Weingarten pushes state to release more test questions

The state released half of the questions from the 2014 state exams last week, but some people want more—including Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

“Releasing just some of the Common Core-aligned test questions in the middle of the summer doesn’t cut it,” Weingarten said in a statement.

The state’s release of 50 percent of the questions represented a jump from last year, when it released a quarter of the questions. But educators and parents have pushed for the state to release even more questions, which some have criticized as developmentally inappropriate or poorly crafted.

Meanwhile, the state has said it needs more funding to create and print more versions of the test to be able to make more of the exams public.

Weingarten has also spoken out against restrictions on educators talking about the test items, which some have called a “gag order.” In a letter to testing company Pearson this spring, Weingarten spelled out why she believed releasing more of the questions matters.

“When parents aren’t allowed to know what is on their children’s tests,” she said, “you not only increase distrust of testing but also deny children the rich learning experience they deserve.” (Pearson has responded that that they don’t set those policies, the state does.)

The state is expected to release reading and math test results this week.

Learn more about the test questions released last week, and take a quiz to see how you’d do on the math tests.