Almost 200K students boycotted NY state standardized tests in parents’ rights revolt

Thousands of New York parents are staging a revolt against standardized tests.

Nearly 200,000 students — or one out of five — refused to sit for the state’s standardized reading and math exams for grades 3-8 administered in the spring, test data reviewed by The Post reveals.

Of the more than 1 million students eligible, 18% opted out of the English Language Arts exam and 17% skipped the math assessment, according to the figures from the state Education Department (SED).

The state does not penalize students and school districts for opting out of the exams, which are used to measure skills and knowledge and determine proficiency.

Boycott rates were sky high in the suburbs — notably in Long Island — amid parental objections at what they see as excessive testing, which critics have long maintained leads to narrowing of the curriculum and “teaching to the test.”

The objections to standardized tests are also part of what is generally called the parents’ rights movement — covering disputes gripping the nation over everything from homeschooling and charter schools and vouchers, to what’s taught in the curriculum, transgender student rights and lockdowns and remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am beyond happy to see that 45% of Long Island families with kids in grades 3-8 [overall] still understand the importance of standing up and refusing to participate in the 3-8 exams,” wrote Jeanette Brunelle Deutermann, founder of the group Long Island Opt Out, in a recent Facebook post.

“45% know that this type of standardized testing is detrimental to the learning environment in their children’s schools. 45% know that these tests are not created or administered to improve learning outcomes, and take away precious time and resources from those things that enrich their child’s learning experience,” she added.

More than half of students in over two dozen New York school districts refused to take the tests — nearly all of them on Long Island:

• 72.5.% did not take the ELA tests in Brookhaven-Comsewogue; 69.6% in Connetquot; 67.2% in Lindenhurst and Shoreham Wading; 67.1% in Hauppauge; 66.2% in Rocky Point; 63.6% in Middle Country; 63.3% in Babylon; 62.4% in Bellmore-Merrick; 61.5% in Miller Place; 61.3% in Massapequa; 60.8% in Levittown; 60.6% in Sayville and 60.5% in Plain Edge.
• More than 50% of kids also skipped the ELA tests in Valley Stream, Bellmore, Seaford,  Greenwood Lake, North Babylon,  Mt. Sinai,  Center Moriches, Northport-East Northport,  Commack, Bayshore, and West Islip.
• Two dozen of mostly the same schools also had a majority of students who refused to sit for the math exam, state records show.
• By comparison, all but a handful of New York City’s 31 school districts had refusal rates of less than 10%, and none over 20%.
• Dozens of charter schools had 100% participation rates on the tests — including many in the Success Academy Charter Schools network, according to the data.

The high opt-out rates are an outgrowth of parents’ opposition to the “Common Core” curriculum launched by the New York State Board of Regents and the SED a decade ago to bolster standards.

Parents and teachers argued officials were relying too much on standardized tests to rate students and instructors in order to boost “college-readiness,” and the program was halted.

The testing program took another hit during the pandemic. The exams were cancelled in 2020 and made voluntary in 2021, when only 42% of students took them.

While the test results can be used to see how schools are doing in meeting learning standards, state rules bar districts from using them to solely determine whether teachers should be promoted.

“What the state needs to do is to listen more to parents and rebuild trust in schools and in state policy toward schools,” said Ray Domanico, director of education policy at conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute.

“To try to punish districts or schools for parents refusing the test would just make matters worse and convince some parents that the state education officials don’t care what they think,” said Domanico.

The SED downplayed the skip rate, noting participation improved slightly from 2019, when 20% of students refused to take the ELA and 22% spurned the math exam.

In a statement, the department said “there are no consequences” for students who don’t sit for the state exams.

But officials encourage families and school districts to have students take the tests because they are an important tool to help determine “where they are in terms of learning” — along with classroom observations and assessments.

“Ultimately, in all districts, test scores provide valid information for students who participate, regardless of the overall rate. Results from the tests help identify achievement gaps among different student populations,” the statement said.

“Without widespread participation in the tests, it is more difficult for school and district leaders to recognize these gaps and provide support and resources to the students who need them.”