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‘Opting out’ of Common Core exams in St. Lawrence County schools might be prompting change

Posted 4/26/15

By CRAIG FREILICH State legislators from St. Lawrence County say they want changes to state school programs, in the face of protests by parents refusing to let their children take the Common Core …

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‘Opting out’ of Common Core exams in St. Lawrence County schools might be prompting change

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH

State legislators from St. Lawrence County say they want changes to state school programs, in the face of protests by parents refusing to let their children take the Common Core assessment tests.

And most of St. Lawrence County’s representatives in Albany seem to be getting behind Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch who says she wants to extend by 10 months the Nov. 15 deadline for approving new teacher and principal review procedures.

Teacher Evaluations Delayed

“The Board of Regents will adopt teacher evaluation regulations by June 30 of this year, but the new directive calls on the state Education Department to come up with a plan that gives schools more time to implement the changes,” Said Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D-Theresa), who represents St. Lawrence River shore townships plus Potsdam and Canton.

“The Board of Regents is acknowledging the flexibility the state budget language gave them to create a new teacher evaluation system that is fair to teachers and their students. By empowering the Board of Regents to make these decisions, we’ve put our trust in those who are able to make calculated decisions that benefit everyone,” she said.

About 13 percent of students in third through eighth grades at Ogdensburg Central School did not take the English exam on the first day. That was 100 students, according to Superintendent Timothy Vernsey.

In Massena, the tally of students not taking the test was about 25.5 percent, or 287 of 1,125 students, according to Massena Central School Interim Superintendent William Flynn.

In Potsdam, Canton and Norwood-Norfolk schools, the “opt-out” rate was about 25 percent.

Protest Might Be Working

As parents have kept hundreds of their children from the six days of tests that are supposed to measure students’ and teachers’ progress, frustrated parents have been taking the unusual step in order to move representatives in Albany and state and federal education officials to change the way new standards and procedures are being implemented, and it might be working.

“The message is being sent that we have a system of testing that is facing some serious issues and significant challenges that must be addressed in a comprehensive way, and it really requires the professional stakeholders like educators, administrators and school board members to have a key voice in this argument, not just the state and federal government,” said Sen. Joe Griffo (R-Rome).

Griffo, whose 47th District includes Massena and Potsdam in a swath down the middle of St. Lawrence County south to Fine, said the chancellor’s remarks “make clear that the timeframe to develop a new teacher evaluation system is unrealistic” and was due for a revision.

“This affirms my belief that the Regents should ask the Legislature and Governor to give them more time to formulate this important policy, with a minimum of at least 24 months to make sure that it’s done appropriately,” Griffo said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

And Griffo says he wants to see New Yorkers explaining to state education officials their ideas for education policy reform.

Russell said that rather than having such a large share of a teacher’s or a student’s evaluation depend on how students do on the tests, she is advocating a “swing back toward locally determined assessments and local curriculum, and allows more flexibility in the classroom. We’re turning classrooms back to our educators, particularly the tests that had problems in their creation. They can’t be taken as valid indicators of student achievement,” she said.

Moratorium on Testing

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R-Black River) says he would like to see a two-year moratorium on the testing while the program is overhauled.

“I understand parents’ concern,” said Blankenbush, whose district includes southwestern St. Lawrence County. “Part of it goes back to the way the Common Core itself was introduced. – I think poorly. I think it really should have started at first grade and worked its way up. Right now the tests assume they have been in a Common Core curriculum all along.”

Blankenbush said one of his main concerns is that “there wasn’t any classroom teacher involved in the curriculum” when the state’s program was developed. “We should have had a seat at the table, and teachers should have.

“I believe in higher standards, but it was done the wrong way,” he said. “Because of that we’re getting a reaction from parents saying ‘Enough is enough, and we’re not going along.’ But there can’t be years of ‘opting out.’ The current tests should be adjusted.”

Positions Shifting

He and fellow Assembly Republican Marc Butler (R-Newport) have expressed their approval of the chancellor’s desire to put teacher evaluations on hold. And the Republicans say they approve of what they see as the Democratic Assembly leadership’s moving closer to their positions on the reform issue.

Butler, whose district includes east- and south-central parts of the county, credits the work of his Assembly Republican Conference, the participation of teachers, “and the courageous parents who opted their children out of Common Core testing.

“This changing tide of opinion is important, but we have more work to do what is needed to improved public education in New York. Parents and teachers have a partner in me in this fight,” Butler said.

Blankenbush, who said he debated against the measures and voted no on that portion of the education budget bill, said Thursday he is encouraged by Tisch’s realization that more time is needed.

“Collectively, parents, teachers, school administrators and I have been speaking up about the detrimental effects of Common Core on our children and their education – and finally politicians in Albany are starting to listen,” said Blankenbush. “This is an encouraging shift in opinion, and we cannot relent until education is once again based on local input rather than the policies of faceless bureaucrats and out-of-touch politicians.”