Dateline: October 30, 2011 This link shared comments made by Commissioner King
(May 23, 2011) related to the LOTE requirement
for graduation. Details on this statement can be found here:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/newsnotes/archive/201105.html#assess Dateline: June 2, 2011 David Abrams, Assistant Commissioner for Assessment
Policy, Development and Administration recently
released a memo clarifying the changes in
assessments beginning in the 2011-12 school year. Dateline: May 17, 2011
On May 10, 2011,
Senior Deputy Commissioner John B. King, who has since been
appointed to be the New York State Education Department's new
commissioner beginning June 15, submitted
a proposal to the SED's P-12 Education Committee and the
College and Career Working Group.
The two primary issues of concern to NYSAFLT are the
recommendation to eliminate the French, Spanish, and Italian
Comprehensive Regents Exams beginning in 2012, and the
recommendation for locally developed exams, stating also that
"commercially available exams" such as the SAT II, the AP,
Cambridge IGCSE, and the International Baccalaureate are
acceptable replacement exams, as they "ensure foreign language
competence and attainment of learning standards."
In a closed session late Monday afternoon, the Board of
Regents reconvened and passed the proposal. Although this move
has been predicted since the demise of the SLP exams and the
German, Latin and Hebrew Regents exams this school year, it is
still a shock and truly a sad day for language teachers in New
York State. This news has been reported across the state, most
notably in the
New York Times.
Although this may be a fait accompli, once again it
is time for our NYSAFLT membership to express to the incoming
Commissioner (jking@mail.nysed.gov)
and our
Regentsour strong support of our
present LOTE Comprehensive exams and our opposition to their
elimination.Please do not
underestimate the seriousness of this cut. These exams
were the one thing standing between the current state mandate
for a credit in LOTE and a very uncertain future where LOTE may
once again be "optional".
Know that NYSAFLT is with you and here to support you and
your colleagues. Please urge your non-member colleagues to join
us – since it is in numbers that we have the greatest voice, and
in our connections with each other around the state that we will
have the greatest strength as we move forward. We believe in a
world where global literacy and languages are paramount – and we
must continue to try to change the world -one successful and
happy language student at a time.
John Carlino
NYSAFLT Executive Director
Dateline: April 26, 2011
NYSAFLT continues to stay in close communication with
representatives of the State Education Department to seek
clarity and understanding of middle level LOTE requirements and
what is required. A recent conversation with Mary Beth Casey,
Associate in Middle Level Education yielded this for your
consideration:
A strict interpretation of the new regulation does indeed
necessitate that a middle school student seeking the first unit
of diploma credit in LOTE and taking a level one course over 2
years (in this case grade 7 and 8) must indeed successfully
complete both units of study. Districts must remember however
that successful completion of the course is determined by the
district. In other words the district decides what constitutes
passing the unit of study and how much weight will be given to
homework, classwork, tests, quizzes, participation etc.
Remediation and make up coursework can also play a factor here.
The intent of the regulation is to insure the student has had
adequate instruction and has mastered the learning outcomes
leading to the checkpoint A learning standards for LOTE.
As always, please contact NYSED
with additional questions or clarification. Dateline: April 11, 2011
Due to widespread lack of clarity regarding
interpretation of the new State Regulations
regarding the LOTE requirement, NYSAFLT has
attempted to obtain further clarification from
the State Education Department.
As many of us are just now realizing, the new
regulations passed December 14, 2010 are written
in such a way as to require "successful
completion" of both units of the two-unit LOTE
requirement (where in the past this was not the
case). The State Education Department is no
longer using the term "seat time". These new
regulations apply to the current school year.
Two fundamental questions have been raised
surrounding the implementation of these
regulations:
What should schools do about 7th graders who do not pass
their first unit of instruction and what do we do about
current 8th graders who did not pass 7th grade LOTE last
year?
What is the standing of so-called "accelerated" LOTE
programs?
When asked what to do about
students who do not "successfully complete" the first unit of
study, the reply we received from SED was:
"The regulations that were passed by the Board of Regents
require students to "successfully complete" the two units of
study as well as "pass" the locally developed test. As such,
students must meet all three criteria (i.e., pass Grade 7, pass
Grade 8, and pass local test) in order to earn one unit of high
school credit in Grade 8 or earlier.
"Failing which, schools and districts would need to
provide opportunities for students to "make up" or "recover"
those units of study and to meet local requirements for
"successful completion"."
In response to questions regarding so
called "accelerated" middle school LOTE programs, the State
Education Department has replied:
"The provision for Grade 8 acceleration for diploma
credit exists in regulations (see
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/part100/pages/1004.html).
