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NYC teachers say policies put student evaluations over education
By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 25, 2023
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By
Jessica Gould
Published Apr 25, 2023
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New York City teachers say a growing pile of assessments designed to track student progress is getting in the way of actual learning.
“It prevents me from getting through my curriculum and teaching what needs to be done so [the students] have the skills to take them to the next grade,” said Randi Boxer, a kindergarten teacher at PS 152 in Brooklyn.
Survey results released by the United Federation of Teachers on Monday found 54% of teachers said these types of assessments “always” or “often” get in the way of student learning. And 63% of teachers surveyed said many of the assessments cause unnecessary stress for students.
The union got responses from 3,000 of its approximately 115,000 members for the survey and released the results as the group began to ramp up pressure on Mayor Eric Adams for a new contract.
Boxer and other teachers throughout the city are handing out fliers to parents this week to highlight the survey results. They said they hope a new contract will include raises — but also as changes to education policies that include a rollback in the volume of assessments and other administrative tasks, so they can focus more on instruction.
“We just have a lot on our plate instead of getting to the nuts and bolts of why we teach in the first place,” Boxer said.
The requirements vary by school and grade level. But in an email to the union, one kindergarten teacher named half a dozen distinct reading assessments and several math assessments students must complete this school year.
Other teachers criticized a mental health screener they have been asked to conduct for the past two years. They said the screener, which had 43 questions for each student, was not only time consuming, but often did not result in more services for students.
Educators have long used a range of assessments to check their students’ mastery over concepts — and many said some are useful. But union members said the sheer number of those assessments has ballooned in recent years as new evaluations were introduced to measure learning loss from the pandemic, progress in reading and math, and students’ mental health.
In the survey results released Monday, teachers estimated they currently spend 12 hours a week on tasks that don’t benefit their students.
The union is highlighting teachers’ frustrations as part of its effort to mobilize for a new contract.
“We need to get a raise in order to maintain our ability to try to live inside of the city,” UFT president Michael Mulgrew said in a statement Monday. “And at the same time, we are sick and tired of having our time wasted by the Department of Education's ridiculous policies — that they just keep adding on and on. Paperwork, redundancies, and now assessing our assessments.”
UFT’s last contract expired in September.
“We respect the vital work our teachers do each and every day, and hope to reach a voluntary agreement with them soon,” a spokesperson for Mayor Adams said in a statement. “We will not negotiate in the press.”
The city earlier this year settled major collective bargaining agreements with DC37, the largest municipal union, and the Police Benevolent Association.
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education
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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