Fw: news on NYC retention policy

["Monty Neill" <monty@fairtest.org>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Leonie Haimson 
To: Monty@fairtest.org 
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 2:22 PM
Subject: news on NYC retention policy


Monty: can you post to the ARN list?  Thanks,



Leonie Haimson

Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011

212-674-7320

www.classsizematters.org

leonie@att.net



-----Original Message-----
From: Leonie Haimson [mailto:leonie@worldnet.att.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 2:09 PM
To: 'Leonie Haimson'
Subject: news on retention policy



The press conference where we released our letter to the Mayor against his 3rd grade retention policy went extremely well this morning; the room was packed with reporters from all the major newspapers, TV and radio stations.  Watch for us on the evening news tonight.  Klein immediately scheduled a dueling news conference for later today.



Advocates, academic experts and third grade parents spoke eloquently about how misguided and counterproductive this proposal is.  We also had three stories in the newspapers this morning, in advance of the letter's official release, from the NY Times, the NY Post and an AP story in Newsday.  



The full text of the letter, along with the signatures of over 100 academics, heads of organizations, and experts on testing from throughout the nation, is posted on my website at http://www.classsizematters.org/retentionletter.html



Among the letter's signers are Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, renowned pediatrician and author of numerous works on child care and development, Robert Tobias, former head of Division of Assessment and Accountability for the Board of Education and now Director of the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at NYU, and Dr. Ernest House, who did the independent evaluation of New York City's failed "Gates" retention program in the 1980's.  Other signers include four past presidents of the American Education Research Association, the nation's premier organization of educational researchers, as well as three members and the study director of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Appropriate Use of Educational Testing, and two members of the Board on Testing and Assessment of the National Research Council. 



As these eminent researchers point out, assessing a child's actual level of achievement solely on the basis of one or two tests is inherently unreliable, given the large statistical margin of error and the inherent variability of student performance. Even the two companies that produce the 3rd grade standardized exams, Harcourt and CTB-McGraw, are on record that the decision to retain a child should never be made on the basis of test scores alone.  Voluminous research also shows that the policy will have counterproductive and deleterious effects on student achievement, particularly for poor and minority children, and lead to a rise in dropout rates.



More on the letter, including quotations from experts on testing and retention, are posted on my website at http://www.classsizematters.org/pressreleaseretentionletter.html



Following this is the statement I read aloud at the press conference, as well as three stories on our letter from this morning's newspapers.



Thanks,



Leonie Haimson

Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011

212-674-7320

www.classsizematters.org

leonie@att.net



Though there might be some close calls in educational policy, this isn't one of them.  As the 107 academics, researchers, and national experts on testing who signed the letter agree, deciding to retain a child on the basis of one test score is not just unreliable and unfair, but it will lead directly to lower achievement and higher drop out rates. Even the two companies that produce the third grade tests have stated that retention decisions should never be based upon the results of a single test.  



It will also have a hugely negative emotional impact on children.  As Dr. Brazelton points out in his statement, being held back is traumatic for a child, and Professor Jimerson of the University of California notes that only losing a parent and going blind is more upsetting.  Indeed, he notes, the research on the academic and emotional consequences of retention is so clear and overwhelming that its continued use amounts to educational malpractice. 



This policy will also be extremely expensive, costing at least $195 million - money that would much better be put towards reducing class size and providing more intensive help to students who are struggling.



Last week, the Mayor's office released figures showing that for the first time in 8 years, we have larger class sizes in every grade from K-8 - despite a fall in enrollment of 11,000 - and more 3rd graders in classes of 29 or more.  And this retention policy will lead to even more overcrowding at the 3rd grade level, and inevitably, to a greater number of failing students.



So we ask the Mayor and the Chancellor, why do you insist on wasting money on a policy that has been shown so clearly to be damaging to our children?  Why don't you instead invest in programs, like smaller classes, that have been proven to work?  Every day, teachers, principals and even officials high up in the Department of Education tell us that they believe this policy is a huge mistake, and will have terrible consequences for our schools.



We ask that you withdraw this disastrous proposal before it's too late. As George Santayana wrote, 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' Please do not make our children suffer from your failure to learn from the unsuccessful policies of the past.



Test Policy for 3rd Graders Is Met by More Resistance
By ELISSA GOOTMAN

Published: February 11, 2004

The New York Times

One month after Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a new policy to hold back third graders who fail citywide tests, a groundswell of opposition to the policy is starting to form.

Under the plan, about 15,000 third graders - those who score in the lowest of four tiers on a standardized test - could be held back starting next year.


     
     

     
But the policy is beginning to draw fierce criticism from parents and educators who say it is harsh, expensive and ultimately unhelpful. Educators point to similar efforts that have failed in the past, including one in New York in the 1980's. Parents tend to focus on the do-or-die nature of one test, saying a cold or test-day jitters could cause a child to fail.

More than 100 educators, advocates and education-policy experts have signed a letter, circulated by the nonprofit groups Advocates for Children and Class Size Matters, asking the mayor and the schools chancellor to withdraw the plan. The groups are scheduled to hold a news conference on the topic today.

A collection of parents, teachers and advocates showed up, some with posters, to deride the policy at a meeting Monday evening of the Panel for Educational Policy, successor to the city Board of Education. The delegate assembly of the United Parents Associations of New York City voted last week to oppose the plan, and its resolution is being circulated by e-mail message to PTA members around the city.

