New York City’s school chancellor Richard A. Carranza will be the first to tell you that he has a lot to learn. Since taking over at the education department last week, he has answered most questions about current challenges or longstanding policies by saying that he is still learning, still studying, still listening.

He has, however, taken a stand on one controversial topic: He does not believe children should skip the New York State tests administered each year to third through eighth graders. In an interview with NY1 last week, Mr. Carranza called the decision to refuse to take the tests an “extreme reaction,” and seemed to echo many of the sentiments of the test’s supporters. “You don’t know, unless you’re able to assess, where students are in the mastery of information,” he said.

That is the same position taken by his predecessor, Carmen Fariña. This year’s testing period begins in New York City on Wednesday.

The so-called “opt-out” movement caught fire three years ago when more than 200,000 students across the state — 20 percent of test takers — refused to take the exam. That surge in opposition was guided by activism from parents and support from the state’s teachers union, and it coincided with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s push to tie teacher evaluations more closely to student scores. The opt-out momentum has stalled considerably, but the number of test refusers remains substantial. Last year 19 percent of test takers opted out, and the numbers in certain suburban areas, like in parts of Long Island, remain high.