NYS ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Allies
  • Contact Us
  • Events/Press/Letters
    • NYSAPE Update Data Privacy
    • NYSAPE-Remembers-RegentJudithJohnson
    • NYSAPE PR OPT REMAINS STRONG
    • NYSAPE PR Elia Resigns
    • NYSAPE PR OPT OUT SCARE TACTICS
    • NYSAPE PR - Vote NO to APPR Bill
    • NYSAPE Letter to BOR - Labeling Schools
    • NYSAPE ESSA Public Comment
    • NYSAPE Repeal Ed Transformation Act-APPR PR
    • CSM-NYSAPE ESSA Opposition
    • NYSAPE SED-BOR EPIC FAIL
    • NYSAPE PR Schools NOT Penalized for Opt Outs
    • NYSAPE Local Diploma Expansion Public Comment
    • NYSAPE PR Educational and Racial Justice
    • NYSAPE PR Student Data Breach
    • NYSAPE-MPDA PR Diploma Expansion
    • NYSAPE PR ESSA - CC
    • NYSAPE PR 2017 Opt Out Results
    • ESSA Public Hearings
    • NYSAPE-PR-Remove-Elia
    • NYSAPE-PR-OptOut2017
    • NYSAPE-CSM-SED-PrivacyIssue
    • NYSED-Survey-Mtg-OTL-alert
    • NYSAPE-Memo-SED-ESSA-TestRefusals
    • NYSAPE-PR-Cuomo-DeVos-Budget
    • NYSAPE Post Election
    • NYSAPE PR CC Revisions Response
    • NYSAPE ESSA Public Comments to NYSED
    • NYSAPE Grad Req Public Comments to NYSED
    • NYSAPE ESSA Public Comments to USDOE
    • NYSAPE PR Score Analysis
    • NYSAPE PR Opt Out 16 Results
    • NYSAPE Mulgrew Response
    • NYSAPE PR Albany Refused To Fix Ed Laws
    • NYSAPE PR Fix Broken Laws
    • NYSAPE PR Elia Test Policy
    • NYSAPE Press Release School State Aid Loss
    • NYC Press Conference
    • NYSAPE PR Support New Ed Legislation
    • NYSAPE Chancellor Election
    • NYSAPE Response to HANY
    • NYSAPE PR Regent Candidates Support
    • NYSAPE Regent Candidates
    • NYSAPE Response to Tim Kremer NYSSBA
    • NYSAPE Press Release BOR Leadership
    • NYSAPE CCM Reaction Data Privacy
    • NYSAPE PR Board Regent Candidates
    • Board of Regents Candidate Info
    • NYSAPE Funding Response to USDOE
    • NYSAPE Press Release CC Taskforce
    • NYSAPE Press Release Survey Results
    • NYSAPE CC Survey Results
    • NYSAPE PR Elia Survey
    • NYSAPE PR Response to Obama
    • NYSAPE Duncan King Response
    • NYSAPE Press Release Cuomo Task Force Response
    • NYSAPE Press Release - Parents Respond to Cuomo-Tisch-Elia
    • NYSAPE Objects to Permanent Adoption of Flawed APPR Scheme
    • NYSAPE Press Release 2015 Scores
    • NYSAPE-Elia-Mtg-Recap
    • EliaMeetingHandout080415
    • NYSAPE Press Release No Relief in Sight Opt Out Will Grow
    • NYSAPE-PR-STOP CUOMO EDUCATION TAX CREDIT SCHEME
    • Albany Continues to Ignore Parents Ensuring the Opt­Out Movement Will Grow
    • NYSAPE-PR-NY-Parents-Have-Spoken
    • NYSAPE Public Service Announcement on CBS
    • New York State Parents Reject Proposed Legislation that Does Nothing to Protect Students
    • Thousands of Parents Stand Together to Reject Governor Cuomo’s
    • NYSAPE Members Addressing the NYS Legislature
    • NYSAPE Comments on ESEA Draft Legislation
    • NYSAPE FOIL Request for State Aid Budget Figures
    • New Yorkers Call for an Immediate Independent Investigation of Governor Cuomo
    • Press Release - Response to Governor's Letter on Public Education
    • NYSAPE Response Letter to Governor on Public Education
    • Parents and Educators Erupt in Anger Against Governor Cuomo's Vow to "Break" Our Public School System
    • 250,000 High-Stakes Test Boycotts Planned Statewide: NYS Parents Fight to Reclaim Student Education from Excessive Testing and Data Collection
    • Governor Cuomo’s Education Positions Aligned to Privatize Public Education
    • Parents and Educators Reject the Tests, the Scores and Corporate Agenda of NYSED & Pearson
