Dear Parents of Students in Grades 3-8:
This March, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) advised school districts to move forward with plans to administer the Grade 3-8 ELA, Math, and Science assessments. Although NYSED has requested an assessment waiver from the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) because they determined that the Spring 2021 state assessments cannot be safely, equitably, and fairly administered to all students across the State due to the pandemic, the decision from the USDE is pending. Unless and until the waiver is granted, the Grades 3-8 testing will take place with revisions to prior requirements.
For the Grade 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments, schools will be required to administer only session 1. This is a shift from the standard practice where these assessments are administered in 2 sessions. In addition, only the written component of the Grade 4 and 8 Science Tests will be administered. The performance tests will not be administered. New York State has also provided a more flexible testing window than in past years.
Attached are the dates that we will be administering each assessment. Please note that schools are not expected to bring students into the building to participate in the tests if the students are receiving entirely remote instruction. If your child is on remote instruction and you would like them to come into school to take the assessments, please fill out the attached google form no later than April 9, 2021 https://forms.gle/AAoGknSNvwfFdFiQ9. If you do not wish for your remote child to participate in the state assessments, no action is needed.
Due to health and safety protocols surrounding COVID-19, if your child attends school in-person and you do not plan for your child to take the state assessments, please inform your building principal in writing by Monday, April 12th. This will
ensure that we are able to assign students to locations during testing that adhere to all health and safety guidelines. Additional details regarding the State Assessments will be forthcoming from your child's individual school. We will continue to update you should the status of the pending NYSED waiver change.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kishore Kuncham
Please see attached letters for Assessment Schedules.
Updated Information 4/8/2021
The US Department of Education did not approve the New York State Education Department's (NYSED) waiver request. Freeport Schools will be moving forward with our plans for the Grades 3 - 8 assessments.You can view the NYSED response to the waiver denial at this link:
http://www.nysed.gov/news/2021/statement-chancellor-lester-w-young-jr-and-commissioner-betty-rosa-usde-denial-assessment