Farmingdale Union-Free School District:
We, the residents of the Farmingdale School District, respectfully request that the Board of Education of the Farmingdale School District pass a resolution against state-mandated, high-stakes standardized testing for the following reasons:
• New York State Math and ELA assessments and assessments tied to APPR are putting undue stress on our students and teachers. They force teachers to teach to the test which ultimately narrows the curriculum in our schools. Students, especially those in grades K-5, are receiving inadequate instruction in subjects such as social studies and science. We want our children to receive a well-rounded education, not one that is limited to test-prep.
• The mandates imposed on our district by New York State Education Department that are associated with high-stakes tests place an unwarranted financial burden on our schools. We are concerned that programs such as music, art and sports will be cut back to meet those mandates.
• This year’s tests will be aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards. They are unproven, untested and poorly implemented. Testing our children in this climate is unfair.
• Testing mandates associated with Race to the Top do not take into account the specific needs of students with Individualized Education Plans, English language learners and children who live in poverty. As a result, these children are expected to pass the tests at the same rate as other students, and they are suffering under the pressure of unrealistic expectations.
• There is no evidence that using student test scores to evaluate teachers and schools will improve teaching and learning. Therefore, it is a waste of taxpayer money to engage in a practice that is unproven AND expensive.
• NYSED arbitrarily manipulates the scores from the NYS ELA and Math assessments to suit its political agenda. This renders the scores meaningless.
• NYSED will mine the data from this year’s scores into inBloom, a national database whose primary purpose is to share our children’s personal information with vendors. This is being done without parents’ permission, and inBloom will not guarantee the security of that data. In light of the recent data breaches reported in the media, we do not want this data transfer to occur.
As of now, over 135 districts across New York State have adopted resolutions against high-stakes tests. There is strength in numbers, and we, the residents of the Farmingdale SD, would like join our sister districts in expressing our displeasure at the direction in which NYSED is taking our schools. Please exercise your voice as representatives of the Farmingdale School District community to stand up for what is right for our students and schools.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
We, the residents of the Farmingdale School District, respectfully request that the Board of Education of the Farmingdale School District pass a resolution against state-mandated, high-stakes standardized testing for the following reasons:
• New York State Math and ELA assessments and assessments tied to APPR are putting undue stress on our students and teachers. They force teachers to teach to the test which ultimately narrows the curriculum in our schools. Students, especially those in grades K-5, are receiving inadequate instruction in subjects such as social studies and science. We want our children to receive a well-rounded education, not one that is limited to test-prep.
• The mandates imposed on our district by New York State Education Department that are associated with high-stakes tests place an unwarranted financial burden on our schools. We are concerned that programs such as music, art and sports will be cut back to meet those mandates.
• This year’s tests will be aligned with the Common Core Learning Standards. They are unproven, untested and poorly implemented. Testing our children in this climate is unfair.
• Testing mandates associated with Race to the Top do not take into account the specific needs of students with Individualized Education Plans, English language learners and children who live in poverty. As a result, these children are expected to pass the tests at the same rate as other students, and they are suffering under the pressure of unrealistic expectations.
• There is no evidence that using student test scores to evaluate teachers and schools will improve teaching and learning. Therefore, it is a waste of taxpayer money to engage in a practice that is unproven AND expensive.
• NYSED arbitrarily manipulates the scores from the NYS ELA and Math assessments to suit its political agenda. This renders the scores meaningless.
• NYSED will mine the data from this year’s scores into inBloom, a national database whose primary purpose is to share our children’s personal information with vendors. This is being done without parents’ permission, and inBloom will not guarantee the security of that data. In light of the recent data breaches reported in the media, we do not want this data transfer to occur.
As of now, over 135 districts across New York State have adopted resolutions against high-stakes tests. There is strength in numbers, and we, the residents of the Farmingdale SD, would like join our sister districts in expressing our displeasure at the direction in which NYSED is taking our schools. Please exercise your voice as representatives of the Farmingdale School District community to stand up for what is right for our students and schools.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Why is this important?
My daughter is a student in the Farmingdale School District. Over the last few years, I have watched her well-rounded education transform into one that focuses primarily on test-prep. This misguided focus has resulted in curriculum changes that are developmentally inappropriate and limit critical thinking skills. This petition is the first step for our community to tell NYSED that their policies are hurting our children and schools. Our children are more than test scores, and their education should not be standardized!