Assemblymember Mark S. Weprin
56-21 Marathon Parkway
Little Neck, New York 11362
Telephone (718) 428-7900
Facsimile (718) 428-8575
weprinm@assembly.state.ny.us

PRESS ADVISORY

Immediate Release

DATE: March 29, 2007

CONTACT: Ari Gershman

Assemblymember Mark Weprin (D-Little Neck) will hold a press conference on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 at 10 AM on the steps of City Hall to express his opposition to the proliferation of burdensome high-stakes tests that New York State’s children have to endure. “Since the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind law, tests have become a plague on the learning environment in our schools,” said Assemblymember Weprin.

Donald Freeman of the Performance Standards Consortium, which represents 28 schools across New York State and opposes high-stakes tests, will join Assemblymember Weprin on April 11, as will leaders of the United Federation of Teachers. Representatives of New York’s cultural institutions will appear at the press conference as well. Many leaders from the arts community oppose the extreme emphasis on high-stakes tests because the intense focus on test preparation often results in children having fewer opportunities to learn about and experience art, music, and culture.

Assemblymember Weprin said that the tests have taken over the pedagogical focus of our schools, becoming taxing to parents, students, teachers, and administrators throughout the State. Students in third to eighth grade now take intensive standardized state tests three times per year in an exercise that is frustrating, energy-sapping, expensive, and fruitless.

As a father of two New York City public school students, Assemblymember Weprin feels strongly that the children of New York are spending too much of their school days on test preparation. The pressure forces teachers to teach to the test, instead of allowing students to explore new areas, express their creativity, and enjoy learning. Assemblymember Weprin believes that we need to lessen the emphasis on testing and begin to rely on a variety of indicators to evaluate students, teachers, principals, and schools.