N.Y. Mayor Makes Test Sole Factor to Advance Students

NEW YORK —  The practice of social promotion in New York City schools:

A) Affects students’ self-esteem.

B) Distorts academic achievement.

C) Is a source of heated debate.

D) All of the above -- and more.

Vowing to end social promotion, which can advance students with shaky academic skills, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced last month that scores on the standardized English and math tests to be given this spring would be the only factors used to determine whether a third-grader moved on or was held back.

Now tens of thousands of anxious students and their parents throughout New York City are undergoing test trauma. And many educators, while applauding the goal of strengthening student performance, disagree with the path Bloomberg has chosen.

“The mayor is passionate about wanting to have kids do better and have the system held accountable,” said Jill Chaifetz, executive director of Advocates for Children, a nonprofit group active in education. “We feel the same way.”

But, she said, “Kids and parents are reeling. It’s do or die.”

The United Parents Assn. of New York City and a consortium of more than 100 educational professors have criticized Bloomberg and schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein for instituting the new policy in the middle of the school year, without time to prepare for the April exams.

Even the two companies that produce the test, they point out, say that the results should not be exclusive criteria for promotion.

In a recent radio interview, Bloomberg explained why he felt it necessary now to impose the strict criteria on such young students.

“People say, ‘Well, the child’s self-esteem will be hurt if they’re kept back.’ What about their self-esteem when everybody else in the room is reading and they can’t?” the mayor said.

Presenting the plan during his 2004 State of the City address, Bloomberg said the third grade was critical because that was the first time language and math skills were measured with specialized tests at public schools.

“As they grow older, the odds against helping students meet demanding standards get much, much longer,” he said. “But with kids who are 8 or 9 years old, we’ve still got a very good shot at success.... Third grade is also where the numbers needing help are still manageable.”

But some critics -- Chaifetz included -- say Bloomberg is playing politics with the psyches of young pupils by seeking to show a large jump in a fourth-grade statewide examination in 2005 when the mayor -- who has made improving education the centerpiece of his administration -- is widely expected to seek reelection. Keeping weak students in the third grade, the critics contend, would cause scores on the state test to soar.

Aides to Bloomberg dismissed the charge as cynical.

There is broad support across the nation for ending social promotion. “President Clinton wanted to end social promotion. Al Gore wanted to end social promotion. President Bush does -- they all do,” said Jay Heubert, an associate professor of education at Columbia University Teachers College. “The problem is for most people, [that] means holding more kids back.”

Researchers said school systems didn’t keep statistics about the practice because they didn’t like to admit it took place.

In New York, the Department of Education estimated that about 15,000 pupils would fail to get a minimum score of two on the test -- four is the highest -- and would find themselves seated again in third-grade classrooms next year. About 3,750 third-grade students were left back last year.

Supporters praised Bloomberg and Klein for their stand.

“When you have social promotion, students get a phony high school diploma, and they cannot get a job,” said Herman Badillo, former chairman of the City University of New York. “The reality is, you have to have standards. Tests are important, and evaluations are important. The problem of social promotion is -- you don’t do your work and you pass. You do your work and you pass. That makes no sense in our society.”

Frank Macchiarola, a former New York City schools chancellor who is president of St. Francis College in Brooklyn, said: “There is no alternative to prepared students in classes that I know of. The present system does not provide that. We are in the situation we are in right now because we ignored the failures. The chancellor, to his credit, and the mayor, to his credit, are trying to do something.”

Critics agreed that a sound education was crucial, but said research showed that students who were left back were likely to end up leaving school.

“Retention increases the likelihood of a student dropping out by 40% to 50%,” said Beverly Falk, a professor of early childhood education at the City College of New York. “A second retention increases this risk by 90%.”

“We have to help people understand important high-stakes decisions about children’s lives should not be based on a single test,” Falk said. “There are too many problems with tests, with the technology of tests. Even the best test has limitations. The multiple-choice format is confusing to many children.... For young children, third-graders, it is very confusing.”

Most school systems, while considering test scores to be very important, base promotion decisions on multiple factors-- like report card grades, classwork, attendance and assessments of writing skills.

Los Angeles schools follow this formula.

“The guiding factor, the bottom line, is teacher judgment,” said James Morris, assistant superintendent in charge of elementary instruction for the Los Angeles Unified School District. “The standardized test is just one part of the package.”

Harried parents and children cramming for the exam in New York find the debate between the mayor and his opponents an academic exercise.

“It is a lot of pressure. We have to practice every day,” said Carmen Kortas, a video artist whose 8-year-old daughter, Cora, has expressed fears about repeating third grade.

“You want to have time for playing and a little bit of enjoyment. It is a little too hard.”