However, this provision is NOT intended for an entire cohort of
students. It is intended for individual students based on his or
her "readiness" as determined by the superintendent or his/her
designee."
In response to questions regarding this
new, seemingly narrower interpretation of accelerated LOTE
instruction we received the following reply:
"The superintendent, or his or her designee, shall
determine whether a student has demonstrated readiness in each
subject in which he or she asks to begin high school courses in
the eighth grade leading to a diploma."
In response to further questions
regarding the status of existing accelerated programs around the
state, given this new, narrower interpretation of acceleration
of students, we received the following response:
"Each district is unique and it is conceivable that a
high performing school district may indeed have a group of
students who may benefit from this provision in regulations."
Needless to say, we at NYSAFLT are extremely concerned that
major changes in policy and interpretation of policy have been
made without adequate effort to make the field aware of these
changes and without adequate time to adapt programming and
curriculum.
While we would like to be of assistance to every member who
has questions about his/her individual LOTE program, the volume
of questions has been overwhelming. If members have questions
regarding the status of students in their program, they should
contact the Office of Bilingual Studies and Foreign Language
Education directly:
Senior Deputy
Commissioner John King presented
the following report on the proposed
requirements for graduation at the Board of Regents meeting
Monday, April 4. It is apparent that, although there is some
mention of LOTE (which was not included in the January report),
the vagueness of the wording is a serious concern to NYSAFLT. I
have sent
a formal letter to Commissioner Steiner,
Senior Deputy Commissioner John King, and the New York Regents,
voicing these concerns.
Our major concerns involve the absence of inclusion of the
one-unit LOTE requirement before the completion of 9th grade and
the description of alternate assessments. At a time when the
experts are stressing the need for language and international
studies for national security, economic strength, and 21st
century skills, as well as the importance of beginning language
study during the early years, we feel that the present
graduation requirement proposal falls far short of what is in
the best interest of our students and our state.
Talking points (next to this arrow
)
are available at
NYSAFLT's advocacy page. Of course, it's
best to give examples of how the present proposals impact your
program and the futures of your students.
Thank you for your time and attention to this most important
matter.
Dear Friend of NYSAFLT,
NYSAFLT is aware of the aforementioned memo outlining potential
revisions to graduation requirements. LOTE is not specifically
mentioned anywhere in the memo as being excluded or included. We
are attempting to get clarification from the State Education
Department and will keep you apprised as more information
becomes available. We thank you for your continued vigilance and
advocacy at the local level as we fight for our programs. Dateline: March 17, 2011
What happens if your school is proposing cutting 7th grade
language?
Recently several districts around the state
have announced proposed cuts to 7th grade LOTE programs
prompting a flurry of questions to NYSAFLT headquarters. I would
like to take a moment to clarify the state mandate and how cuts
to 7th grade programs will affect compliance based on our
understanding of it.
The current mandate has not changed:
two units of study and one high school credit before the end of
9th grade.
In order to complete those two units as required,
districts must begin instruction no later than 8th grade.
This means that in districts where there is an accelerated
curriculum covering all of Checkpoint A in one year, the mandate
of two units and one credit could be met. It is important to
note that the curriculum must be accelerated (see the NYS
Syllabus: Modern Languages for Communication at
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/pub/publote.html for details
as to exactly what must be covered in Checkpoint A) and, if
prior to 9th grade, the final exam must comply with SED
guidelines for locally written exams substituting for the SLP
(see the memo from Assistant Commissioner David Abrams at
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/pub/publote.html for details).
The
Board of Regents has created a survey focusing on 3 topics:
College and Career Readiness, Necessary
Skills and Knowledge for College and Workforce Success,
and New York State Graduation Requirements.
They are also in the process of holding local
informational meetings (see below) dealing with these
topics. Unfortunately, Languages Other Than English seem to be
left out of the conversations.
NYSAFLT feels that it is time to include LOTE
in those discussions. While our organization has been actively
involved in letter-writing and phone calling over the past year,
it is now time for the membership to once again join in the
struggle, in a two-pronged approach:
We urge you to take the survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LJTTZ6R).
The DEADLINE for completing the survey is
February 18, 2011 at midnight. Although
none of the questions on the survey include LOTE, each
question is followed by a comment box. Please give your
comments, finding a way to bring attention to the omission
of LOTE from the discussion.
If possible, attend the local meeting and
educate the audience about the benefits of our LOTE
programs.
