After Speedy Test Reforms, State Education Commissioner Says It's Time to 'Unplug'

State education commissioner MaryEllen Elia said she hopes more parents will let their children take this year's tests, after 20 percent opted out last year.

In a speech at Teachers College, she blamed poor communication from the state, when the Common Core standards and new tests were simultaneously rolled out a few years ago, for creating what she called a "high pitch."

"We need to unplug," she said, after describing her efforts to calm the waters. "But the way that New York got to the high pitch was moving at warp speed."

Elia already announced that this year's tests will be shorter, and that students who are still answering questions will not have time limits. Teachers will also get the results before the end of the school year in June, to make them more meaningful as they evaluate their students. And there will be a moratorium until 2019 on using students' scores on state tests in teacher evaluations.

The commissioner is under pressure from the federal Department of Education to reduce the number of opt outs on this year's tests, or risk losing funds.

"I can't say that I'm going to really shift 20 percent of the parents who had their children not participate," Elia acknowledged, when asked by WNYC if she expected a big change this year. "But I think that we have made some changes that were very, very responsive to the concerns that many parents had."

She told the audience of educators at Teachers College at Columbia about her outreach efforts across the state since her appointment last summer. This included a survey of the Common Core learning standards in which 71 percent of more than 10,000 respondents said they supported high standards. She said their biggest concerns were about the appropriateness of the standards for young elementary school students.

Elia said she's now listening to those concerns. She said she also involved many more teachers in reviewing test questions, and that she expects their feedback to be reflected on this year's tests with better questions. She reiterated that tests are useful, but should not be the single assessment for students or teachers.

When asked by a reporter about her relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Elia acknowledged she still has not met him in person. But she said they have talked on the phone.

"I've had conversations with him specifically about his [Common Core] task force and I think out of that came some productive work."