Common Core Opt-Out Movement Hits All-Time High In Local Public Schools, Including District 13

The growing opt-out movement from Common Core testing in New York City public schools continues to expand, and according to a new report, one local school is among the top of those where students choose to not take the tests.

Figures from the city shared by Chalkbeat New York show that in 2015, the Academy of Arts and Letters (225 Adelphi Street) had the fifth highest opt-out figures in all of the city — the top two spots belong to Brooklyn New School (610 Henry Street, Carroll Gardens) and P.S. 321 (180 7th Avenue, Park Slope). Of the city’s school districts, Brooklyn School District 15 and our very own District 13 also took the #1 and #5 spots for most opt-outs in the city.

Arts & Letters parents and students have made no secret of their concern about excessive testing with statewide exams. During a protest this past April, they teamed up with fellow schoolmates from P.S. 20 to rally against Governor Andrew Cuomo’s effort to increase the weight of standardized tests in teacher evaluations (from 20 percent up to 50 percent) and boost the number of charter schools in the state.

“Growing up, tests were always important measures of children’s learning, but they have never been used politically to ruin public schools as in the last two decades,” said Marnie Brady, a parent at Arts & Letters who also noted that Cuomo’s attempt to “jam [his evaluation proposal] nto the budget is ‘deforms,’ not ‘reforms.’ He needs to have a democratic debate.”

According to Brady, last year, 85 percent of Arts & Letters parents opted their children out of state testing — an amount that effectively “prevented children from being a score that is used in a way to punish teachers and narrow the curriculum.”

Chalkbeat reports that more than 160 schools have been involved in opting out, totaling more than 7,900 students throughout the city. This year, 182 students opted out of the reading exam and 197 opted out of the math exam from Arts & Letters alone.

Despite the drive to opt out in our neighborhood, a New York Times editorial argues that the math and reading tests should not be eliminated, because this could “could hurt efforts to document and close the achievement gap between low-income and minority students and more privileged students.” The statewide numbers for the opt-out movement for public school students between grades three through eight hover at roughly 20%, while citywide numbers are closer to 2%.

The debates and protests over the Common Core exams aren’t likely to end any time soon. What are your thoughts — do your kids take the tests, or were they some of the ones who opted out?

With additional reporting by Heather Chin.