State ELA test remains laborious task for some

By KATHLEEN MOORE

ALBANY passage, according to the Education Department. The department said it had no reports that the test was longer than last year, and emphasized that its estimated average is supposed to apply to “most students,” not all students. allowed students to stand up and stretch whenever they wanted. She did not offer any formal breaks during the three hours before lunch. Another teacher in Schenectady said she found the test “heartbreaking” because she had to encourage students to keep working when she knew they were making mistakes. The teachers spoke anonymously because they did not have authorization from the district to talk about the tests.

— Despite efforts to shorten the test, some of New York’s 8- and 9-year-olds sat for more than two hours a day last month to take the state ELA assessment.

The state Education Department had estimated it would take third and fourth graders 60 to 80 minutes to complete the English Language Arts test each day. Older students were estimated to take 80 to 100 minutes, increasing by grade. The test is taken every year by students in grades 3 through 8. It is not timed, so students can take as long as they need to finish it.

But some Capital Region schools still reported that many students worked until lunch, meaning they spent about three hours on the test, and that some had to continue until dismissal at the end of the day.

In Albany, most students needed more than two hours, and 43 elementary students needed the full school day, a spokesperson said. In Schenectady, most students needed two to 2 1 /2 hours each day, well above the maximum 80-minute state estimate, the district said.

Some students missed part of recess as they raced to finish. Others were released for recess and lunch and then moved to a new location where they continued working until dismissal, two to three hours later.

By comparison, the high school Regents exams are capped at three hours.

Despite the length, however, there were indications in other districts that the test was shorter for some students this year.

Most students did not need more than two hours at Bethlehem schools, a spokeswoman said.

Despite efforts to shorten the test, many of New York’s 8- and 9-year-olds sat for more than two hours a day last month to take the state ELA assessment.

The test has been criticized for being too long, and this year a new test was offered that asked questions on fewer topics. There were also fewer writing items and one less reading

Every state is required by the federal government to test students in grades three through eight on ELA and math. But the length of the test varies greatly. For example in Indiana, the test is capped at one hour per day, and students continue taking it for as many days as needed to finish it. Instructions to the test proctors specifically say that no multi-hour test sessions should be scheduled.

New York’s test instructions allow breaks, and one Schenectady teacher said that she

In the past, the ELA assessment routinely took more than two hours, said Green Island Principal Mario Fernandez.

“In times past, two hours would be heaven sent,” he said. “This year we started at 8:30 and most of the kids were done before 10:30.”

He estimated most of his students were done within 100 minutes.

One of the big differences: All of his students took the test on computers. Schenectady and