The testing pendulum has swung so far from the center that it is interfering with the attainment of a quality education for all students, said NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira.

"We are no longer educating 'the whole child,'" Neira said, to great applause from the RA audience. "We are educating the 'fill-in-the-bubble child.'"

Neira, who referenced the inspirational NYSUT video "Every Child Counts," thanked delegates for mobilizing members in the union's challenge of the shortsighted mandates in the No Child Left Behind law. As she travels across the state and talks to members, Neira said, she constantly hears their deep, shared commitment to quality education - but she also hears their growing frustration with a system that undercuts their professional voices.

Neira said funding alone will not fix the broken provisions in No Child Left Behind. "We must set our sights on success, not sanctions," Neira said. "We don't need the federal or state government creating more lists of failing schools. We need them to help us improve instruction and student achievement."

Neira drew sustained applause when she called for more valid and reliable assessments for English language learners and students with disabilities. She said it's time to recast the emphasis of public reporting from test scores to what districts and schools are doing to improve practice.

Neira vowed to continue the fight against the narrowing of the curriculum to ensure all students have a balanced education that includes - and goes beyond - the academics of reading, writing and mathematics. "There is growing evidence that the over-emphasis on test scores is narrowing the curriculum," Neira said. "Effective classroom practices have been replaced by 'test-prep' instruction."

Rather than trying to meet NCLB's unrealistic Adequate Yearly Progress requirements, educators should be able to use a growth model that gives credit for students' progress or proficiency to show success, Neira said.

Aside from NCLB, Neira's address spotlighted several educational concerns, including threats to academic freedom on campuses and the challenges of implementing new Individuals with Disabilities Education Act regulations.

"We know that many of these changes could dismantle the higher standards and the checks and balances that define special education in New York state," Neira said. "The IDEA provisions would save money - that's what our so-called 'compassionate conservative' President of the United States wants to do. So, we must once again fight for our special-needs students."

She called on delegates to join NYSUT's continuing campaign dedicated to ending the academic achievement gap.

"We will be the public voice for the many students and adults who are left behind," Neira said. "We must lead by raising our professional voices together … as we work toward an educational system that will have no gaps."

Delegates responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation to Neira's rallying cry: "Hear us now: One united voice saying Si, se puede. Yes, it can be done! We are NYSUT and we are part of the solution."