Opting Out of State Tests is Cause For Concern For Some School Leaders

The campaign by the statewide teachers union urging parents to opt their children out of the state tests beginning on April 14 prompted concern on Thursday among school leaders.

The president of New York State United Teachers, Karen Magee, said if enough third through eighth graders boycott, the tests would be rendered meaningless.

“Statistically, if you take out enough, it has no merit or value what so ever,” she said.

Tim Kremer, of the New York State School Board’s Association, concurred that a successful opt-out campaign would disrupt the new plan for teacher evaluations but he said he was worried about wider negative consequences. 

“I’m very much concerned that kids and parents will get the impression that all of these tests are kind of optional,” Kremer said. It could “chip away at the foundation of the educational delivery system."

Kremer says if even a small percentage, around 5 percent, of students don't take the exams then schools could risk federal sanctions or funding penalties.

Currently, school children are not penalized for their scores on the tests; Cuomo and state lawmakers agreed to a four-year waiver of the exams’ effects on students.

Here is a FAQ sheet from the city's Department of Education on the state tests, including the official position on opting out. 

Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said recently she didn't understand why parents would decline information on their children's progress in school.   

"I do not pretend that test results are the only way we know, but they are an important piece of information," Tisch told the New York State Council of School Superintendents. "They are the only common measure of progress we have. We are not going to force kids to take tests. That's not the New York way. But, we are going to continue to help students and parents understand that it is a terrible mistake to refuse the right to know."

According to a Chalkbeat New York report, the city's United Federation of Teachers has not gone as far as NYSUT in encouraging the opt-out movement.