Common Core: Opting out sends a 'message,' parents say

Two of Lisa Rudley's children will be reading books while most of their classmates in the Ossining School District take the upcoming state tests.

Just as last year, Derek, a fourth-grader, and Max, a sixth-grader, will be sitting in a separate room — perhaps the cafeteria or the library — with other kids who are "opting out" or refusing to take the Common Core-aligned tests for grades 3 through 8.

"We want to take the sails out of this testing ship and send lawmakers and policymakers a message to give back local control to our communities and allow our children to have an education that also values social studies, science, art and music," said Rudley, co-founder of the NYS Allies for Public Education, an advocacy group that includes about 50 parent and educator groups.

"I want my children to have a well-rounded, enriching education," Rudley added.

While the state Education Department does not directly collect refusal data, it is estimated that in 2014 about 67,000 students did not take the math test and 49,000 students did not participate in the English language arts tests throughout the state. About 1.1 million students took both tests.

Parent activists opposed to standardized testing are predicting that the number of "refusers" will be much higher when the tests are administered in April, as the movement continues to gain momentum.

And it's not just the parents who support what advocates are framing as an act of civil disobedience.

During a March 12 forum at Purchase College, education activist Diane Ravitch's comments to "refuse the tests!" drew cheers from the audience of mostly teachers.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to base 50 percent of a teacher's evaluations on the state tests has also drawn heavy criticism from educators and parents alike.

Karen Magee, president of the New York State United Teachers, said earlier this month that parents had "every right to opt their children out of testing."

"We have to go back and ask the question, 'What are we testing for?'" Magee said. "'Just to play a gotcha game?'"

The state Education Department says opting out is not an option.

"The tests are required by the federal government, are a required part of the instructional program, and there is no provision in law or regulation for a parent to refuse the tests," said Jeanne Beattie, spokeswoman for the state Education Department.

The purpose of the standardized tests is to measure a student's knowledge and overall achievement in Common Core Learning Standards adopted by New York three years ago.

Beattie said there would be "multiple negative consequences" for a school that does not meet the required 95-percent participation rate requirement. For low-performing schools, it could mean being saddled with a designation that requires cumbersome state oversight. For high-performing schools, it could mean the loss of funding and reputation.

Lisa Brady, superintendent of the Dobbs Ferry School District, said that she wanted parents to send their kids to school on testing day. But she was worried about the implications of large numbers of students opting out of the tests — including to real estate values in the village.

"Rightly or wrongly, they (home purchasers) look at the performance of students in a community on standardized tests as a measure to make decisions about whether or not to buy homes in our community," Brady said.

Earlier this month, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch told the NYS Council of School Superintendents that refusing the test would be a "terrible mistake."

"Why would you not want to know how your child and your school are doing compared to other children in the district, region, and State?," asked Tisch. "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."

By next week, the movement to refuse the test will be harder to ignore.

The NYS Allies for Public Education has purchased advertising space on Westchester County Bee Line Buses for banners that read: "More Teaching, Less Testing. Refuse the NYS Common Core Tests."

Suzanne Coyle, a mother of three in the Clarkstown School District, said she did not think the tests were an accurate reflection of what her children were learning at school, and that there was too much focus overall on the tests.

"[It is] having the effect of narrowing the curriculum," said Coyle, of New City. "We are becoming a test-driven society."

Like other parents, she objected that the test results don't come back before the end of the school year, too late to provide grade-specific feedback.

While many parents who refuse the tests believe the Common Core curriculum is developmentally inappropriate — teaching concepts that are above grade level — others support the more rigorous standards and associated tests aimed at measuring student learning.

Thriveni Bhakta, a mother of two children in sixth and eighth grades in the Lakeland School District, said she wouldn't consider letting her kids opt out of the tests.

"[The test results] show where they stand in their school and where the school stands amongst other schools," said Bhakta, an engineer who grew up in India. "I have always appreciated how children are taught here in the U.S., with a lot of emphasis on application of new skills in real-life situations right from kindergarten."

Bhakta said while she supported the tests, the transition hasn't been easy.

"It's unfortunate that our kids have to be the guinea pigs, but we have to keep in mind the long-term advantages for our kids," Bhakta said.

William Fahey, a father of a sixth-grader in the Chappaqua School District, said he valued the input from the test results, particularly as his son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"My son has been at or above proficiency levels for (English) and math all three years that he has taken the tests," Fahey said. "However, last year he barely achieved the standard for math. We have spent more time helping him with math this year than any other subject — not just because of Common Core, but because the work is that much harder. He is doing well in math this year but would not be at the level he is without our focusing on it so much."

Fahey and Bhakta additionally said opting out sends the wrong message.

"We encourage our son to try to fix things if there is a problem, not refuse to participate," said Fahey. "In life, he will have to take and pass many tests that he doesn't want to take and I wouldn't want to send a message to him otherwise."

Bhakta agreed: "If I allow my children to opt out of state tests for reasons like, 'It's going to be very tough or stressful,' I am only teaching them to quit the moment things get tough in their life."

But for parents like Kirsten Berger, a mother of three in the Peekskill School District, opting out is an act of civil disobedience.

"The curriculum has been narrowed to focus on material that could potentially be on the tests," Berger said. "And since the teachers' evaluations are based on the test scores, they are going to make sure that the kids really know this material. This really concerns me."

Like Berger, Rudley and Coyle see opting out as an opportunity to teach children to take a stand for what they — and their parents — believe is right.

"It sends a message of civic engagement and responsibility, not disobedience," said Coyle. "We teach our children about people like Rosa Parks. We provide them examples of courage and activism."

Rudley's activism started two years ago.

Rudley's son Max, then a fourth-grade student with special needs at Claremont Elementary School, came home with soiled pants the day of his state math test two years ago. Rudley said her son had been so nervous during the 90-minute test that he couldn't ask his teacher if he could go to the bathroom.

And last year was not any easier for Max, Rudley said.

"He was coming home frustrated and upset and was withdrawing," Rudley. "We placed him in a self-contained class with a much smaller setting and he then came home every day asking why he was being punished and pulled out of his class. My other son, Derek, in third grade at the time, was coming home saying he didn't like school anymore and would ask to be home-schooled."

Twitter: @SwapnaVenugopal