A NYC middle school follows the letter of the NCLB law, but not without complaint:
The teen was barely off the plane from Colombia when she took one test and then another yesterday at Jamaica's JHS 217. "She just got here," one teacher said to the test proctor as the new student, 14, sat by herself in the library, her pink and white sandals, as well as her blue sparkly nails, as new as her life in Queens. The proctor, Paula Nieto, shrugged. The teen, whose name is being withheld by request, had just taken a 90- minute state test on English proficiency, and after a lunch break, it was time for the eighth-grade math test. "I think it's a little crazy," Nieto said as she handed out the Spanish version of the test. "This girl is scared. Right now, she's nervous."It may not have been the best welcome, but it was a sign of how test-driven the education system has become nationwide, educators said...
In the old days, principal Jeannette Reed said, the newcomer would have about two weeks to settle down before getting less formal assessments created by 217's teachers to identify her skills and needs. She would have been assigned a "buddy," a Spanish-speaking student mentor, from Colombia, if possible.
And is there any reason that can't still be done? Do we think this student was irreparably harmed by taking a test in her native language? What's so bad about the first day of school being a bit challenging? The system isn't perfect, I agree, but I'm not sure how else to prevent schools from using loopholes to avoid testing low-performing students.
Posted by kswygert at May 17, 2005 12:51 PM