Musings: Standardized tests are so crucial
College-bound students should be able to show proficiency on written exams, a reader writes. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
I have concerns about the changes to graduation requirements that the state Board of Regents is pursuing by eliminating the requirement to pass Regents exams and having an alternate path to graduation.
Having done a full career as a special-education teacher, I understand some students have difficulty showing mastery by passing a written exam but also know they could get significant testing modifications. I was also a teachers’ union president for 16 years and very much against these scores being used to evaluate teachers.
As a parent, I also saw another side, where the classes that ended in a Regents exam were the ones that were the most challenging and some without a Regents exam maybe were not challenging enough.
Regents exams are designed to be objective. Administration and scoring are done under strict protocol. There have been instances where administrators and/or teachers have been accused of assisting students. And this is when we are testing under a controlled environment!
The Board of Regents is considering an “alternate means” of evaluation. What work will be used? Projects in classrooms? Projects done at home possibly using artificial intelligence? And who will grade all these projects objectively, determine they meet high school criteria and assure that no one else assisted? How will administrators and teachers be protected from being accused of unfair grading on something that is not “standard”?
If students need more support to succeed, let’s provide it. It is damaging to have students go through free public education with the notion they are succeeding, then enter colleges with tuition and suddenly hit a wall, and wonder why they’re not successful.
College-bound students should be able to show proficiency on written exams. Let’s also keep a vocational focus and local diplomas using alternative standardized exams for students who need that. Let’s get this right!
— Karen Ferguson, Glen Cove
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