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Number of Canton students opting out of Common Core tests jumps to 31 percent

Posted 4/15/16

By MATT LINDSEY CANTON — Unlike at other schools in St. Lawrence County, the overall number of students opting out of Common Core tests at Canton Central rose by 7 percent this year. About 31 …

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Number of Canton students opting out of Common Core tests jumps to 31 percent

Posted

By MATT LINDSEY

CANTON — Unlike at other schools in St. Lawrence County, the overall number of students opting out of Common Core tests at Canton Central rose by 7 percent this year.

About 31 percent of students in grades 3-8 did not take the Math assessment test, according to elementary school principal Joseph D. McDonough. Last year about 24 percent of students did not participate.

McDonough did not have specific number for the ELA testing, but said figures were hovering around 30 percent.

“Seventh grade students had the highest number in both math and ELA that did not participate,” he said.

Only nine percent of third grade students did not take the test.

McDonough said parents and staff have been “kind of quiet” about this year’s testing.

“Parents let us know in writing and we keep track.” McDonough said. “Ultimately families will make the decision for the child…it’s the choice of the parents.”

Meanwhile, about the same number of Ogdensburg students opted out of state English Language Arts Common Core exams this year, but Massena and Parishville-Hopkinton school officials saw a decline in the number of pupils refusing the test.

One hundred and four, or 13.7 percent, of students in grades three though eight opted out of Common Core English Language Arts assessment tests this year in Ogdensburg.

In Massena, the number of students refusing to take the ELA exams is declining, according to Massena Central Superintendent of Schools Patrick Brady.

He said 17.6 percent opted out this year, compared to 25.6 percent in 2015.

At Potsdam Central, 88 of 631, or 14 percent, of students in grades three through eight opted out of Common Core English Language Arts assessment tests this year. By comparison, 27 percent of students opted out last year.

For the math assessment tests, 17 percent, or 107 of 631 opted out. That is down from about 31 percent in 2015.

Students at Norwood-Norfolk Central School taking the Common Core standardized English tests last week “opted out” of the exam at a much lower rate than students did last year.

About fifteen percent of third- through eighth-graders at N-N chose not to take the tests last week, compared with 26 percent last year, according to Norwood-Norfolk Central School Superintendent James Cruikshank.

He also said during the first day of the math tests Wednesday this week, “just shy of 22 percent” did not choose to take the test, compared with 36 percent last year. And he said he did not expect that number to change by much through the rest of the spring math tests this week.

At Parishville-Hopkinton Central School, the number of students opting out of Common Core assessment exams has dropped drastically, from 34 percent last year to 11 percent this year.

Saiff said he feels part of the reason less students are opting out this year is because of the positive response from the State Education Department.