Editorial

State must lead on Common Core testing

Posted

Nearly 95,000 Long Island children in grades three through eight — roughly 52 percent of the total — did not take the New York state standardized English Language Arts exam last week, as the “opt-out” movement continued its campaign opposing the test.

Parents, school administrators, teachers and elected leaders all seem to have strong opinions on Common Core testing — and they appear unafraid to offer them.

There is one person, however, from whom we have heard relatively little — State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia. She must provide guidance to confused and concerned parents and children who need to understand why, precisely, students must take the relatively new Common Core tests. In our estimation, though, she has done a poor job of explaining the value of the rigorous exams, which explains why the opt-out movement continues unabated.

Heck, opting out of the tests has practically become institutionalized, an annual event on the spring academic calendar that gives parents a forum to express their anger with an education system that seems tone-deaf to their concerns.

Before 2016, many parents said they were opting their children out of the Common Core exams because it was unfair to base teacher evaluations, even in part, on state standardized test results. Fair enough. But given the current moratorium that prevents the state from tying students’ test scores to teachers’ Annual Professional Performance Reviews, the point is moot — at least through 2019, when the moratorium is set to expire.

Many parents also say the tests produce too much anxiety in their children. We don’t wish to pooh-pooh that concern, but sooner or later students must sit for major exams that are critical to their futures. If they never take so-called big tests in elementary and middle school because their parents keep opting them out, then they will likely be at a disadvantage when they reach high school — and they can’t refuse to sit for Common Core-aligned Regents exams that are required for graduation. Moreover, if they hope to attend college, they will have to take the tests that students fear most of all, the SAT and ACT.

Instead of sticking their heads in the sand and hoping the opt-out movement withers away, state education officials should be at the forefront in explaining how Common Core exams can be used to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses so they receive the right remedial services, if necessary, while they are still young enough to benefit from them. When it comes to learning, high school, quite frankly, is too late to play catch-up.

As New York’s top educator, Elia must lead on Common Core testing, offering words of wisdom and comfort to encourage children to sit for state exams, or she must call for an end to them. With students opting out by the tens of thousands, the current system is clearly not working.