LI schools replace state tests with own

An estimated 15,000 eighth-graders across Long Island Monday tackled first-ever regional tests in foreign languages, sponsored by a consortium of local school districts that are attempting to substitute their own uniform tests for those recently canceled by the state.

The two-hour Islandwide testing session was the biggest yet in regional efforts that also include tests administered earlier this month in fifth- and eighth-grade social studies.

Altogether, school officials estimate that more than 40,000 of the new regional tests have been given to students on Long Island, with another 7,000 foreign-language tests administered in Westchester County and other parts of the lower Hudson Valley.

State education officials voiced regret over the recent test cancellations. But those officials added they had no choice because recent actions to eliminate state budget deficits left them with less money for testing.

"We are quite disappointed that the dollars necessary to maintain the current system, let alone expand the variety of educational opportunities, are not materializing," said Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the state Board of Regents.

As local school officials scrambled Monday to deal with a few last-minute glitches, many students observed that testing had proceeded reasonably well. Some students voiced disappointment that the state had given up its own 22-year-old effort to set a common testing standard for foreign languages at their grade level.

"If everyone's taking the same test, you have a chance to tell where you are," said Arianna Paz, 14, an eighth-grader at West Hollow Middle School in Melville who took an Italian exam. "Foreign languages are definitely as important as math or science."

The state's foreign-language "proficiency" batteries were administered to an estimated 114,000 students statewide. Those scoring 65 or better on such tests, after two or three years of foreign-language study, were awarded a year's credit toward high-school diplomas.

The state, after eliminating its own exams, now is allowing local districts to use their own tests in determining course credit. An Island group, the Foreign Language Association of Chairpersons and Supervisors, volunteered to develop uniform tests as a means of promoting common standards.

Monday, the organization offered eighth-grade tests in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Hebrew and Latin. One of the group's officers, Francesco Fratto, who is director of languages in the Half Hollow Hills district, said that about 90 districts participated in the foreign-language testing, including 60 districts on the Island.

Elaine Margarita, a Jericho school administrator, predicted that regional testing would expand next year. "Clearly, we'll get even better at this," she said.