One in three in Monroe County opts out of state tests
About 30 percent of Rochester-area students have opted out of the state English tests this week, according to partial returns from the districts.
The preliminary tally falls just two percentage points short of last year's unprecedented refusal and demonstrates a persistent and widespread dissatisfaction with the current state testing regimen.
At the 16 districts that shared their numbers by 1 p.m. Wednesday, 10,440 of the 34,305 eligible students did not take the tests. Last year, the countywide English language arts opt-out rate was about 32 percent at the end of all three days.
Like last year, there was wide variation among the districts. The highest opt-out rate so far is Fairport, at 53 percent, down from 67 percent last year. Brighton was again the lowest at 16 percent.
| English language arts grade 3-8 opt-out rates by district | ||||
| District | refusing (2016) | total (2016) | 2016 rate | 2015 rate |
| Brighton | 276 | 1702 | 16% | 20% |
| Brockport | 531 | 1551 | 34% | 39% |
| Churchville-Chili | 373 | 1759 | 21% | 28% |
| East Irondequoit | 406 | 1303 | 31% | 31% |
| East Rochester | 152 | 445 | 34% | 50% |
| Fairport | 1419 | 2693 | 53% | 67% |
| Gates Chili | 364 | 1763 | 21% | 28% |
| Greece | 1452 | 5016 | 29% | 32% |
| Hilton | 796 | 2027 | 39% | 38% |
| Honeoye Falls-Lima | 286 | 1010 | 28% | 38% |
| Penfield | 508 | 2027 | 25% | 30% |
| Pittsford | 576 | 2691 | 21% | 26% |
| Rochester | 1712 | 12588 | 14% | 15% |
| Rush-Henrietta | 464 | 2445 | 19% | 24% |
| Spencerport | 716 | 1617 | 44% | 50% |
| Victor | 518 | 2036 | 25% | 30% |
| West Irondequoit | 587 | 1655 | 35% | 44% |
| Webster | 1422 | 3868 | 37% | 47% |
| Wheatland-Chili | 58 | 301 | 19% | 27% |
| Total | 10440 | 34305 | 27% | 32% |
Notably, only one district matched its rate from last year; Hilton climbed slightly from 38 percent to 39 percent. East Rochester had a particularly steep drop, from 50 percent to 34 percent.
The Rochester City School District did not release its opt-out rates, saying it will wait until the end of next week’s math tests. Its rate was about 18 percent last year, by far the highest among large urban districts in New York.
World of Inquiry School 58, however, had perhaps the lowest test participation of any school in the area, with 84 percent skipping them.
Michelle Jones dropped her fifth-grade daughter off at the school Tuesday morning and said she would not be taking the test.
“They’re not using it to grade the students, so I thought, what’s the point?’’ she said. “If there are only going to be one or two students in the school taking the test, I’m not going to put her through that. She already has test anxiety.”
After one in five students refused the math and English tests last year, the state put several changes into motion to prove to parents and teachers that it heard their message. This year’s tests are somewhat shorter and students will have as long as they need to complete them.
Like last year, the federal government has warned of funding cuts for districts where the opt-out rate exceeds 5 percent. It did not come to pass last year and seems unlikely to happen this year, considering the eroding political support for the current system of student and teacher evaluation.
Board of Regents to tap new chancellor
They also will not count in the evaluation of either students or teachers. That could be a reason to take them or a reason not to take them, depending on one’s point of view.
“(My daughter) doesn’t want to take them, but I’m making her,” said Yalitza Rosado, mother of a sixth-grader at PUC Achieve Charter School off Hudson Avenue. “It doesn’t hurt to see what level you’re at.”
This is the last year of tests written by Pearson, the educational conglomerate that has borne much of the assault on the current testing system. The state has a new contract with a company called Questar; the tests will likely be renamed as well.
The English tests continue Thursday, so the opt-out numbers will rise somewhat. The math tests are Tuesday through Thursday next week.
JMURPHY7@Gannett.com