East Hampton Parents: Is Your Child Opting Out of Testing?

Students in New York State will sit down this week to take the infamous Common Core tests.

Approximately 60,000 students opted out of testing in 2014, according to the New York Post. Even more students are expected to opt out this year in protest of the tests.

A deafening outcry from parents, students, teachers, and politicians on both sides of the aisle has grown over the past few years since the tests were instituted. On Long Island, educational leaders have overwhelmingly joined the opposition.

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However, in Springs, Principal Eric M. Casale sent out an announcement back in March to parents stating that the school will not be offering an ‘opt-out’ option and all students in grades 3 through 8 are required to take all state tests administered for their grade level.

“With limited exception, such as situations involving students with disabilities, neither statute nor regulation, provides for an ’opt-out’ from these mandated assessments,” Casale wrote in the letter. “Students who choose not to participate in an assessment will not receive a score for that exam and are reported to the State as “not tested.” However, it is important to note that the classification of “not tested” does not suggest that opting out of the exams is lawful or permissible. Students are still expected to attend school during the exam periods.”

The South Shore created a red line down Sunrise and Montauk Highways in March in protest of the exams. Hundreds lined the streets in protest with cardboard cutouts of Cuomo and signs exclaiming “kids not numbers.”

Cuomo’s increased consequences of test scores only further infuriated its opponents.

After 96 percent of New York teachers were rated effective or highly effective, Cuomo insisted the ratings were “baloney” in his State of the State address. He suggested that50 percent of a teacher’s rating be connected to their students’ scores because principals’ observations tended to be positive, according to The New York Times.

Tenure was also a factor in the changes this year, with teachers having to wait an additional year before having eligibility and requiring teachers to have three ratings of effective or highly effective in that period, according to the report. Districts could also fire teachers who receive two consecutive ineffective ratings.

On the other hand, supporters of testing insist it is the best way to gauge the success of each student to provide better education.

High Achievement New York said testing provides “a rigorous, clear and consistent set educational standards created with input from our teachers, parents, principles and state leaders and adopted by New York State in 2011” that “will help ensure that every New Yorker can reach their potential, no matter their background.”

Parents: Is your child opting out of the 2015 New York State tests? Why or why not? What is your reasoning for your decision? Vote in the poll below (which is being posted on all Long Island Patch sites) and explain in the comments.