State testing

Nearly 800 refuse state ELA tests

24 percent of E.M. third- through eighth-graders 'opt out'

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The number of East Meadow students who refused the English Language Arts state assessments last week spiked drastically from the total a year ago, a sign that parents are joining a growing statewide movement opposed to high-stakes testing based on the rigorous Common Core State Standards.

Of 3,273 test-eligible children in grades three through eight, 791 students refused the tests last week, or 24 percent. Last year, 1 percent of those students opted out of both the ELA and math tests, according to Superintendent Louis DeAngelo.

The numbers of those students grew across the board in districts statewide, in some cases much more dramatically, with nearby Bellmore-Merrick, Levittown, Rockville Centre and Seaford exceeding a 60 percent refusal rate for the ELA exams.

With the math assessments set to begin on Wednesday, it was unclear whether the number of refusals would grow even larger.

DeAngelo and the district’s Board of Education expressed their support for parents to decide what is best for their children. But DeAngelo stressed that school districts that fail to achieve a 95 percent participation rate on the assessments fall short of the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress requirement, leaving them open to potential financial sanctions. He also warned that it could make the district ineligible for future awards or grant programs.

No district statewide has ever been penalized for failing to attain 95 percent participation, DeAngelo said, but he noted that state officials are discussing the possibility of imposing greater enforcement.

“That being said,” DeAngelo added, “I respect the decision which some parents have made in choosing to not have their children involved in the assessment process.”

Added board President Joseph Parisi, “While the education of our children is very important, we recognize that it is ultimately a parent’s decision to opt out his or her child from taking state assessments.”

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