New York’s top education policymakers may ask legislators for roughly $34.9 million to help redesign state assessments, according to draft budget priorities discussed at a Board of Regents meeting on Monday.
The potential funding request, which was unveiled with a host of other possible priorities for the legislature, would go towards translating grades 3-8 math exams into different languages, reinstating foreign-language Regents exams, and preparing for “project-based assessments,” which evaluate students based on a series of tasks or projects.
State officials have expressed interest in project-based assessments before — which would mark a significant departure from traditional state standardized tests — but have cited cost as a major hindrance. The draft budget priorities begin to address that concern, with $8 million set aside for “laying the groundwork” to create these types of assessments, according to Regents materials.
The Regents’ budget and legislative priorities are still being workshopped and will not be finalized until either November or December. The Regents do not have any formal power over the legislature, but as the state’s official education policy-making body, they hold sway over some lawmakers.
The changes discussed on Monday are part of an ongoing effort to rethink New York state assessments, with a particular focus on the state’s diversity, according to Regents materials.
New York state’s tests have come under fire recently, inspiring a test refusal movement that led roughly one in five students statewide to boycott state exams the past two years. In response, state officials made several changes to the tests last year, including shortening them and giving students unlimited testing time, while promising to continue reviewing the tests in the coming years.
The draft budget priorities also include funds to help teachers implement the state’s new learning standards, which are currently being revamped. The proposal sets aside $5 million for implementing the standards, including $2 million to develop instructional resources for English Language Learners and students with disabilities. The standards’ accessibility to English Language Learners was criticized by United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew after the state released a draft set of standards this fall.
The full list of draft budget proposals can be found here, and the draft legislative proposals are here.