State math tests began Wednesday, and many of the students who opted out of the Common Core exams are sitting out again this week.

Many Capital Region districts reported slightly more students refused to take the math tests than sat out last week's English Language Arts test. The math assessments will wrap up with a final day of testing for grades 3 to 8 on Friday.

In previous years, state math tests have had higher refusal rates than the ELA exams, so the increase was expected, officials from area school districts said.

But the percentage at Mohonasen schools in Rotterdam, which posted the highest Capital Region opt-out numbers last week with 55 percent of students refusing state ELA tests, jumped to 60.6 percent as the first day of math testing came to a close. District spokesperson Adrienne Leon said 71 more students opted out on Wednesday.

"We had a good system in place last week, so we were ready today for it again," she said.

The opt-out percentages for districts in Bethlehem, Albany and Schenectady also increased by at least 5 percent from last week's numbers in each district. In Bethlehem, 24 percent of students opted out, Albany reported 21.2 percent and Schenectady reported 12 percent. It is unclear if those numbers will grow through the week.

Before schools even opened their doors Monday, many local districts failed to meet the state Education Department's 95 percent participation threshold for the annual tests, leading the department to warn that school districts with low participation rates could face standing and funding consequences.

The U.S. Department of Education said in a statement late last week that the tests tell parents and educators how their students are performing and push schools to serve all students equally. It also vaguely warned that although the department hasn't taken action against districts with low participation rates, it could in the future.

"The department has not had to withhold money — yet — over this requirement because states have either complied or have appropriately sanctioned schools or districts that assessed less than 95 percent of students," U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman Dorie Nolt said in a statement.

Merryl Tisch, New York Board of Regents chancellor, said in a recent interview with the Buffalo News that she does not believe in penalizing schools that have low participation rates.

"I would say to everyone who wants to punish the school districts: hold them to standards, set high expectations, hold them accountable, but punishing them? Really, are you kidding me?" she said.

The State Education Department won't have final numbers for how many students refused the tests until the exams are scored and returned by all 700 districts in the state. Last year, the department released the assessment scores in mid-August. Many parents and educators have criticized the department for the delayed release in test scores, saying they come too late for teachers to improve and help their students learn.

This is the third year the state standardized tests reflect the Common Core standards.

Teachers union New York State United Teachers launched a statewide television ad campaign on Wednesday criticizing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and "his hedge fund billionaire backers" for the increased focus on state assessments and their ties to teacher evaluations.

NYSUT President Karen Magee said the 30-second TV spot is meant to remind New York residents that the governor doesn't understand what communities want for their schools.

More Information For an interactive look at how local school districts staked up with test refusals, go to: https://infogr.am/common_core_opt_out Common Core opt-outs An asterisk indicates total opt-out numbers for both English Language Arts tests and math tests. No asterisk indicates opt-out numbers for only ELA tests. District Opt-outs Total students (3-8) Percent Albany* 632 3,862 16.4% Troy 130 1,625 8% Schenectady* 507 4,403 12% Guilderland 404 2,219 18.2% Mohonasen* 759 1,254 60.6% North Colonie* 400 2,248 17.7% South Colonie* 590 2,496 27% Bethlehem* 491 2,045 24% Burnt Hills-Ball. Lake 476 1,487 32% Saratoga Springs 467 2,974 15.7% Menands* 9 181 4.97% Niskayuna* 239 1,887 12.7% Source: Local school districts See More Collapse

"The governor refuses to see the damage the overreliance on standardizing testing is doing to students and what matters most of all — the teaching and learning that's taking place in our classrooms," she said in a statement.

The union has also called on the Board of Regents to take public input when implementing the new teacher and principal evaluation system, which places 50 percent of the evaluation on state assessments, Magee said.

Meanwhile, High Achievement New York, a coalition of mostly businesses that support Common Core standards, has run its own radio and digital advertising campaign supporting the assessments and higher standards for public school students. The coalition says that the assessments provide parents and educators with the clearest look at how students are performing.

bhorn@timesunion.com • 518-454-5097 • @brittanyhorn