NYS PTA Important Advocacy Update (4/26/15)
Parents,
Please take a moment to read and review the advocacy update we’ve received from the NYS PTA. Strong support is needed from parents (voters) in order to make change. Please tell our legislators to act now!
Dear Advocate,
Please share this message below with your legislators, TODAY!
Next Steps for Assessments!
Student testing deemed questionable by parents and educators combined with a state budget that links aid increases to even greater use of test scores has resulted in a storm of protest. An effective response will require both time and collaboration with state policy makers to craft solutions that will calm the rhetoric and improve student and teacher assessment to move education forward. To those ends we request immediate legislation that requires:
- Time Out. The Governor and legislature to postpone implementation of new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) components until September 1, 2016, while distributing promised 2015 state aid increases to schools during 2015-2016 school year.
- APPR Review. The NYS Board of Regents to recommended re-structure of the APPR program in a manner that recognizes students as more than a test score and educators as more than merely a test score and a classroom observation.
- Test Review. The NYS Board of Regents to evaluate current state tests in direct response to testing concerns expressed in the field regarding length and frequency of test, item ambiguity, volatility of growth measures, developmental appropriateness and the validity of using test results for multiple purposes.
- Parent Communication. NYSED to develop a communication strategy that makes the purpose of assessments and the interpretation of results more clearly understood, by providing individual student data with sufficient depth in a timely manner so parents and teachers can use the data to improve student outcomes.
To send this message to your legislators, click on the TAKE ACTION link below:
TAKE ACTION: Next Steps for Assessments
Thank you for your Advocacy!
NYS PTA
Horsemen PTA 