School News

Opt-out rates soar on state tests

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The number of students refusing the New York state assessments increased dramatically this year in Wantagh, Seaford and Levittown, as the movement by parents against high-stakes testing continues to grow.

The tests began last week in English Language Arts for students in third through eighth grades. The math exams are this week. While the state tests have been in place for many years, the “opt out” movement did not begin until two years ago, when the new Common Core curriculum debuted.

Seaford and Levittown both reported that 61 percent of students refused the tests. In Wantagh, it was 47 percent, all far surpassing last year’s numbers.

“I believe that the movement among the parents gained a lot of momentum,” said Brian Conboy, superintendent in Seaford, where, last year, 25 percent of students did not take the tests.

Conboy said that while neither he nor the district endorses opting out, parents are sending a message. “New York state has a long, storied tradition of assessing students appropriately,” he said, “and in the last few years, we’ve gone off the rails.”

There are concerns, he said, that the tests are not reliable, are not grade-appropriate, and weigh too heavily on teacher evaluations.

Levittown’s refusal rate spiked from 17 percent last year. “I would say that the parents had a grass-roots effort on this,” Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said.

She added that the percentages of students refusing the tests varied from grade to grade and school to school, but the fewest opt-outs were in the fifth grade. McDonald noted that every district is seeing increasing numbers.

In a letter to parents before the tests, Levittown United Teachers President Therese Rogers urged them to opt out. “The more parents that opt their children out of the Common Core tests, the less viable the tests become,” she wrote. “Last year, some 60,000 students were opted out. The greater that number grows, the closer we come to putting an end to the tyranny of testing.”

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