Canandaigua saw 19.2% of students not taking April exams — and the district isn't alone locally

New York is the state with the largest number of students opting out of Common Core exams in the nation — with local districts seeing significant opt-out rates.

The Canandaigua City School District, for instance, saw 19.2 percent of students declining to take last month's standardized math and English exams for third- through eight-graders.

Canandaigua City School District Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Julie Winston said she empathizes with parents making the difficult decision on whether to opt out.

"I certainly agree that there are children with emotional and academic challenges for whom the test has little benefit," Winston said. "Those numbers of children are very small, however. For the rest of our students, I believe it is important for them to take the assessments.

"Teachers do a great job preparing the children, attempting to alleviate any stress and concern," Winston continued. "They have spent months delivering standards-aligned instruction. This is a chance for them to see just how well their students are doing when compared against like peers."

For the April tests, 19.2 percent of Canandaigua students opted out. The opt-out rate increased with each grade level. In third grade, 8 percent of students opted out of the ELA and math tests. In eighth grade, 29 percent of ELA students opted out and 35 percent of math students opted out.

Winston said word of mouth is a reason why the eighth grade math opt-out was higher than ELA.

"The math assessment comes after ELA, and the talk among students or the mere fact that they see others opting out likely increased the numbers," she said.

Some parents are concerned about the standards, but Winston said New York has had content-area standards for as long as she can remember.

"While Common Core Standards were new in 2010 and required a change, this was not something we had not experienced before," she said. "Ask any New York state high school math teacher the number of times they have had to adjust instruction for changing standards: Algebra, Course One, Math A, Integrated Algebra, Common Core Algebra. Math teachers will likely tell you they have had to respond to change more than any other content area. With each change came a change in a Regents assessment."

Other parents said testing under the Common Core Standards in 2013 came too soon for the standards to be properly implemented in the classroom. Winston agreed.

"I would have much rather seen a phase-in of some sort, allowing teachers to become comfortable with the new standards and students to grasp the content," she said. "Frankly, it is disappointing when phase-ins only occur at the secondary level."

Another common complaint is the length of testing.

"Yes, a test of this nature requires stamina," Winston said. "With that said, I worry about students whose first opportunity to sit for such an exam may be two required Regents (tests) at the end of ninth grade — Algebra and Living Environment. Perhaps an unintended benefit is the experience and confidence students gain while taking tests in earlier grades."

Since the introduction of the Common Core, the opt-out movement has gained steam. Parents could download and print an online refusal letter.

Winston said the letter said parents "refuse to allow any data to be used for purposes other than the individual teacher's own formative or cumulative assessment."

"I struggle when parents' decision is based on reasons other than their child's welfare," she said. "The opt-out movement appears to align with political agendas around teacher evaluation more so than concern for students. Remember, we've been testing students for a long time with no public outcry."

The district uses the assessment data for improvement of curriculum and instruction, Winston said.

"I have watched our teachers dig into the state assessment data and develop some excellent ideas for improved and/or better targeted instruction," she said "In their classrooms, our teachers use the data to provide support for students who are performing below grade level expectations as well as those students who are exceeding them."

Winston said an important ramification of the numbers opting out of the tests is that the scores become less reliable indicators of learning.

"Despite the fact that the state eliminated the third through eighth ELA and math assessment from teacher evaluations, promised greater access to more questions, and indicated an intent to provide data more quickly than ever in the past, the opt-out movement continued," she said. "When 35 percent of students in any one grade level refuse to take the assessment, the ability to use the information changes greatly, not for the better."

With Common Core testing and Regents testing, Winston said there is a misconception.

"Many parents who have opted students out of three through eight exams believe they can do so for the state Regents assessments," she said. "That is not true. There are five Regents exams required for graduation. A student's failure to take and pass a required Regents exam will prevent him from graduating from high school."

Parents in other districts opted out students as well. Midlakes reported that 82 percent opted in for ELA and 76 percent opted in for math. In Bloomfield Central, 76 percent of students took the ELA assessment and 73 percent took the math assessment. In Marcus Whitman, 72 percent of students took the math test and 73 percent took the ELA test, a 15 percent increase from last year. Honeoye also had an increase in students taking the exams. In the district, 53.7 percent of students opted in.

Victor Central experienced a similar trend as Canandaigua. Students opted out more in seventh and eighth grade compared to third through sixth. In seventh and eighth grade, 42.6 percent of students opted out of ELA and 51.8 percent opted out of math. The opt-out rate for ELA dropped to 20.9 percent and 23 percent for math for fourth through sixth grade. In third grade, 12.5 percent and 13.4 percent of students opted out of ELA and math, respectively.