And parents brought up the proposal at a meeting of elementary school PTA leaders held on Monday by Gifford Miller, speaker of the City Council, and Eva S. Moskowitz, chairwoman of the council's Education Committee.

"Third graders, a single test, judged in that manner to me is absurd and cruel," said Carl Arnold, an executive board member of the PTA at Public School 261 in Brooklyn. His remarks drew applause from other parent leaders.

Like several parents at the meeting, Mr. Arnold said he learned of the policy only last week when he received a copy of the United Parents Associations resolution.

"Word is spreading," said Mr. Arnold, whose son, Lukas, is in the third grade. "People have called me up or e-mailed me and said, 'What's going on?' or 'I want to be active,' or 'What can I do?' Each day I meet up with another one or two people who say, 'What in the world is this?' "

In telephone interviews yesterday, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott defended the policy and said they expected it to take effect this year, assuming approval from the Panel for Educational Policy.

Mr. Klein said the policy would hold the school system accountable for students' progress and prevent children from being pushed along without understanding the material, a situation that he said lays the groundwork for failure and frustration in years to come. He and other officials pointed to initiatives like a new summer school program that would affect this year's third graders, and said other intervention programs are already in place. Postponing the policy, he said, would be "not right for our students."

"Different people have different views," he said of his critics. "I don't think this is something that you do for short-term popularity."

The letter circulated by Advocates for Children and Class Size Matters asks the mayor and chancellor at least to delay the policy until the next school year, to give third graders and their parents ample warning.

"All of the major educational research and testing organizations oppose using test results as the sole criterion for advancement or retention," the letter states. "In fact, there are few issues about which there is such a powerful consensus among the professionals in the field."

Signatures were collected from education professors and experts including T. Berry Brazelton, the child development expert, four past presidents of the American Educational Research Association and Shane Jimerson, a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara who has conducted several studies on the effects of holding students back.

Robin Brown, president of the United Parents Associations, said her group's resolution on the matter passed unanimously.

"This thing is actually gaining momentum," she said. "You're actually hearing parents talk about this outside of school, on the way to school, on the way home. I think this is a conversation that people are actually having at their dinner tables."

The Panel for Educational Policy is not expected to vote on the plan until next month, but some parents and teachers voiced their opposition at this week's meeting.

Peter Dimock, whose daughter Ariana is a third grader at Public School 29 in Brooklyn, fought back tears as he called the policy "outrageous."

Afterwards, he explained that Ariana is bright and a good reader, but she sometimes "spaces out." Recently, she failed to complete a test in the time allotted, but correctly answered all the questions she had time to tackle.

"She doesn't realize she's being tested not for what she knows or who she is, but how fast she can perform," he said.

Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said she welcomed the mayor's third-grade initiative when he announced it. Yesterday, though, she criticized implementation of the plan, saying teachers had not been given enough extra resources.

Parents' groups oppose Bloomberg plan to end 'social promotion'


     

     

February 11, 2004, 6:02 AM EST

New York Newsday

NEW YORK -- Parents' groups are speaking out against a plan barring third-graders in public schools from advancing to the next grade unless they pass standardized tests. 

Holding students back based on test scores would merely frustrate those with low scores, ensnaring them in a cycle of frustration and underachievement, the groups argue. 

"All of the major educational research and testing organizations oppose using test results as the sole criterion for advancement or retention," according to a letter circulated to PTA members by the nonprofit groups Advocates for Children and Class Size Matters. Excerpts from the letter were printed in the New York Times Wednesday. 

The groups were set to hold a press conference Wednesday opposing the plan, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last month. Exams in two subjects, English and Math, are to be administered in April. 

The city's largest parents' group, United Parents Associations of New York City, last week adopted a resolution opposing the tests. 

"Our position is 'no' on retention. It's punitive and unfair," Robin Brown, president of the group, told the New York Post for Wednesday editions. She said parents were angry that Bloomberg had adopted the plan without first soliciting their comments. 

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein stood by the program, saying it would end "social promotion" _ the practice of advancing students without regard for their academic performance. Canceling or delaying the program would be "not right for our students," he told the Times. 

It would also hold schools more accountable for students' progress, he said. 

The city has said it will spend $25 million implementing the plan, which is expected to result in 15,000 children being held back in the third grade. 

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press 

PARENTS RIP HOLD-BACK PLAN 




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The New York Post



February 10, 2004 -- Parents rebelled yesterday against Mayor Bloomberg's new policy of holding back third-graders who do poorly on high-stakes math or reading exams. Opposition to ending "social promotion" for third-graders exploded during a City Council parent leaders' meeting. 

City Hall and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein insist students who are held back will get remedial help. 

But parents complained that holding kids back at such a young age - based on a poor showing on even one test - unnecessarily stigmatizes them. 

"It's absurd and it's cruel," said Carl Arnold, a parent leader at PS 261 in Brooklyn. "You get held back an entire year for one test? It should be a human-rights violation." 

But U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige backed the tough policy - as long as remedial programs are available. 

"This is the best thing for the child," Paige said at a Post editorial board meeting. 


     
Carl Campanile 

 

 

Leonie Haimson

Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011

212-674-7320

www.classsizematters.org

leonie@att.net