To Opt Out or Not? Dueling Messages Before Next Week's Tests

Leaders of the opt out movement accuse the city’s Department of Education of withholding information from families about their right to boycott the state tests, in what appears to be an attempt to reach a broader audience before next week’s tests.

Last year, 20 percent of students across the state opted out. But in New York City, just 1.4 percent took part in the boycott. Many, although not all, of those students were concentrated in schools serving neighborhoods with wealthy families, such as Brownstone Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.

Johanna Garcia, a parent leader Washington Heights, said there are few opt outs in less affluent neighborhoods like hers where many families don't speak English.

“It’s frustrating that the information is out there but the access continues to be blocked,” she said.

Opt out organizers claim the Department of Education did not include information on how to boycott tests in its Parents' Bill of Rights, despite a City Council resolution urging it to do so and to distribute the document at the beginning of the school year to all families. The agency did create a separate document about the tests that includes information on opting out, which is translated into multiple languages.

Charlana Walker, whose children go to the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action in the Bronx, said one son suffered from terrible anxiety around the tests and even vomited. She said she wished she had known years ago that she had the right to opt out. But she said many families are "still under the impression that the child will fail” and not move on to the next grade without passing a state test.

In fact, the tests are no longer tied to student promotions. Last year, the state also banned them from being used in teacher evaluations until 2019.

State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and city Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña have touted several changes to the tests. They’ve noted that they are slightly shorter and students will not have time limits this year.

But Fariña reportedly told parents at a private meeting that she would opt out if she had a child with special needs. She has not refuted the story.

Department spokeswoman Devora Kaye said the city no longer uses test scores to rate schools with letter grades, but includes more "holistic" information. “We will continue to listen to and work closely with families and educators on this important issue.”

However, opt out leaders note that the state can still place schools in receivership based on low test scores.

As their campaign heats up, the group High Achievement New York is distributing YouTube ads encouraging families to take the tests. They feature the upbeat voices of self-described parents and teachers saying the tests “identify where our children need help and are closing achievement gaps for minority students.”

High Achievement New York is funded by business groups and other donors, including the Gates Foundation. It argues that the tests prepare kids for more important high school and college admissions tests.

There are many places around the city where this argument resonates. Principals in Coney Island and Manhattan’s Chinatown told WNYC their families, which include many immigrants, want their children to do well on the tests.

Tenicka Boyd, whose daughter attends P.S. 321 in Park Slope, has been swimming against the tide in her school, where many students opted out last year. Boyd works for the group Students First, which favors testing. She said it’s “really disappointing and paternalistic” of those who support the boycott to suggest that families who participate in tests aren’t well informed.

Opt out leaders claim teachers and principals often don't publicize the right to boycott because they don’t want their test scores to sink. Under federal law, New York could lose funds if fewer than 95 percent of students don’t participate in the tests for a second year in a row.

Brian Devale, principal of P.S. 257 in South Williamsburg, said very few of his families expressed an interest in opting out of the tests this year. The outspoken school leader, who has been critical of the tests, said he’s glad most of the boycotts are in wealthier parts of Long Island and Westchester, because he wouldn’t want to risk losing Title 1 aid.

“Do we want to roll the dice and be the test case as the school that they actually come after?"