Thousands of students to opt out of state testing

<p>Tens of thousands of Long Island students are preparing to opt out of next week's upcoming state-assessed math tests.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Apr 30, 2017, 12:03 AM

Updated 2,718 days ago

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Thousands of students to opt out of state testing
Tens of thousands of Long Island students are preparing to opt out of next week's upcoming state-assessed math tests.
The controversial tests are given to math students in third through eighth grades.
School officials say there have been changes to the length of the test and the time students were being given to take them this year. Despite the changes, Diana Sheedy, of Syosset, is going to keep her son out of the exam. 
"There's plenty of tests during school and the teachers do a great job and I don't need one test to determine whether he's doing well or not," says Sheedy. 
Jeanette Deutermann, of Long Island Opt-Out, says parents are "tired of having a test-based education for their children." 
The state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia says it's up to the parents to decide what's best for their students. She says the state is continually seeking input on how to make the tests better.
More than 100,000 students across Long Island opted out of the state's English Language Arts Exam last month.