Thursday, October 1, 2026
After months of discussion among themselves, teachers and residents, Lynbrook Board of Education trustees unanimously approved a resolution calling on policy makers to “reduce the use of and over-reliance on standardized testing.”
The resolution, which was approved at the board’s Dec. 11 meeting, is mostly symbolic, and is similar to dozens of others that have been adopted across the state since the Common Core State Standards were introduced last school year.
Parents, teachers and administrators have criticized the Common Core implementation, saying that there is an overemphasis on testing and a decline in student creativity in schools. “The over-emphasis on standardized testing has caused collateral damage to public education,” the resolution states, “including narrowing the curriculum and teaching to the test.”
At its November meeting, the board discussed a similar resolution, but was unhappy with some of its language and decided not to entertain a motion to pass it. Lynbrook Teachers Association President Craig Kirchenberg then presented a different resolution, which the board found to be more aligned with its views.
From there, Board President Alicemarie Bresnihan said, she and her colleagues worked with administrators to craft the resolution that was ultimately passed, adding points they thought were important. “I think it was the right thing for us to do,” she said of its adoption. “I’m glad that we did it.”
During state exams last year, many parents of students in grades three to eight, which are tested in English Language Arts and math, decided to withdraw their children from the tests. Superintendent Dr. Melissa Burak told the Herald in April that 18 Lynbrook students “opted out.”
Statewide, 70 percent of students failed the more rigorous tests, because, teachers and school administrators said, they did not have enough time to adequately prepare for them.
