Here is a list of things you can do to join PVNY in the fight against high stakes testing:

• Keep updated about what is happening in relation to high stakes testing around New York City, New York State, and the nation on sites such as ParentVoicesNY, Change the Stakes(http://changethestakes.wordpress.com/) and FairTest (http://www.fairtest.org/)
•  Write or call your local elected representatives to express your concerns about the impact of high stakes testing. Need help figuring out who they are or how to contact them? Visit  http://www.suny.edu/govtrelations/state/Representative.cfm
• Write or call the New York State Board of Regents to let them know how you feel about high stakes testing. You can get contact information for individual members at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/members/.
• Read and sign on to the New York State principals’ letter protesting high-stakes testinghttp://www.newyorkprincipals.org/appr-paper
  http://www.newyorkprincipals.org/support-the-nys-testing-paper
• Talk to parents at your child’s school at a PTA or other school meeting to raise awareness about high stakes testing and its impacts. See the Talking Points on High Stakes Testing: PowerPoint for a model.
• Get your school’s PTA to sign on to the Niagara Region PTA Resolution which calls on the Governor and state legislature to revise teacher evalations based on student test scores.
• Start your own satellite ParentVoices group in your area.
• Learn more about how high stakes testing is approached in your child’s school by talking to the principal or School Leadership Team (SLT). As parents you have a right to know what impact the tests –and their influence on school and teacher evaluations – has on your child’s day-to-day learning.**It is important to note that schools approach preparing students for standardized tests in very different ways. All schools spend some time preparing students, but how much and in what ways ranges tremendously. It can depend on previous test scores of students, previous years’ school report card grade, or percent of students entering school-ready or at-grade-level.Some schools do test prep all year long, others for a concentrated period of time right before the tests; some have students in testing grades come early for an extra period, other have students stay late, and others weave it into regular classroom periods. Some schools buy additional materials specifically designed for test prep and others use their funds to offer weekend programming to families.Some questions to ask:

  In what grades do teachers use the tests to guide their teaching?

  In what grades do teachers provide explicit test prep?

  When in the school year do teachers start preparing students directly for the tests?

  How much time per day is spent on direct test prep in each of the grades that provide it?

  When is test prep done: during regular classroom periods, before school, after school, weekends, and/or other?

  Do different students get different amounts of test prep, depending upon their academic achievement todate?

  What materials has the school purchased for the purposes of test prep? How much money is spent per year on test prep materials?

How you can get involved with PVNY:

• Attend PVNY meetings.
• If you are not near a PVNY group, start your own satellite group (see Organizing a ParentVoices group in Your Area).
• Stay connected and up to date on PVNY actions and events by:
  • Be sure to JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • Visiting the website regularly (http://www.parentvoicesny.org/) to see recent articles and updates on what is going on around the city, state and country in relation to high stakes testing.