Recently, Mayor Bloomberg has inflicted massive budget cuts on New York City public schools. On Wednesday, March 19, over 10,000 people rallied together in order to demand that the money be returned into the the pockets of public schools. A surprising number of those people were New York City public school students. This amazing outcome could have never been accomplished without the efforts of the New York City Student Union. NYCSU made many efforts to increase student involvement in education. One of the greatest accomplishments was the very successful facebook group that boasts a more than 500 members. The protest was an amazing example of the power behind activism having 8 blocks of concerned individuals in the freezing rain making sure their voices were heard.

Recently, one of the founding members of the Student Union, Dana O’Brien wrote an editorial in response to the New York Times article “School Commendations Come With a Critique”. The Editorial concerned the accuracy and efficiency of Chancellor Joel Klein. It can be seen below:

As a public school student myself, as well as on behalf of the New York City Student Union, I would like to commend Assemblyman Mark Weprin on his public statement on the overemphasis on high-stakes testing in New York City public education.

Dana O’Brien
Brooklyn, Jan. 5, 2008

Dear Chancellor Klein,

My name is Seth Pearce. I am a senior at LaGuardia High School and a member of the NYC Student Union ( http://nycstudents.org), a citywide, student-run and created, education advocacy organization. I am writing to you to express both my support for your new school Progress Report program and my criticism of some of its parts.

At last weeks NYC Student Union meeting, students from schools around the City discussed the Progress Reports. Some students supported them and others didn’t. There was, however, a general agreement on the need for accountability in our schools. These Progress Reports bring added accountability and transparency to our City’s schools. They help give valuable information to our City’s parents. The most important benefit of the Progress Reports might be increased involvement from these parents who now have a clearer view of what’s going on their children’s schools.

While I support the principle of the Progress Reports, I also believe that the system needs revision. A large problem with your report card is the small amount of influence the Learning Environment section has on the overall score. Attendance is also as a major indicator of school performance. Students who go to bad schools will probably go to school less often and vice versa. If students are in the habit of going to school it is more likely that they will progress academically and proceed to the next level of education. Surveys should also play a larger role because parents, students and teachers have the most direct insight into the schools output.

I would also like to say that while standardized test scores deserve a place in the Progress Report they are given too much value in this system. While they provide some insight into student performance, they are inadequate and distract from the real business of education: teaching and learning. Emphasis on these tests also devalues the roles teacher and student. Furthermore, the need for constant progress to succeed in their progress reports is unrealistic for high performing schools and can actually distract them from the great work they are doing. In my mind the importance of progress for these purposes should be taken on the sliding scale determined by a school’s previous performance, e.g. progress would more important for low performing schools.

Thank you for taking the time to hear a student’s opinion. If you ever want to read some student commentary about our school system, check out the NYC Students Blog at http://nycstudents.blogspot.com or stop by at one of our Monday meetings.

Have a nice day,

Seth Pearce
seth@nycstudents.org
http://nycstudents.org

On Monday, September 24, 2007, the members of the NYC Student Union unanimously voted in favor of a resolution stating: “While the NYC Student Union acknowledges the good intentions and possible benefits of Opportunity NYC, the plan, as it stands now, is too problematic.” Many students expressed their dissatisfaction with the plan, which pays low-income students for high standardized test scores, prior to the vote. “It insults hard- working, low- income students by conveying the message that they could not possibly value education in itself and must need some sort of incentive in order to perform better in school.” Said Laura Johnson, 17. Some students feared that the program could have the potential to distance students from their schools and create tensions between students who are getting paid and students who aren’t. On the NYC Students Blog, Hasanur Rahman, 16 wrote: “a student that tries to earn the money but barely misses the cut off score to earn the money will only become frustrated and give up.” Furthermore, Shauna Fitzgerald, 15, added, “[Opportunity NYC] propagates the test prep culture and detracts from other important aspects of education.” This culture is a large factor in student apathy in our high schools. Still, the NYC Student Union refrained from condemning the spirit of the program outright. “It’s nice to know that the City is coming up with new and creative ways to help New York City public school students,” said Ashu Kapoor, 17. However, the members of the NYC Student Union felt that this program had too much baggage. “The cash being used in this program could better be used to solve citywide problems affecting all students like class size and school resources” concluded Ben Shanahan, 15.