    • Parents Outraged by APPR Albany Deal that Ignores the Children
    • State Test Refusals are exploding as Parents Discover Legislature Brings No Relief
    • NYSAPE Calls for End to Verbal Refusal Policies
    • New Yorkers Moved the Needle on the Board of Regents Vote & Process, but Not Enough
    • NYS Assembly Bill to Rein in “Regents’ Education Reform Agenda” is a Starting Point, but Not Nearly Enough
    • School Policies Regarding Test Refusals in Some NYS Districts Equate to Corporal Punishment for Students
    • NYSAPE Urges Legislators to Cast No Vote for Incumbents at Board of Regents Election if Nominated
    • Parents and Educators Outraged by Regents Unwillingness to Assume Responsibility and Change Course
    • New Yorker's Outraged by Governor's Flawed Common Core Panel
    • NYS Leadership Falls Short to Reverse Course of the Flawed Regent Education Reforms
    • NYSAPE Endorses Full Slate of Candidates for the Board of Regents
    • NYSAPE Reacts to NYSUT's Vote of No Confidence in Education Commissioner John King
    • NYS Allies for Public Education Endorses New Candidates for the Board of Regents
    • Governor Cuomo Continues to Avoid Addressing New Yorkers on Public Education
    • Community Forum Series - "Public Education Now: Reform and Resistance in NYS"
    • Senator Flanagan's Proposed Legislation Insult to the People of New York
    • New Yorkers Call on Governor Cuomo to Step Up to the Plate
    • Parents Demand More Accountability in the Appointment of Members of the Board of Regents
    • Parents Request Formal Public Meeting With NYS Board of Regents - Nov. 6, 2013
    • Twenty-Two Teachers' Unions Support Call for Education Commissioners Resignation
    • Past events
  • Take Action
    • NY Privacy Regs
    • NYSAPE-Call Albany to STOP APPR Bill
    • TAKE ACTION - NO TO APPR BILL
    • Action Alert - Give Back GATES Grant
    • NYSAPE ESSA Action Alert
    • ActionAlertNYSED-BOR-STOP-MISINFORMATION
    • Remove Commissioner Elia
    • Support OTL NY ESSA Plan
    • Education Legislation Action Alert
    • Field Test Action Alert
    • Support Ed Legislation to Repair Public Education
    • NYSAPE Legislative Agenda
    • Student Data Privacy Action Alert
    • Regents Position Paper
    • Legislators MUST Vote NO to Budget bill
    • Protect Our Schools Campaign
    • Resolution to Support the “I Refuse” Movement
    • Contact Your Legislators to Attend Regent Interviews
    • Demand Albany Stop Governor Cuomo and Chancellor Tisch's Assault on Public Education
    • Stop Mandatory Stand-alone Field Tests
    • DEMAND Education Commissioner John King and Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch RESIGN
    • Regents Vote Scorecard
    • Scorecard For Board of Regents Vote and ACTION ALERT
    • Local PTA's Supporting Informational Meetings On Opting-Out of State Tests
    • Action Alert - Cuomo Must Step Up to the Plate
    • Support Call for Commissioner John King's Resignation
    • Action Alert - John King Must Resign
    • Resignation of NYS Education Commissioner John King
    • Return to Sender, statewide drive
    • Resolutions Against Testing
  • Student Data Privacy
  • FAQ's
    • If My Child Refuses State Tests Will My School Lose Funding?
    • If My Child Refuses State Tests Will My School Become an LAP?
  • Other Resources
    • The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3
  • Press Release: Launch of NYS Allies - August 23, 2013
  • NYSAPE Objects to Permanent Adoption of Flawed APPR Scheme
  • T-shirt images
  • Oswego Letter
  • School Scare Tactics to Parents
  • 2019 ELA Teacher Feedback
  • 2019 Opt Out Factsheet
January 14, 2019
 