February 2 -
Mid-State/Central Region/Syracuse
OCM BOCES - Rodax 8 Building (Conference Room)
6075 East Molloy Road
Syracuse
(315) 433-2602 tsmith@ocmboces.org
February 10 - Long Island
Western Suffolk BOCES - Wheatley Heights Conference Center
31 Lee Avenue
Wheatley Heights
(631) 549-4900 jjohnson@wsboces.org
February 15 - NYC
February 17 - Mid-South
(RSVP by February 9)
TST BOCES - Smith School Gymnasium
555 Warren Road
Ithaca
(607) 257-1551 x202 pjohnson@tstboces.org
TBD - North Country
Lake Placid MS/HS
34 School Street
Lake Placid
(518) 483-6420 lmastry@mail.fehb.org
If the Board of Regents and the State
Education Department want our input, we must respond. Finally,
please pass this listserv to other LOTE teachers,
administrators, parents, business owners, and anyone you know
who supports LOTE education. The greater the response, the
greater chance of being heard!
Sincerely,
Nancy Ketz
NYSAFLT President 2011
Dateline: December 31, 2010
David Abrams from NYSED sends
this communication to NYSAFLT regarding the elimination of
LOTE assessments. The highlighted portion of the attached SED
policy reflect changes pertaining to LOTE.
The
following memo was released by Senior Deputy
Commissioner, John B. King, Jr. today. Highlighted are the
sections that speak to the earning of one unit of credit in
LOTE, before entering grade 9 and to earning a Regents diploma
with advanced designation in those languages for which no
Regents comprehensive assessment is available.
While this information may address some immediate concerns, we
must remain vigilant as the Commissioner's Regulations are
rewritten. NYSAFLT will be in attendance at the October Board
meeting to hear firsthand what is being proposed and to hear the
reactions and comments by the Board of Regents. We will also
continue to work to preserve our LOTE requirements in the
absence of state assessments.
Rest assured that through our NYSAFLT listserv we will keep you
apprised of any new developments or information regarding LOTE
in New York State.
Sincerely,
Sue Hochmuth
NYSAFLT President
Dateline: September 19, 2010
Dear Friends of Foreign Language Education,
I want you to know that NYSAFLT has been vigorously pursuing
answers for you regarding the elimination of the Second Language
Proficiency Exams and the Regents Exams in German, Hebrew and
Latin without success. Countless phone calls and emails have yet
to provide us with the information that we are seeking. I
recently had the opportunity to speak to Steve Katz in the
Office of Assessment. As a result of that communication
the following letter has been sent to
Commissioner Steiner, Dr. King, Chancellor Tisch, all members of
the Board of Regents, David Abrams, Steve Katz (Office of State
Assessment - 518.474.5902), Edward Marshilok, Marybeth Casey
(Office of Curriculum and Instructional Technology -
518.474.5902), Jean Stevens (Associate Commissioner), Pedro Ruiz
and Kin Chee (Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language
Studies - 518.474.8775). We also plan to be present if and when
this is discussed at upcoming Board of Regents Meetings.
It seems that no plan was developed prior to the elimination of
our exams to address the current questions that teachers and
school district have. Understand that I also share your
frustration over this lack of foresight on the part of the New
York State Education Department.
The only official communication that has come out so far is the
following from Steven Katz and Edward S. Marschilok, Ph.D.:
With regards to the recent elimination of the Second
Language Proficiency Examinations and the Regents Comprehensive
Examinations in German, Hebrew, and Latin, schools do not need
to make any significant changes in student schedules. The
Department will review current regulations to develop
recommendations for the Board of Regents on proposed changes to
Part 100.
With respect to the elimination of the Regents Comprehensive
Examinations in German, Hebrew, and Latin, students who
successfully complete coursework in these languages and earn
units of credit may apply those credits towards the requirements
for a Regents Diploma or Regents Diploma with Advanced
Designation.
We will provide further information on these matters as it
becomes available.
Thank you for your inquiry.
NYSAFLT will continue to work to make the concerns of LOTE
teachers and school districts heard but we need your help in
doing this. Please write, email and/or phone any of the people
listed above (links provided – Regents on the page but SED info
needs to be added) and be sure to include the following in your
message:
* The need to preserve our LOTE requirements for the students of
New York State.
* The need to allow local school districts to create exams in
place of Proficiency and Regents where not available.
* The importance of rewriting the Commissioner’s Regulations to
reflect these changes.
* The importance of World Languages in 21st century skills.
Hopefully working together we can make our voices and concerns
heard in Albany and get some answers to our questions.
Sincerely,
Sue Hochmuth
NYSAFLT President
Dateline: August 26, 2010 -
NYSAFLT has received many inquires as of late as to the status
of the SLP and Comprehensive examinations in all available
languages for the 2010-2011 school year and beyond. NYSAFLT has
received no new news as of today. We will keep you updated via
this web page, the Members Only listserv and our Facebook page
as news is shared with us. Please view this message below from
Steven Katz at NYSED:
With regards to the recent elimination of
the Second Language Proficiency Examinations and the Regents
Comprehensive Examinations in German, Hebrew, and Latin, schools
_do not_ need to make any significant changes in student
schedules. The Department will review current regulations to
develop recommendations for the Board of Regents on proposed
changes to Part 100.
