Featherstone: Worse problems in NYC schools than test scores

The New York State test scores are out and they certainly don't look good.

More than two-thirds of students in the state fell short of proficiency standards in math and reading in grades three through eight. New York City students did even worse, with only 26.4 percent of students proficient in reading, and 29.6 in math. In addition to being low, the results look like a precipitous decline. Nearly one-third fewer New York City students are deemed by the tests to be proficient in math this year than last, and one-fifth fewer in reading.

Naturally, parents and other concerned New Yorkers are freaking out.

We should be concerned about the state of our schools, many of which are desperately in need of improvement. And these test scores are indeed miserable. But the widespread panic is doing more harm than good.

The reason for students' dismal performance is that the tests were completely different from in previous years, as this was the first year that they were designed around the Common Core standards. Many schools haven't begun to figure out how to teach this new curriculum, and the truth is, for that reason, no one expected decent results.

This doesn't mean all is well. All kids should be proficient in reading and math. But the alarm over these results shouldn't be used to bolster support for still more test prep and testing.

The fear among some parents and educators is that schools may take a more punitive approach to students who don't score well on tests, and to teachers whose students fail to perform. This would be a real disaster.

We're already wasting millions of dollars and countless hours on high-stakes testing, and have been for 15 years. The data show that it hasn't made NYC students any more ready for college, yet policymakers' solution to testing's failures always seems to be doing more of it. The testing system leaches money and time from reforms that have been proven to work, like smaller class sizes and extra investment in the schools that our poorest kids attend. So many of our schools lack the funding for the basics -- gym, art, social studies, paper, pencils -- while testing companies make millions.

Now, that's something to panic about.

Liza Featherstone lives and writes in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.