‘Opt-outs’ double in Valley Stream

The number of students in grades 3 through 8 whose parents opted to have them not take the state tests for English Language Arts and math last week doubled last year’s numbers in three out of four Valley Stream school districts.

District 24 saw the highest percentage of opt-outs, at 56 percent for ELA and math. That’s up from 24 percent last year. In District 13, 43 percent opted out, up from 34 percent last year. District 30 had 18 percent refuse the ELA exam and 20 percent refuse math. Only 6 percent opted out last year.

In the Valley Stream Central High School District, 53 percent of eligible students opted out of ELA and 55 percent opted out of the math exam. That’s up from 25 percent last year.

Bill Heidenreich, superintendent of the VSCHSD, said that the trend presents serious challenges for the district, and state legislators should take notice. “It causes a tremendous problem logistically,” he said. “We want to provide an appropriate environment for test-takers so that they be successful, and an appropriate environment for non-test-takers.”

The exams “became a study hall” for students who didn’t take them, he said, and while students were cooperative, Heidenreich expressed frustration that the district had to make such accommodations for assessments whose validity is questionable. “How do you use an assessment to form or guide what you do in the future if half the kids don’t take it? How do u compare yourself to neighboring districts?” he asked. “Clearly, something has to be done because this is becoming detrimental to education.”

District 24 Superintendent Ed Fale said that while testing serves a valuable purpose in evaluating student progress and determining criteria for gifted students, the state should design the tests differently. “I think the parents are clearly making a statement that they believe the tests are not valid or are harmful to students,” he said.

District 30 Superintendent Nicholas Stirling said that the tests should be separated from teacher evaluations, a position supported by the Valley Stream Teachers Association, which has strongly advocated opting out.

Heidenreich said that the state’s response has been “very muted.” In its public statements, he noted, the Education Department sends the message that more people are opting to take the tests statewide, which he said was problematic for Long Island, where the opt-out numbers are the highest in the state. “The opt-out movement is a force to be reckoned with,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that it has come to this,” Heidenreich added. “We spent six days out of the last two weeks giving tests that we really can’t use for anything.”