‘Opt-outs’ expected in District 13

The “opt-out” movement has gained steam in the past year, with many parents looking to hold their children back from the state tests, which will begin next week with the English Language Arts exams.

In District 13, Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Robb-Fund said she has received about 20 letters from parents stating that their children will not be taking the tests. A majority of those children are students at the James A. Dever School, which concerns her.

Robb-Fund explained that the state wants at least 95 percent of children tested, and if that mark isn’t met at a particular school, there could be consequences. She said she is worried that Dever would not meet its Adequate Yearly Progress benchmarks if too large a number of students don’t take the test.

If a school doesn’t meet its AYP, it can be designated as a school in need of improvement, in which case a corrective action plan is put in place.

Robb-Fund said that in talking to some parents, she has sensed a feeling that children are being overtested. The superintendent said that District 13 students are prepared for the tests, but she respects the parents’ decisions.

Debbie Kalb will not have her son or daughter, a fifth-grader and third-grader, respectively, at the James A. Dever School, take the tests. She said that the lack of information about the assessments was one of the deciding factors. “We don’t even know what’s on the test,” she said. “How do you prepare for a test that you’re not allowed to learn anything about?”

Kalb added that it is unfair to have test results tied to teacher evaluations. Though she allowed her son to take the test last year, she said, over the past few months she has become more informed about Common Core, attending numerous forums and doing her own research.

Liz Smith, a parent of two children at Wheeler Avenue School, will also tell them to refuse the tests. Her daughter, a fifth-grader, also opted out last year, while her daughter in third grade would have taken the exams for the first time.

“I’m not comfortable with the way they’re administering the tests right now,” Smith said. “They’re basing these kids on just a test score, and personally I don’t feel that’s the way they should be learning.”

Smith and Kalb both said they are unhappy with the practice tests that children take before the exams, and want an educational system in which learning is fun again. Smith added that other subjects that provide opportunity for hands-on learning, like science, have taken a backseat.

The district has revised its “sit-and-stare” policy. Now, children who do not take the tests will be permitted to read. The change was made following a discussion last week by Board of Education trustees after they consulted with the board’s attorneys and State Education Department guidance.

Kalb said that if the district had not changed its policy, she would have pulled her children out of school during the tests. “There’s no way I’m going to let children sit and stare,” she said. “That’s horrible. I think it’s OK to sit and read.”

District 13 Board of Education President Sean Douglas said that changing the policy made sense, and shows that the district and the board respect parents who want to make a statement against the tests. “The sit-and-stare seemed a little bit punitive,” he said. “I, as a parent, wouldn’t want my kid to have to sit there.”

Superintendents in Valley Stream’s other districts said there did not appear to be a wave of parents preparing to direct their children to opt out of the tests. District 30 Superintendent Dr. Nicholas Stirling added that the term “opt out” is a bit of a misnomer, because there is no provision for students to do so. The district is required to give the test to every child, but they can refuse to take it.

District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale said that a few parents have talked with the principals about the prospect of “opting out,” but he hasn’t received any refusal letters yet. “If we do get any,” he said, “I don’t think it’s going to be more than a handful.”

Fale did not say what those children would be permitted to do instead, and added that according to the state, district are under no obligation to provide an alternative activity or locations for students who don’t taking the tests. “A decision will be announced as we move closer to the test,” he said, “and determine how many children will be impacted.”