New York, NY – The city is adding the diaper set to the screening process for kids entering the school system – testing all 3- and 4-year- olds in public and subsidized pre-K programs. But many say children get mislabeled and it’s highly inappropriate.
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Developmental screening for prekindergartners has been mandated by the state for years, but the city never enforced it until now, the Daily News has learned.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Parnel Lettunich, whose son Maceo, 3, attends a Brooklyn pre-K program. “I think the testing is out of control.”
Parents say they were told that unless all children are tested by Dec. 1, state-funded prekindergarten programs could lose their grants. That would translate into a tuition hike of at least $300 per month for some families.
“I don’t think the test can give an accurate picture of where a child is,” said Crystal Salas, a special education teacher who lives with her prekindergartner daughter Jade in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “The kids are too young.”
Education Department officials say the test is only being used to detect early developmental delays.
“This assessment helps pre-K programs identify kids who may need a little extra attention,” said DOE spokeswoman Melody Meyer. “We expect every school to comply.”
Officials began meeting with community organizations last week and training for public school teachers will begin next week.
The 20-minute Pearson assessment asks children to use blocks to build structures, draw pictures, count and identify shapes and colors.
The DOE expects to spend about $440,000 on the tests. The results will not go on the student’s permanent record, Meyer said.
A student either passes, is flagged for extra help and re-tested in a couple months, or is referred for further assessment to see if special services are required.
One program head, who asked to remain anonymous, said the information session she attended had a confusing training process, causing several educators to disagree about a sample scoring exercise.
Some studies claim that early detection of developmental delays can be key to allowing children to catch up with their peers.
Many education advocates, however, say research also shows testing of young children is notoriously unreliable.
“You’re just not going to get a reliable assessment from a test like this,” said education researcher and Time Out From Testing advocate Martha Foote. “Children get mislabeled. It’s highly inappropriate.”
What is the big issue? test the kids and you can get a heads up on kids that might have an issue. testing is just a snapshot of a moment and might be accurate but it might point to potential issues that are not apparent or that the parents are avoiding.
Then our yeshivos won’t accept 3 yr olds based on them not being in the 90th percentile. hamodia, yated, jpress, etc. will be blaring pre-k l’m’tziyonim. WE ACCEPT ONLY THE BEST 3 YR. OLDS OUT THERE! give me a break!
When the dust settles people will realize that this is a good thing. After I put tubes in my sons ears I had him tested for possible speech issues. At that age they not only screen for speech, but for OT & PT as well. His speech was fine but what I thought was him just being a very defined “righty” turned out to be torticolis or weak muscles on his left side. He did EVERYTHING that 3 year olds do just with his right side. when I saw the same behavior in my 8 month old I had her tested & with the same diagnosis started therapy right away. My son still needs therapy but my daughter at 1.5 years is done. In most case the city will pay for EI (early intervention). It is definitly worth it.
Its all about saving Money. People need to open their eyes and realize that everything Bloomberg does is about saving or increasing revenue for the city.