Hauppauge Schools Take Stand on Standardized Testing

The Hauppauge Board of Education has drafted a letter to state legislators, asking legislators to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act, by reducing the level of testing mandates.

Superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss said that there is a growing sense that the level of standardized exams in schools is creating a generation of test-takers instead of critical thinkers and learners.

In the letter, which has not yet been sent, the Board of Education, states that standardized testing is an unreliable measure of student learning and teacher effectiveness, in regards to the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). 

“The Hauppauge Board of Education supports educational accountability in public schools, but believes that the current over-emphasis on standardized testing has caused collateral damage in our schools, including reducing instructional time, narrowing the curriculum, increasing student stress, reducing love of learning and teaching and driving excellent teachers out of the profession,” the letter, which was drafted by Board of Education President Geri Richter, states.

The letter goes on to say that such testing hampers creativity, innovation, critical thinking and deep knowledge of subject matter.

The board plans to send the letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Legislature, Commissioner of Education John King and the Board of Regents.