Opting out of the state tests in the Five Towns

Opting out of the state standardized tests in English Language Arts given to students in grades three through eight last week is a trend that has grown on Long Island within the last five years.

According to Hewlett-Woodmere district officials, 810 of the 1,338 students, or 60.5 percent of eligible students, opted out of the state English Language Arts (ELA) test this year.

In Lawrence, which has a lower opt-out rate than other school districts, 343 of 1,101 of eligible students refused to take the test this year. Last year, 300 of 1,138, or 26.4 percent, of eligible students refused to take the test.

“The tests continue to give good individual data on grade to grade performance and we are hopeful that our families are more aware of the instructional benefits for teachers to have this data,” Dr. Ann Pedersen, deputy superintendent for Lawrence schools, said.

This year, more than 97,000 public school students on Long Island, or 51.2 percent, refused to take the Common Core last week, according to Newsday. Last year, Hewlett-Woodmere had 61 percent of its 1,333 students who are eligible for the ELA exam opt-out, up from about 45.6 percent in 2015.

A relatively small number of parents in affluent school districts had quietly started keeping their children out of state tests as early as 2000, according to a study published in August by Columbia University’s Teachers College, titled “Who opts out and why?” by Drs. Oren Pizmony-Levy and Nancy Green Saraisky.

The opt-out movement caught state education officials unaware in 2012, making plans for full-scale implementation of the Common Core State Standards, a set of rigorous national educational objectives that students must meet starting as early as third grade and continuing through high school.

Lawmakers relented in 2015, agreeing to reform Common Core. The state also placed a four-year moratorium on the use of students’ state test scores to evaluate teachers’ classroom performance. In 2016, the New York State Education Department included fewer questions, eliminated time constraints and did not include official evaluation consequences for educators. 

The ELA test was given March 28 through 30, and the math exams are slated for May 2 through 4. The Hewlett-Woodmere School District did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Have an opinion about opting out of the state tests? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.