Why new NY education chancellor supports test opt-outs
ALBANY — New York's new education chancellor said the state is working to improve its standardized testing. But she also supports parents who decide to pull their young ones out of taking the exams.
Betty Rosa was elected as chancellor of the Board of Regents on Monday, and she's been vocal in her support of the opt-out movement in New York — which last year led to 20 percent of students in grades 3-8 choosing not to take the exams in protest.
Rosa said Monday that she backs parents who want to opt out their children, and she reiterated her stance Tuesday, saying that she would have kept one of her two boys away from the exams if he was younger. They are now adults, but one of them struggled with tests as a youth, she said.
"I have another one who found it stressful," Rosa said Tuesday on The Capitol Pressroom, a public radio show. "As a family, we would make a decision about my two children."
Rosa said that families have the right to decide whether the tests are right for them as the state continues to modify the exams that are part of the federal Common Core testing standards.
"The decision would be that as a family, if I looked at this test as a parent and this was a test, I would create a comfort zone with my struggling child and know that this particular test was a test that was grade level, but had an entry point where my child would feel successful with it," she continued.
Opt-out movement heats up as tests approach
State education officials have warned against the opt-outs, saying New York could lose federal funding if the trend continues.
In December, U.S. Department of Education warned states that federal school aid may be withheld next year if less than 95 percent of students take government-mandated exams. In New York, about $1.1 billion could be at risk.
High Achievement New York, an advocacy group, criticized Rosa's position.
"It is now time for the organizers of the so-called opt-out movement to finally take yes for an answer and stop urging children to refuse to take tests — and they must end their campaign to destroy higher standards," the group said.
Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia and outgoing Chancellor Merryl Tish have encouraged students to take the tests, but at the same time have reformed the testing standards.
Earlier this month, the Board of Regents suspended the use of the Common Core tests to evaluate the performance of students and teachers for the next four years.
Rosa said her position — which is backed by the teachers' union and its allies — isn't at odds with Elia's stance. She said they are all looking to improve education for students.
"It does not put us at odds," Rosa said in the radio interview. "This is a commissioner who wants to create conditions for these assessments to be useful."