(Associated Press) As most of New York’s elementary students take state tests meant to show how they are faring under a heavier academic load, thousands of kids are sitting the tests out under instructions from their parents, who say the state relies so heavily on testing that it’s interfering with learning.
Advocacy groups estimate that more than 28,000 of the state’s 1.2 million third- through eighth-graders are skipping this week’s three-day English language arts assessments. That’s more than double last year’s number.
Depending on the district, students refusing the test either quietly read during the daily 60- to 90-minute sessions or stay at their desks doing nothing under much-criticized “sit-and-stare” policies.
