Principal Jeanne Ferrari describes consortium performance-based assessments
Jeanne Ferrari, principal of Humanities Preparatory Academy and Beacon School, says consortium schools use performance-based assessments where students research, write, and orally defend college-level work before panels. She asks to sustain the consortium district structure.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chair Dinowitz and members of the Council.
My name is Jeanne Ferrari.
Since 2012, I've had the privilege of leading two New York City public schools, both Humanities Preparatory Academy and the Beacon School as principal.
Both belong to the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a 30-year network of 38 schools with a state waiver to replace high-stakes regents'examinations with performance-based assessments, or PBAs.
Instead of asking students to cram for a one-size-fits-all test, we prepare them to research, write, and
orally defend what is essentially a college dissertation across four core subjects.
Students must present their findings to a panel of educators and outside evaluators who ask rigorous, unpredictable, on-demand questions on the spot in a way that simply cannot be faked.
The process demands critical and creative thinking,
clarity, and the capacity to communicate your ideas effectively to an outside audience.
Every single college graduate who has returned to visit me over the years says the PBAT process is the single most important factor that's prepared them for their college education.
None of this would be possible without our innovative district structure.
Which allows our 38 schools to collaborate across boroughs, unify and align our grading rubrics, and provide the professional development that teachers need to uphold this model over time.
To sustain our work and make it a true blueprint for how the city's transition to portrait of a graduate could work,
Our schools must continue to collaborate within our unique consortium internationals and outward bounds district and continue to partner with the New York Performance Standards Consortium
who provide the professional development that upholds this model and ensures its high quality across our schools.
I am grateful to the New York City Department of Education and the City Council for your time and your leadership.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.