According to Huffington Post while NJ ranks one of the highest for math and science schools

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/state-education-rankings-_n_894528.html

Hopatcong isn't even above state average and we continue to slide even with MORE money given the teachers.

http://hopatcong.patch.com/articles/high-school-test-scores-show-mixed-results-locally

I expect the score to improve this year because the schools received their 2% increase without us taxpayers having to vote it down again. If not, the Superintendent's contract is up next year and change will be needed.

According to USA Today we continue to slip worldwide.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-12-07-us-students-international-ranking_N.htm

Scores from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment to be released Tuesday show 15-year-old students in the U.S. performing about average in reading and science, and below average in math. Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.

Not much has changed since this report was published in 2010. So we need to keep testing till things improve.

My child's West Morris Central High School Biology class watched Gattaca (Sci Fi flick) for 1 1/2 hours instead of receiving instruction last week under the guise that it dealt with genetics. This is not an uncommon practice these days, just ask YOUR kid(s).

Watching TV in class instead of teaching -- is this what it's come to?

Maybe we should just replace the "teachers" with ushers. We'll save a ton on salaries, AND we can sell popcorn at super-inflated prices to defer EVEN MORE of our tax burdon....

When a student who is taking honors and AP courses in several subjects is made to also take the HSPA, testing becomes redundant and costly. Class grades and strength of courses should be taken into consideration when determining HSPA requirements. There are also sophomores who have successfully taken the SAT earlier than usual. They should also be excused from the HSPA.

Did you ask your child's teacher what the educational justification was for the film? If not, you should. Most public school teachers are required to align their lesson plans to core curriculum standards, I'm guessing he/she has a sound reason for showing the film. My daughter had a teacher years ago that would show the occasional film, and when I asked her about it she gave me more information that I could have imagined as to how the film tied into what they were doing in class. And many years later my daughter has never forgotten them. For a lot of kids it provides a common application of complicated concepts that helps kids make a connection to them. Teachers of middle and high school kids also have to deal with just that - KIDS. They have been trained to teach to their academic needs but also have been trained in methodology and child psychology. They know that school doesn't have to be boring to be good.

i think if people KNEW how much is spent preparing our kids for these tests they would NEVER allow it. These tests are NOT just 'here take a test' "wealthy" districts hire 'test preppers' to prepare the teachers for them, and subs to teach while the teachers learn to prepare the students!
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It is a crime that we need to abuse kids with all these tests because the schools are not doing their job.

As a homeschooler I am neither required to (nor give) ANY standardized tests. My daughter (a HS Jr) has never taken standardized tests - other then SAT/AP tests. Most homeschoolers don't use them.. and our kids tend to score 4-5 on AP exams and 2200+ on SATs as a GROUP (most are higher in this area).
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standardized tests are dumb. they teach to a mass that is NOT in that room. why not just send a sample of finals to the sate. - and yes exempt students who already took APs/IBs in HSPA area

each teacher should be able to TEACH their class... the principal knows if the teacher is failing... if so fire them (oh, wait they can't) ... so maybe rather then add tests.. remove some the teachers union .. treat teachers with some RESPECT, pay the good ones fairly, and get rid of the poor ones. it's a crime teachers need a union to be treated fairly.
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... or another words -- run the school like a Bsns (okay, a well run bsns.. my luck someone would think i ment to outsource teaching)

Eliminate Tenure

I graduated from high school in 2010. My experience in the school system was that every year a standardized test was given, I did not have a single bad teacher. Once high school started, and there were no more standardized tests besides the HSPA, I began having 1-2 bad teachers every year. I twice had teachers who literally finished only half of the curriculum by the time end of the year, and just gave us a massive curve on the district-wide final, which they graded themselves. While the majority of teachers I had in high school were at least good, if not great, the number that simply failed to do their jobs was far too high. It was certainly not a majority, but it was more than just the occasional bad apple. I really do think standardized testing is necessary to prevent this.

I want to stress that most teachers I had were great, but their IS a serious problem with a small, but significant, minority.

Teaching to the test is a real problem. The answer is not giving teachers the test questions to "teach to".

Some states have invested the money to develop randomly generated testing and differently worded questions which cover the full spectrum of the knowledge a student was expected to acquire. Like SATs and bar exams do. And, of course, the questions are unavailable to teachers.

Of course, teachers/administrators complain that the results are therefore questionable for comparison's sake. But are they less questionable than results from the practice of teaching to the test, or results tainted from blatant (well-documented in many states) practices such as teachers writing actual test questions in advance on the blackboard? And will it eliminate the very real damage of narrowing education to "teaching to the test?"

I can't imagine a better investment of time and money than (more sophisticated) HSPA-like testing at the end of *each* year to see if the child has absorbed the necessary knowledge they were meant to, and identify those students and teachers in need of remedial adjustments or qualified for advanced curriculum and (with teachers) merit pay. This would have the additional benefit of focusing children's attention on these tests, as many do not take the HSPAs seriously.

PS: You'd probably also solve any problem there might (or might not be) be with play time movies in class as discussed above.

Honestly, what's the big deal? Our neighbor, New York, has administered the Regents Exams in most high school subjects as a requirement for course credit and thus graduation since the 1950's. I do not believe, nor do I think there should be, any exemptions or waivers for students taking AP courses.

@observer I took the regents.

Speaking not as a Board Member but simply as a person who has always supported the arts, I could see the issue about the financial literacy requirement cutting into things like music and art coming a mile away. Here in Montville the financial literacy requirement will be offered online so students hopefully don't have to sacrifice something they have a passion for, whether in the arts or otherwise. But it makes me sad that throughout the nation, things like art, music and other cultural enhancers are being shortchanged by so-called educators who see them as things that "get in the way" of academics. Life is about being well rounded, not just book smart.

My public school friends who are teachers tell me the kids are being tested almost as much as they are being taught, thanks to NKLB programs. I think it was a ploy by the Bush administration to get rid of public schools.

I'm an elementary school teacher. Even at our level the testing takes over thanks to NCLB. We have to teach 2 math chapters concurrently to cover more material in less time in case it's on the test. Posters, acronyms, songs, poems & more are created to help kids do well on the test. Supposedly we don't teach to the test but I am required by administration to make my students complete on online programs & specific homework & classroom activities to prep for the test & become accustomed to test language & formatting. Every district does test prep; most just won't admit to it. And please understand that teachers do not have access to the test questions.

It's frustrating that people want to base salaries on test result or think that tenure has anything to do with it. So much time & effort is put in by the teachers but we cannot make the kids perform come test day. I've watched students come in after staying up late or not having breakfast, finishing a section that should take 45 minutes in only 10 minutes, and even refusing to complete the test. I've seen kids break down from stress and start crying or have stomach troubles because of it.

People constantly throw statistics out about how low the U.S. ranks compared to other countries. However, most of those countries are not required to educate all children and then not all students are tested. So you are comparing all of our children from extremely different backgrounds to other scores that are from the best of the best.