Dear Honorable Board of Regents,
 
We are writing to ask for clarity on the impact of opt outs on a school's designation as a "Targeted Support and Improvement" (TSI) school and a "Comprehensive Support and Improvement" (CSI) school.  Our inquiry is premised on reports of schools and districts being notified that they may be "TSI" or "CSI" based on their state test scores, even though only a small percentage of students took the tests, meaning of course that the results are not representative of the full district or school, and that in all likelihood, they are not a reliable measure.
 
We have combed NY's regulations and ESSA plan, and remain unclear as to how the Board of Regents will assess the performance of schools and districts that have a  high number of opt outs.  We understand that two scores/composites will created (via a truly Byzantine weighting system).  But we ask that you explain -- in simple terms -- the impact of the two scores/composites.  We ask that you explain:
 
  • whether a low-scoring school with a high percentage of opt outs will be labeled as "TSI" or "CSI," even though only a small percent of children take the tests,
  • whether you will label a low-scoring school as such when the percentage is so small as to be statistically unreliable
  • whether you will label a low-scoring school as such when the handful of test-taking students fall primarily into subgroups who may have historically performed lower than the school/district has a whole.
 
If the answers to any of the above is "yes", then we must object.  
 
The decision to label a school as "TSI" or "CSI" means that the school/district must redirect its funding and energy to raising participation rates, instead of other, critically important tasks, like ensuring the physical safety and mental health of our students, or creating curriculum to support NY's new science and social studies standards, or helping provide services for special education in the face of insufficient federal funding of the IDEA.  
 
Instead, districts must expend funds to travel to Albany and stay (apparently the state does not fund even travel expenses for this), and divert staff and time towards trying to convince parents to have their kids take tests that aren't yet where they need to be. On top of this, such labels impact a school's reputation and can impact the value of homeowners' property.
 
Back in in 2016, when Chancellor Tisch stepped down, we were heartened to hear new Chancellor Rosa explain that she wanted "to get to a place where we come to the table and examine the current test and move forward in a way that parents have a sense of full trust." (https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2016/03/chancellor-elect-rosa-speaks-in-favor-of-test-opt-out-032591).  
 
Chancellor Rosa recognized that the tests were problematic, and that opting out was a valid and legal option.  In fact, she said that if she were a parent of a young child, she would opt her child out of state tests. (Id.) Commissioner Elia confirmed that Chancellor Rosa's statements, that "parents have a right by law to opt their children out." (Id.) We held high hopes that testing would become something that was valid and meaningful, that didn't take days away from learning, and that didn't create a tension and stress so great that children literally get sick.
 
We recognize that changes have happened, but as we've been clear, they are not nearly enough.  Concerns about length, about substance, and about validity, remain strong, as well as about alignment with NY's standards.  In fact, our understanding is that the State shares these concerns about the tests by its recent decision to extend the moratorium on the tests' usage in teacher evaluations.  
 
This leads us to the natural question: if the tests are problematic enough to not use for teacher evaluation, why are they okay for school evaluation?  Also, as both Chancellor Rosa and Commissioner Elia acknowledge the legal right to opt out, why would you then penalize a school population for exercising this right, in the case where only a small, statistically unreliable number of students provide test data?
 
Again, we ask that you explain the impact of opt outs.  And we ask that you refrain from placing schools and districts with high opt outs on the "TSI" or "CSI" list. Social media is already abuzz about this, claiming you are nothing more than a political arm, and not a body concerned with learning and child safety.  We ask that you prove them wrong, and show that we are all in this together, and that you are working to gain the public's trust, just as Chancellor Rosa stated in 2016 -- and that you will not mislabel a district as needing help, when in fact it may be doing beautifully.
 
Sincerely,
 
NYS Allies for Public Education
nys.allies@gmail.com

nysape-bor_letter_-_school_labels.pdf
File Size: 56 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Proudly powered by Weebly