Somers Schools are Forced to Scrap State Testing for Second Straight Day

While Albany Fails Us, Does Somers School Board Stand Up, or Just Fall in Line?

NYSED & Testing Services Receive a Grade of F for This Year's Testing Debacle

This past week, Somers parents (and parents across New York) witnessed yet another example of bureaucratic failure from the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The computer-based ELA exams for grades 3–8—meant to measure student achievement and progress—were a complete disaster. Students were unable to log in, test sessions were abruptly interrupted, and school staff were left scrambling to deal with chaos that never should have happened in the first place. It wasn’t just a technical failure—it was an institutional one, and it left students and staff paying the price.

In response, many school districts across the state are rightfully voicing outrage and demanding accountability.

Now, here’s the real question: did Somers School Board write such a letter? Did they demand accountability on behalf of students and educators? Did they stand up to the State’s incompetence?

-Based off the left leaning Board's track record, we highly doubt it.

Over the past few years, the majority of the Somers Board of Education has become increasingly more aligned with Albany bureaucracy than with the families and taxpayers of this community. Rather than acting as a check on overreach and dysfunction, majority of our local board has become a rubber stamp for top-down, politically motivated policies—many of which are passed along unquestioned into our classrooms.

They continue to promote “initiatives” that come with lofty language and expensive price tags, but rarely, if ever, result in measurable academic improvement. In recent years, test scores across Somers have declined, and concerns from parents are met with spin or silence. In fact, these board members have actively minimized declining student achievement, brushing it off or blaming it on anything but the policies and decisions under their own control.

Meanwhile, costs continue to rise. Families and taxpayers foot the bill for a growing bureaucracy of consultants, DEI programming, compliance mandates from Albany, and now Regionalization (which deserves its own blog)—while essential academic priorities, advanced programs, and student enrichment often take a back seat. Where is the accountability? Where is the local voice in decision-making?

Somers deserves a board that is willing to STAND UP—not sit down—when our students are failed by the system. We need leaders who are not afraid to challenge Albany, demand results, and put student success above politics. Silence in the face of this week’s ELA testing debacle speaks volumes.

It’s time for the Somers community to expect more. Our students—and our schools—deserve nothing less.