Now that the State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have apparently reached a budget agreement that includes a revised teacher evaluation system, we hope the State Education Department takes the time to create effective and judicious rules . . . more

They all had different ways to say it, but the message was clear: opt out of Common Core tests. Two teachers, two administrators and a parent told the more than 300 people at Levittown Hall in Hicksville that the only way to send a message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo was to refuse to let their children take the third through eighth grade English language arts and math tests in April. more

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District and Merrick School District recently received shipments of multiple-choice tests, sealed in plastic wrap, from NCS Pearson, Inc., the company that creates and grades New York’s standardized tests for third to eighth graders. Both districts sent the test books back, unopened. more

Sometime between when third- to eighth-grade students took state English Language Arts tests at the beginning of April and when they took state math tests four weeks later, some Merrick and North Merrick parents decided that enough was enough. more

When New York state debuted new standardized tests for third- to eighth-graders in English and math last year, a handful of Merrick parents told school administrators that they would not allow their children to take them. Earlier this month, the number of students whose parents have joined this protest nearly doubled at Merrick Avenue Middle School, more than doubled in the North Merrick School District and more than tripled in the Merrick School District. more

Education in New York’s public schools has changed in recent years with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the property tax cap in 2012. Educators, board members and parents have voiced their disdain with each, but with the first round of state assessments this week, their message has grown louder. more

It was clearly a difficult night for New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John King and Chancellor Meryl Tisch. more

Two weeks ago, the Herald detailed new English and math standardized tests that New York’s public and charter schools gave to students in grades three to eight last month. In this report, the Herald continues an examination of how “opting out” from the tests could affect the students who did so and their schools. more

First of two parts. School officials in the Merrick, North Merrick and Bellmore-Merrick Central High School districts say they do not yet fully know how certain parents’ refusal to allow their children to take new standardized tests will affect the students or their schools. more

A handful of parents in Merrick and North Merrick told school administrators that they would refuse to allow their children to sit for new standardized state exams, which began in elementary schools around the state this week. The parents, who believe that the standardized exams lack pedagogical merit and are harmful to students, say they would like to see a grass-roots civil-disobedience movement involving other parents taking the same action that would force the state to cancel the exams. In all, 50 students did not take the exams on Tuesday, the first day they were administered, according to officials in both districts. more