Letter: Tests are reducing kids to numbers
Classrooms across Long Island were empty on Thursday. Check our listings of delayed openings, closures and cancellations to see what's in store for Friday. Credit: Daniel Brennan
I didn't feel sadness when my sixth-grade daughter expressed to me that the English and math state tests were very long and challenging, nor did I feel sadness when I learned that she fell below the state average and required academic intervention services for the first time ["Tough school tests are what's needed," Letters, Aug. 22].
However, it was very hard to tell a child who receives mostly As on her report card that she, in essence, wasn't good enough or smart enough, according to state testing. It didn't matter to her that I perceived the scores as meaningless; she internally felt less than adequate.
Then, when I learned that my daughter will be pulled out of art, music, home and careers, health and Spanish classes -- on an alternating basis -- to receive academic intervention services, my heart hurt.
The state's drastic implementation of the Common Core standards has gone too far. For a child who's an above-average student and has never had any academic issue to be made to feel less than adequate is a disgrace. And, to be robbed of a full educational experience inclusive of the liberal arts is just plain sad.
Amy J. Max, Plainview
