Math opt-outs increase across the North Fork
The number of students opting out of state-mandated math assessments this year increased across the board on the North Fork, mirroring a trend seen last week with the required English Language Arts tests.
In the Mattituck School District, nearly 46 percent of students who were expected to take state-mandated math assessments declined to sit for the tests, which are in progress through Friday. Last week 42 percent of students decided not to take the state mandated ELA exams.
Mattituck-Cutchogue School District:
Grade 3: 80 eligible, 28 refused
Grade 4: 78 eligible, 30 refused
Grade 5: 85 eligible, 42 refused
Grade 6: 80 eligible, 41 refused
Grade 7: 87 eligible, 43 refused
Grade 8: 96 eligible, 48 refused
In Southold, 202 out of 360 eligible students — or approximately 56 percent — refused to take the test.
Southold School District:
Grade 3: 55 eligible, 26 refused
Grade 4: 69 eligible, 31 refused
Grade 5: 59 eligible, 36 refused
Grade 6: 64 eligible, 40 refused
Grade 7: 62 eligible, 42 refused
Grade 8: 51 eligible, 27 refused
Last year 40 percent of students opted out of the math assessments in the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District and 50 percent of eligible students at Southold refused to sit for the exams.
In Greenport, nearly 72 percent of students opted out of the first day of math testing this year. In 2015 approximately 68 percent of eligible students declined to take the tests.
Greenport School District:
Grade 3: 48 eligible, 36 refused
Grade 4: 34 eligible, 26 refused
Grade 5: 42 eligible, 20 refused
Grade 6: 52 eligible, 34 refused
Grade 7: 45 eligible, 38 refused
Grade 8: 47 eligible, 41 refused
In Oysterponds, which teaches students in pre-k through sixth grade, 18 out of 38 students — or 47 percent — declined to take the exam this year. In 2015 about 31 percent of students opted out.
Oysterponds School District:
Grade 3: 13 eligible, 3 refused
Grade 4: 6 eligible, 6 refused
Grade 5: 9 eligible, 5 refused
Grade 6: 10 eligible, 4 refused
Some additional eighth graders were also eligible for the state-mandated assessments, but because they are in an advanced math class they also qualified to take the state Regents exam and decided to take the Regents test instead.
Last week, schools administered the state-mandated ELA assessments, which had similar opt out numbers across the board. Forty-two percent of Mattituck-Cutchogue students, 55 percent of students in Southold, nearly 65 percent of eligible students at Greenport and 34 percent of students at Oysterponds declined to sit for those exams on the first day.
For all three days combined, approximately 67 percent of all students eligible in grades 3 to 8 at Greenport refused the ELA assessments and nearly 56 percent of all eligible students in Southold refused.
Mattituck and Oysterponds didn’t immediately have ELA numbers available.
