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Releases
& Statements
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
January 16, 2008
Contact: John Collins
212.669.4193; 917.496.4587
Release #: 003-2008
PA Gotbaum: $335 Million on Standardized Tests is the Wrong Answer
– New review outlines DOE’s wasteful spending, contrasts investments in teachers, pre-kindergarten –
MANHATTAN – The city’s Department of Education (DOE) is spending over $335 million on experimental testing systems – at the expense of hiring more teachers and opening new pre-kindergarten classes – despite warnings about excessive testing from education experts, Public Advocate Gotbaum said today. Gotbaum released a review of DOE contracts which shows millions of dollars spent on grading spreadsheets and duplicative testing systems.
The review highlighted a list of spending at the DOE, including:
-Over $13 million on the Grow Network, a testing system that was supposed to track test scores, but was only briefly used by the DOE (it was replaced by a larger, more expensive system);
-Over $40 million on Children’s First Inquiry Teams, comprised of multiple levels of bureaucratic positions, some of which evaluate principal’s performance and analyze test scores; and
-Over $2 million on graphic spreadsheets, which simply display the test scores for individual schools.
With the same $335 million, Gotbaum’s review shows that the city could have invested in 6,364 new teachers, 25,969 new pre-kindergarten seats, or 167,500 new after-school spaces – all proven as ways to improve learning. Gotbaum called on the DOE to reduce spending on testing and retarget resources toward more effective programs.
Public Advocate Gotbaum said, “The choice is clear: the DOE can either continue turning our schools into test-prep factories, or invest in programs proven to create strong schools. Parents and educators are for standards, but, they are against excessive testing at the expense of education programs like art, history and geography.”
DOE’s Choice Educator’s Choice
$335 Million on Excessive, Experimental Testing
OR 6,364 New Teachers
OR 25,969 New Pre-Kindergarten Seats
OR 167,500 New After-School Spaces
Assembly Member Mark Weprin said, “As the father of two public school students, I see students being taught canned test-prep drills - not basic reading and math skills. There's too much time spent testing, and not enough time spent learning.”
A November 2007 statement by the North Carolina Blue Ribbon Commission on Testing said, “There is too much time spent on testing,” and that several exams should be eliminated or no longer counted in the state’s testing program. Earlier this month, Gotbaum released an analysis showing that most 3rd graders in New York City take, on average, one standardized test every three weeks.
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