Last Tuesday began the first day of several for students to either sit and take the widely criticized state-mandated ELA test, or elect to opt out of the exam e
ntirely.
According to the Long Island Opt Out Group, 55 percent of students in the Massapequa School District and a whopping 74 percent of students from the Plainedge School District opted out of taking the state test.
Jeanette Deutermann, head of the opt-out movement on Long Island, and the Facebook Group Long Island Opt Out, had mixed feelings on the results of the refusal numbers.
“I am so incredibly grateful to parents that have chosen to stand up for public schools, their children and our public school teachers by refusing to allow their children to participate in the NYS assessments this year,” said Deutermann. “However, that is mixed with sadness that our classrooms have come to this. I would love for nothing more than to know that legislators, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) have finally heard us loud and clear as to what we want and do not want for our children’s education here in New York.”
While there are a seemingly select few that see both sides of the issue, a large number of teachers and parents only display their disdain for the Common 
Core test, further aggravating the problem.
“Unfortunately, we continue to hear the rhetoric that ‘parents just do not understand how important these tests are.’ It is not that we do not understand the importance of knowing the progress of our children, it’s that we do not believe that these assessments are valid or useful in any way to give us that information on how they are progressing,” said Deutermann. “We value the importance of child-centered, hands-on learning, and these Common Core assessments have robbed our children of that rich, creative learning environment all children deserve. We will continue to refuse these assessments in growing numbers until Governor Cuomo, the legislature and the SED reverses course.”
One would be hard-pressed to find a person, parent, teacher or even student that agrees with the Common Core standard of education. Until the values of education are replaced with those once respected two decades ago, it will continue to be an uphill battle.
