The state exams are graded 1 through 4. Students scoring in the level 1 range are considered to be far below the state standards, while level 4 indicates students have mastered the skills that exceed the state’s standards. Kelly scored a level 3 on the third grade ELA — which means she met the state standards and earned the equivalent of a B.
   “Education is extremely important to me,” Sinisgalli said. “But not every child is a 95 student. All they do is study and prepare for the test. I’m sure the teachers feel the pressure as well — but it’s not fair to punish a 9-year-old kid.”
   The remedial program was created by the Department of Education to “provide intensive instruction to support struggling students,” according to DOE spokesman William Havemann. It’s up to each school, however, to determine which students should be required to participate in the program.
   According to Havemann, Kelly received a 3 on her ELA exam, but her scale score indicated she was very close to scoring a level 2, which the state defines as below standard. Her teacher determined at the end of last year through her classwork and ELA score that she needed extra help and should be required to attend the program, he said.
   But Sinisgalli insists that’s old news.
   “She’s reading at a sixth-grade level,” she said of her daughter’s abilities this year. The test scoring is also slippery, she added. “You can be a few questions away from a 4 or a 3. A low 3 is an 80 or an 82 — when did that become a bad grade?”
   Sinisgalli, who served on the Parent Teacher Association for a decade and was heavily involved in school activities, says she requested a meeting with P.S. 207’s principal, but has not heard back.
   In the meantime, groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union and Time Out From Testing, a statewide coalition of parents, educators, businesses and civil rights groups calling for a review of the impact excessive state testing has on a student, have contacted her with offers to help.
   “There is no shame in getting a low 3 or high 2 on the test,” said Jane Hirschmann of Time Out From Testing, who says the Bloomberg administration is forcing schools to overemphasize testing. “Schools, in order not to be penalized, have to show test score improvement. We’ve eliminated dance, art and music in the classroom. So she [Kelly] can’t even go and do the things that make her a well-rounded student. This is a very serious problem.”
   P.S. 207 was unable to comment on the program and referred all questions to the DOE. Havemann said the department “supports schools holding students to high standards” and that it is “entirely appropriate that P.S. 207 is ensuring that all students have the extra help they need to be academically successful.”