Tag: Long Island Opt-Out

The heated battle pitting the governor, the teachers unions, and grassroots public school advocacy groups came to a head during this spring’s testing season, culminating in almost 100,000 students—more than half of the student population in Nassau and Suffolk counties—opting out of state tests.

In a 49-40 vote Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Barack Obama’s nominee for U.S. Department of Education secretary, former New York State education commissioner John B. King, Jr., inciting harsh criticism from education advocates across New York, as well as denunciation from U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. New York’s other senator, Chuck Schumer, voted in favor of King’s confirmation. The split vote comes amid ever-growing protests against the controversial education reform Common Core by statewide education advocates, who had experienced firsthand the aftermath of King’s tenure. More than 240,000 students statewide “opted-out” of taking the exams last April. Sen. Gillibrand was the lone Democrat opposing the nod.

"This is political posturing to try to curry favor with parents who are fed up with his education reforms."

Preliminary unofficial figures suggest more than double the 30,000 LI students who opted out last year refused the latest round of Common Core exams.

"It’s a remarkable and unusual movement, grounded in three powerful motives: parents’ fierce protectiveness of their children, teachers’ drive to protect the classroom from a culture of fear and senseless unusable tests, and the public desire to protect our democracy."

"Getting rid of the testing will cause this entire nonsensical system to implode."