Massapequa School Board: State Testing Should be Reconsidered

The Massapequa Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution Thursday asking the state to reconsider its reliance on testing children, but the vote was met with heavy protests from the public who felt the resolution wasn't strong enough.

"We were promised one of the strongest resolutions on Long Island," one outraged parent said. "This is a disgrace."

The state is implementing federal Common Core standards, but many feel they're over-testing children as part of the teacher assessment process. Massapequa's resolution is one of several passed on Long Island and throughout New York protesting the amount of testing.

Many who spoke out on the Massapequa resolution pointed to language included in it  that  read "The Massapequa School District's Board of Education is required to comply with New York State Law and regulation, and as such cannot condone test refusal since it agrees that assessment is an integral component of test integrity.

"The fact that this is in here is just unconscionable," said Leslie Dowell, a write-in candidate for school board last year, who acknowledged that the district is bound  to follow the law but still protested the language, saying it was not included in other resolutions around the state. 

"We know what your obligation is. We know you can't opt out," she said. "But we have parents that you knew would be doing that, and that being put in there, to me is just a smack in the face."

She later called the language "poorly written, inadequate and inconsequential."

Tomia Smith, the president of the Massapequa Federation of Teachers, said she was "disappointed" by the resolution as well, adding that although teachers have to implement the Common Core standards, she's been "very active"  addressing the issue outside of the classroom. Smith called on the board to pull back the resolution and take another vote on one with stronger language.

School Board President Gary Bennett acknowledged after the meeting that some board members were initially opposed to the section of resolution stating the district can't condone test refusal.

"But, as a unit, you're dealing with administrators, you're dealing with attorneys, you're dealing with a lot of different things," he said. "You put it in there just to let the community know what the rules are and what we're bound to."

Bennett said the decision on testing is up to parents.

"I can't say as a board member that your kid should opt out, or you should not. It's not our position, that's all we were saying. The decision is entirely up to the parent.

While not speaking for the board Bennett said he may want to take a second look at the resolution.

"Personally I'm going to look at the whole thing, because I heard the community. I heard them loud and clear and they had a lot of legitimate gripes." But the board president also said he's working with state officials "to get this thing where it should be."

Board Secretary Joseph La Bella said the public comment impacted his outlook as well. "As I sat and listened to the community speak, I realized that we or I personally misjudged how upset people were, and after careful consideration I would've come up with a stronger resolution" he said.  

La Bella indicated that he'd be willing to take another look at the resolution, but  said "I'm only one vote," to which Trustee Tim Taylor said, "Two votes." A few minutes earlier Taylor had said the resolution had come "after some give and take from everybody, and I'm going to leave it at that right now."

Board Vice President Jane Ryan called on the state to listen to the anger saying "I think the Board of Regents, which is the sole decision making body should take into consideration the public's viewpoint."

Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, R-Massapeaqu, attended the meeting and was the first person Bennett called on during the public comment period.

He called on Albany to "amend Common Core, to reduce the testing, to reduce the stress and make sure we're practicing the best method of educating our children."