One constant thread has been the hassle some parents are getting from principals (and some teachers) over opting out. Meetings were held with the Farina admin which promised there would be no hassles. The message hasn't gotten through to some. Here is a letter to Farina from CTS.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2014
Contact: Nancy
Cauthen 646-438-1233
An Open Letter to Chancellor Carmen Fariña from Change the Stakes:
Stop
Administrators from Bullying Parents
Dear
Chancellor Fariña,
Today
public school children across New York City begin three days of
intensive,
high-stakes testing, which will be followed by three more such
days later this
month. As you know, hundreds of parents (perhaps more) across
the city are
refusing to allow their children to be tested. We appreciate the
guidance your department
released directing principals to respect parent refusals.*
Yet
in the past week, Change the Stakes has received scores of
complaints from
parents whose inquiries about refusing the tests have been met
with
misinformation, intimidation and outright threats from
administrators. We
urge you to immediately put a stop to such behavior, which
has no place in our
schools.
Here
is some of what we’ve heard. Parents have been told flat out
their children
won't be promoted if they refuse the tests; others have been
told that refusal would
jeopardize promotion. This is particularly frightening for
parents of special
needs children and parents of children who have been deeply and
negatively affected
by the pressure and anxiety surrounding the tests. Parents also have been told
their children
will be excluded from school activities and celebrations if they
don’t take the
tests. And many have simply been told without explanation their
children MUST
take the tests.
Perhaps
most disturbing is what parents have reported hearing from
their children: students
themselves have been told that if they don’t take the tests,
they will be held
back, forced to attend summer school and/or prohibited from
playing sports,
attending school functions and participating in graduation
ceremonies.
All
of this is hardly surprising after a dozen years in which Mayor
Bloomberg forcefully
communicated both his disdain for educators and his demand that
they produce improvements
in test scores or else jeopardize their schools’ standing
potentially leading
to closure. Further, the
kind of bullying
behavior we're seeing from some principals and superintendents
is the
inevitable result of the enormously high stakes the state has
attached to test
scores – when threatened, people often threaten others,
apparently even
children.
Although
we know the city alone cannot undo the high-stakes nature of the
current
testing regime, you can prohibit threats and intimidation on the
part of Department
of Education administrators. You have made the determination
that principals
must respect the right of parents to refuse the state tests. We
call on you now
to reinforce that message.
Many
parents are afraid to speak publicly about what is going on for
fear of
angering school officials who might take out their resentment on
their
children. Parents and students need, deserve and would be
grateful for an immediate
and forceful response on their behalf.
Sincerely,
The parents and
educators of Change the Stakes
* NYC Department
of Education, Parent Guide: Student
Participation in Grades 3-8 New York State Tests,
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/
###
Change the
Stakes is a group of New York City parents and educators
promoting alternatives to high stakes-testing.
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