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Local Concern Over Social Promotion Policy By ABIGAIL GOLDMAN
Proponents of the testing believe third grade is an educational linchpin and that students who don't perform at grade-appropriate standards will have a difficult time catching up if promoted. Critics note, however, that similar programs have been discontinued in Chicago, and that the $116 million Mayor Bloomberg has set aside to fund the new policy might be better spent elsewhere. (In an informal survey of PS 94 parents waiting for their children after dismissal, the Norwood News was not able to turn up supporters of the new testing policy.) Students that score at level two and above are promoted to the next grade. Students with a score of one on either of the exams will be asked to attend a "Summer Success Academy," at the end of which they will be tested again. "They don't want to be held back," said PS 33 Principal Dr. Elba Lopez. "They feel this is their future." It is believed that as many as 15,000 kids could fail the first round of tests -- nearly one in five of the city's third graders. After taking the reading test on April 20, students at PS 33 wrote essays about the process. "This morning we had a reading test," wrote Gabrielle Vazquez. "At the beginning of the test I was nervous I would fail and get left behind. I felt very scared. But the more I went on, I felt better and better. I didn't worry because everything I knew was there in the booklet. Then I heard my mom saying in my head, 'You can do it Gaby,' and I went on." Other students have not fared so well. Miriannette Cruz' third grade son, Jon Rosario, a student at PS 54, came down with a severe case of asthma and was taken to the hospital at 2 a.m. on the morning of the test. Cruz believes nerves are to blame. "He had the attack worrying that he wasn't going to pass," she said. "He thought he was going to fail. He got so nervous, it was unfair to my son." Rosario did not return home until later that evening, long after school was out. "He took the makeup test," said Cruz. "He said it was easy." But easy or not, Cruz is still upset. Her son "was going to Saturday classes, after school classes, constantly doing schoolwork," she said. "During his lunch break, he would play a little then go back to studying. He got really sick. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep. He was complaining about getting headaches. It's not fair what the mayor is doing to these kids, knowing that there are kids getting sick about this." Groups like the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) have taken their complaints directly to Chancellor Joel Klein. Ronn Jordan, a Coalition member, was one of around 450 parents, students and community organizers that met outside Tweed Courthouse on April 19 to protest testing policies. "It was the Panel for Education Policy's monthly meeting," said Jordan. "We were protesting to tell them that they weren't going to get their business done unless they listened to us." Jordan, a parent himself, noted that the current testing might be too high-stakes. "You can't put all this emphasis on one 55-minute test," he said. "You can't base an entire year on an hour. . .they're waiting for kids to fail." Like many New York schools, PS 33 held extra study classes for students who were "low performers on the practice tests," according to Lopez. "They did a lot of practice. You have to. A lot of the students in this neighborhood are from second language homes." PS 33 third grade teacher Josephine Eleutizia led study classes in her spare time. "My payment is your success," Eleutizia told the students. "There is no dollar amount." During the test, Eleutizia handed out chocolate to help soothe those with test-taking jitters. "I felt like I was going to explode," said PS 33 third-grader Keymani Hilman. "I was scared that I wouldn't pass. I was scared in the middle of the tests." The considerable amount of preparation the students had to do for the test is a source of consternation for some parents. "Mandatory Saturday school -- what child goes to school six days a week?" said Anna Marie Artache, whose fourth grader, Sophia Chamorro, goes to PS 94. "I believe the standards are a little hard for this age group, I think it is not right. It stresses the child out, it stresses me out. I am taking this seriously." Artache feels parents are too often forced to pick up where teachers leave off. "As I see it, this addresses the parents instead of the child," she said, referring to the amount of study she did with her daughter at home. Whether or not parent and teacher efforts were fruitful will be determined on June 8, when students find out their test scores and summer school fate.
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As New York City's 76,000 third graders completed the math and reading tests that will
ultimately determine whether they move to the next grade, local parents and students alike
began to question the Bloomberg administration's efforts to end social promotion.
