Test taking takes its toll

While a majority of students in grades third through eighth took the state English Language Arts (ELA) exam last week there were a portion who did not as their parents or guardians decided for them to opt out of taking the test.
In the Hewlett-Woodmere School District, 238 students out of approximately 1,373 in those grades opted out, according to district officials. Barbara Giese, a district spokeswoman, said the total number of student refusals this year was higher than last year, but didn’t have an exact number for 2013. “Student refusals to take the NYS ELA tests were honored with the approval of parents,” Giese said. “Every effort was made to accommodate both test takers and non-takers.”
To opt out of the exam, Hewlett-Woodmere students had to bring in a letter from a parent or guardian stating their refusal to take the test. The district verifies the refusal. All students report to the testing site in each school building where the test is given. Those who opted out of taking the test are instructed to read or write silently while the others who are taking the exam have the necessary time to complete it.
Ric Stark, the president of the Hewlett-Woodmere Faculty Association, said that a process implemented in 2013 directs teachers and administrators on how to prepare for the students opting out.
“I think I can say that the teachers are dealing with the test-refusing kids as they have been instructed,” Stark said. “I cannot speak to how each teacher has personally responded if or when students have refused to take the tests. I do not teach at either level and have not seen firsthand what has taken place, but my understanding is that suitable arrangements have been made for students whose parents have asked for them not to take the exams.”

In Lawrence, 45 students — 40 at the middle school, four at the Number Two School and one at the Number Five School — opted out of last week’s state ELA exams. Half of the middle school students who declined to take the test are in eighth grade. There are about 700 middle school students, 197 third- and fourth-graders at the Number Two School and 203 at the Number Five School in all.
Middle school students that didn’t take the exam spent their time working on their science technology engineering and mathematics projects and ELA and math assignments, said Principal Willis Perry. The students went to the cafeteria and were supervised by school faculty such as teachers, administrators and aides during the test-taking time.
“We think that the students and families are losing an opportunity to compare their performance to the rigor of the Common Core,” Perry said. “The refusal sends a poor message.”
Woodmere resident Julie Levine, who holds a doctorate in education and has worked 21 years as a reading specialist, had her daughter, Ruby, an eighth-grader at Lawrence Middle School opt out of this year’s test. Ruby also didn’t take last year’s state math exam.
“I am completely in favor of a rigorous Common Core curriculum,” Levine said. “It is necessary to prepare our children for college and successful careers, as well as to remain competitive on a global level. However, a yearly exam is neither the way to measure the learning of our children nor the effectiveness of our teachers. Great teaching, learning and assessment are on going.”
Being a teacher, Levine said she has personally seen children as young as 8-years-old crying, vomiting and experiencing what she called “mental breakdowns” due to increased anxiety over these exams.
“The state government puts pressure on school districts, which pressures the administrators, and then down to the teachers,” she said. “With the new teacher evaluation systems in place, an excellent teacher could be in danger of being fired if her students do not perform well two years in a row. With the teachers feeling this stress, of course it is going to trickle down to the students.”

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