The newly designed Common Core tests are underway and thousands of students are expected to not take them, according to supporters of the Opt-Out movement.

About half of Long Island students eligible to take the tests opted out last year.

The English assessment is being given Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The three-day math test is next Wednesday through Friday.

As News 12 has reported, there have been protests across the Island in the past few years to encourage parents to opt out of the assessments. The tests are for students in third through eighth grades.

On Tuesday, state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia promoted the message to "Opt In."

"Our students are counting on us to give them every opportunity to succeed," she said. "The state tests are an important yardstick to measure how well we're meeting that responsibility."

She also says the tests have fewer questions this year and that students have more time to answer them. Taking the tests, officials say, will make it easier in the long run to make the bigger changes parents are demanding.

State education officials say they put in place a four-year moratorium, meaning that test scores cannot be used against the students or when evaluating teachers.