A national survey conducted in 1999 by the American Federation of Teachers found that New York state teachers led the nation in their support for higher standards, and they generally felt the standards movement was producing beneficial changes in their schools. In dozens of interviews, New York Teacher found that teachers statewide continue to strongly support the new standards, even as they raise significant questions about implementation. Not all districts are on board. Teachers say that in many districts, work overload and multiple levels of testing create painful time pressures.
Many teachers feel the sheer number of tests concentrated in eighth-grade is unreasonable.
Pressure to have students score well on these tests in some cases is eroding time formerly devoted to art, music or physical education. Most of the state tests are given so late in the school year, and results are so long in coming, that the tests cannot be used to help struggling students. Tyranny of time For some teachers, the challenge is too much to do, too little time. While Chase, a member of the Williamsville Teachers Association, teaches in western New York, her concern echoes across the state. Sharon Farkas worries about time pressures in the Queens middle school where she has been teaching almost three decades.