ALBANY, NY — New York State United Teachers on Nov. 8 released a new report outlining new recommendations for state and federal policy makers.

The More Teaching Less Testing Task Force was charged with identifying how classrooms might look, sound and feel without high-stakes testing. The members were also asked to improve evaluation of college and career readiness.

“We know that the modern workforce relies on skills like communication, collaboration, and ability to work as part of a team — skills not necessarily measured by a standardized test,” said NYSUT president Melinda Person.

In Congress, U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s proposed More Teaching, Less Testing Act would give states options to test less frequently and with more reasonable evaluation measures.

Key proposals include:

Adding pathways to graduation that do not rely solely on Regents exams, such as capstone projects, experiential and project-based learning, and career and technical education programs. 

Revising the grades 3-8 assessment exams and delinking the test results from teacher evaluations. 

Revising the federal testing requirements with flexibility for states to make the exams lless stressful on students. 

The recommendations build upon NYSUT’s firm and longstanding position that overreliance on standardized testing forces a “teach to the test” model that strips the joy of learning and teaching from our classrooms. If adopted, these policies would revamp our federal and state assessment systems to better support students’ natural curiosity and authentic education. 

“From kindergarten to 12th grade, our Task Force found the overemphasis on these tests has limited students’ abilities to demonstrate knowledge in various ways and find joy in their exploratory learning,” said NYSUT executive vice president Jaime Ciffone. 

The full report and recommendations can be found at https://nysut.cc/moreteaching.