The Common Core has become a phrase so repetitive that every time someone mentions it in person or in the media, the room begins to groan. However, it is crucial that students understand how they and their elementary/middle school counterparts are affected by these sweeping changes that the New York State Education Department has implemented.
At the February 2014 Williamsville Central School District (WCSD) Board Meeting, enraged parents came to voice their strong opinions against the “Sit and Stare” policy that the WCSD had used last testing students when students in elementary and middle school whose parents had opted out of them taking the New York State tests had to sit with nothing to do for the six hour ELA and Math testing periods. This “sit and stare” policy has actually been a topic of debate statewide, and recently the NYSUT (a teacher’s union) released a statement stating that the “NYSUT strongly condemns the policy of ‘sit and stare’” and that “this policy aimed at students whose parents elect to ‘opt out’ their children from state standardized testing is unconscionable. It would be spiteful and counter-productive for any school district to require an administrator or teacher to direct a child to ‘sit and stare’ at a blank desk while other students are taking exams because of a choice made by a parent.” In 2013, approximately 1% of students (76 students out of 10,000 administered NYS tests) taking the New York State tests in the Williamsville Central School District opted out of testing, and numbers for 2014 are yet to be released. What the parents at the district board meeting rallied for was the privilege for children who were not being tested to be given either an alternate location or the ability to read while other students took the ELA/Math tests (which are administered 1 hour a day for 6 days). As of March 12, 2014, the Williamsville Central School District’s superintendent and board members are deciding on whether to give students an alternate location or to be able to read books as per the parents’ requests.
Students at Transit Middle School were affected by the “sit and stare” policy last year. Hannah Yi, a current sixth grader, stated that “it was distracting that [my friend] was not taking the test, but had to sit throughout the testing period… he kept trying to talk to people because he was so bored and not allowed to do anything the whole time!” Seeing that the NYSUT has condemned the policy as “cruel to those students not taking the exam and a distraction and disservice to those who are attempting to complete it,” the Williamsville Central School District has dodged a bullet in thinking of a solution. Parents at the board meeting even threatened to sue the school district for not following the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) while expressing their anger, stating that punishing and embarrassing students whose parents exercised their right choose not to have their children participate in tests was abusive. Thankfully, WCSD quickly decided to find a solution for the 2014 spring testing period for third to eighth graders.
However, it is still to be noted that the WCSD does not actively announce the fact that parents of third to eighth graders taking the Common Core exams in ELA and Math this season are allowed to choose to opt their children out of taking the test. Though this option is out there, it is not publicized at all, and parents who opt their children out must endure a meeting with the building’s principal to understand the reasons for the testing before finishing the opt-out process. This is in part due to the fact that if over 5% of students in a building opt out of taking a Common Core exam, the building will raise negative attention from the government.
High schoolers may feel that they are immune to these changes but the recently distributed “New York Parent’s Guide to Common Core” states that “Beginning in 2014, new math and English Regents Exams in high school will be aligned to the Common Core,” bringing the issue right here to Williamsville East High School. The complete transition to Common Core based high school exams is expected to begin as early as spring of 2015, and the New York State Board of Regents has announced that the assessment of Common Core skills will be computer- based.
Another concern for high schoolers is the fact that the author of the national Common Core, David Coleman, is now the president of the College Board which is in charge of Advanced Placement tests and the SAT. Coleman has redesigned the SAT, whose new design will launch in 2016 when today’s freshmen take the SAT, to align with Common Core skills.
At the state level, Elizabeth Egetemeyr of the New York State Board of Education understands the concerns about the sweeping changes. “[Education] like flying a plane,” she said to an East student during an interview. “You know that it’s broken, and you need to fix it, but you have to fix it.” And since there’s no down or testing time between school years, we have to fix it while the plane is still flying.
