Staten Island Community Education Council chairman Sam Pirozzolo Thursday hailed the changes as a move in the right direction.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Stressed-out parents and students are breathing a sigh of relief after Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina announced changes to the Department of Education's promotion policy for students in grades 3 through 8, that would end reliance on standardized test scores in English and math.
The proposed new policy, announced Wednesday, would evaluate students on the basis of what they've accomplished, and what overall progress they've made throughout the school year. The test scores would be just one measure of their overall progress.
The new policy would go into effect this school year in order to comply with recent changes in state law. The changes will be voted on by members of the Panel for Educational Policy at their May meeting in Brooklyn.
Staten Island Community Education Council chairman Sam Pirozzolo Thursday hailed the changes as a move in the right direction.
"We're moving away from the days of high-stakes testing, when everything teachers and students did during the school day seemed to revolve around preparing for the tests," he said.
The tests, which began last week and wrap up after spring break, have caused concern among parents and - anecdotally - anxiety symptoms in students. (LINK) Many parents opted to have their children sit out the exams.
"I think ultimately these changes are going to get children back to learning in the classroom and teachers back to teaching," Pirozzolo said.
Chancellor Farina said the policy changes were made after listening to families, teachers and principals throughout the city.
"We have listened and worked closely with families, teachers and principals to establish a new promotion policy that complies with state law and empowers educators; takes the temperature down around testing, and keeps rigorous standards in place," she said.
The chancellor said parents can still expect to receive their children's test scores in June. Teachers and principals will identify the students they believe may be at risk of not being able to succeed in the next grade. Students whose work demonstrates that they are not ready for the next grade level will be recommended for summer school. District superintendents will review school-level decisions before they are finalized.
The new changes also will throw out the standardized test scores from summer school. In the past, when students completed summer school, their promotion was ultimately tied to passing a second standardized test in August. This year, student work from summer school will be reviewed in August and principals will "make a holistic promotion decision for each student." Parents who disagree with the principal's decision can appeal to the superintendent.
Overall, the chancellor said she expects the percentage of students recommended for summer school to remain the same as last year. In 2013 approximately 10 percent of students in grades 3-8 were recommended for summer school, with little more than two percent ultimately repeating the grade.
Students with special needs and disabilities and English language learners who have different promotion criteria will not be impacted by the change in policy. The promotion policy for students in kindergarten, first and second grades, and high school also will remain the same.
Do you agree with the new way of evaluating students? Is it fair to all involved? Do you believe it dumbs-down standards, or is a throwback to the old policy of "social promotion."? Tell us what you think about the chancellor's new promotion standards in the comment section below.