‘Opt-outs’ rise 232 percent in Baldwin

When the oft-criticized state assessments kicked off last week, nearly three and a half times more students in Baldwin refused the test than did so last year.

While the tests for students in third through eighth grades in English Language Arts and math have been in place for a decade, the “opt-out” movement began two years ago, with the implementation of exams tied to the Common Core State Standards. According to district officials, 851 out of 2,203 eligible students — 39 percent — opted out of the ELA assessments, which were administered Tuesday through Thursday last week. According to Dr. Cynthia Seniuk, assistant superintendent for curriculum, 256 students refused the exams last school year.

The high number of opt-outs in Baldwin mirror a trend across Long Island, where record numbers of students did not take the tests. State Assemblyman Brian Curran, who represents Baldwin, said it is clear that parents are sending a message by keeping their children out of these exams.

“What the governor and the State Education Department now must do,” Curran said, “is listen to parents, have a transparent process moving forward and replace Common Core with a curriculum developed at the local level that doesn’t follow a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach, but instead truly evaluates the success of our children and teachers.”

Superintendent Dr. Shari Camhi said that regardless of how she or anyone else in the district feels about Common Core and the assessments, the district is obliged to administer them. “We don’t have the ability to say, ‘We’re not giving the test,’” she said. “We don’t have the ability to say, ‘We’re not teaching Common Core.’ We don’t have the ability to say, ‘You can opt out your child from taking those state assessments.’ We respect the right of parents to do what they see fit for their children.”