With respect to the elimination of the
Regents Comprehensive Examinations in German, Hebrew, and Latin,
students who successfully complete coursework in these languages
and earn units of credit may apply those credits towards the
requirements for a Regents Diploma or Regents Diploma with
Advanced Designation.
We will provide further information on these matters as it
becomes available.
Thank you for your inquiry.
Sincerely,
Steven Katz,
Edward S. Marschilok, Ph.D.
Dateline: August 9, 2010 - A
message from Sue Hochmuth, NYSAFLT President regarding
clarification on LOTE requirements for graduation:
NYSAFLT has been in contact with the New
York State Education Department in order to clarify the
implications of the elimination of the Second Language
Proficiency Exams and the Regents Exams in German, Hebrew, and
Latin. What we know at this time is that the graduation
requirement still stands. The regulations still require students
to complete two units of study of Checkpoint A LOTE and to earn
one high school credit by the end of ninth grade. Also, one way
to earn a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation is for the
student to complete two additional sequential units in a
language other than English including taking and passing the NYS
Regents Exam in the language studied (3 LOTE credits total).
Several offices of the State Education Department are working
together to develop a guidance statement which should be
released within a month. One major unanswered question is
whether local assessments can be used in lieu of the eliminated
Proficiency and Regents Exams. Various options were explored
regarding the creation of local assessments. According to
current regulations, any locally written assessments to be used
for Regents credit must be created by an entity other than a
local school district. Alternatives such as BOCES, language
associations, and regional consortia were discussed as
possibilities to lead in creating these exams.
I wish I could give you more definitive answers at this time but
the State Education Department does not have those answers yet.
We will continue to stay in contact with them and keep you
posted as new information comes available. Please remember
though at this time that the mandate has not changed.
At this time, you may want to contact your school administration
and guidance counselors and emphasize that no drastic changes to
programs should be taken at this point. When further information
comes from SED, we will know better how to proceed.
Dateline: August 9, 2010 - A
Message from Kin at OBE-FLS:
Good morning,
Many teachers, administrators, students, and concerned parents
have called or written to us with questions concerning the
elimination of the Checkpoint A Second Language Proficiency
Exams in French, German, Italian, Latin and Spanish as well as
the Checkpoint B Comprehensive Regents Exams in German, Hebrew,
and Latin. In addition, many of you are also asking whether the
graduation requirements in LOTE will be amended or eliminated as
a result of these changes in State assessments.
First, let me begin by apologizing to
everyone in advance because I will not be able to respond to
each of you individually. As it stands this morning, I have some
150 emails from the field concerning these issues.
Second, the State Education Department (SED)
is in the process of developing guidance to the field that would
answer your questions. Please note that we are in close contact
with the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers
(NYSAFLT) as well in this process.
We hope to complete this document by the end
of the month, before the start of the new school year. I ask for
your patience and I would really appreciate it if you could
forward this message to your colleagues.
I will let you know as soon as I have any
information to share.
Dateline - August 5, 2010 -
NYSAFLT received a
memo from John King, Jr. detailing the
eliminations of the LOTE SLP exams as well as German, Hebrew and
Latin Comprehensive examinations. NYSAFLT urges members and
non-members to connect with their administrators and urge them
to connect with their colleagues at the BOCES and NYSED levels
to determine how credit will be awarded in the future.
Dateline: July 8, 2010 -
NYSAFLT encourages New York State LOTE students to send letters
to Regents, Legislators and Senators showing their support for
LOTE in the 21st Century. Links to specific individuals at the
State level can be found by clicking on the June 22, 2010 link
below.
Dateline: July 4, 2010 -
NYSAFLT has released a press release regarding its position on the recent
Board of Regents proposal.
Dateline: June 22, 2010 -
NYSAFLT has learned that the Board of Regents plans to move on
the recommendations brought forth to them at their June
meetings. Click here for more details.
Dateline: June 21, 2010 - NYSED
Board of Regents committee has approved assessment cost
reductions. Click here for more details.
(Word document)
Dateline: June 8, 2010 -
NYSAFLT has learned that the Board of Regents has included on
their agenda the possible reduction and/or elimination of LOTE
SLP and Regents exams. Click here for more
details.
New York State Association of Foreign
Languages, Inc. (NYSAFLT)
2400 Main Street
Buffalo, New York 14214
716.836.3130 | 716.836.3020 (f) info@nysaflt.org