Q: I have decided to opt my child out. What do I need to do?

Write a letter or email to your principal letting them know that you intend to “refuse” the tests on behalf of your child. You can write your own letter or use our sample letter. (If you choose to write your own letter, we recommend using the word “refuse” because technically there is no provision for “opting out.”) Some schools have digital forms where families can indicate a preference to take or boycott the test. If you email, request that the principal acknowledge receipt of your email. We have heard that some NYC parents are being told they cannot print out a form letter like our sample letter. If this happens to you, ask to see where this rule appears in writing from from the NYC DOE or New York State Education Department. If you are shown something, please ask for a copy or take a picture and send it to us.)

Make arrangements with your child’s teacher and/or principal for what your child will do during the testing days. Most schools will have non-testing children read, write, or draw quietly either in their classroom or in a separate location like the library. Some will send children to help out in lower grades. If the school has large numbers of children opting out, the school day may proceed more or less normally, with the few children who are testing sent to a separate location. Bottom line: You do not have to keep your child home in order to refuse the tests.

Q: I was told that I am required to meet with the principal if I want to opt out. Is that true?

You are not required to meet with the principal or anyone else in order to opt out. As a parent/guardian, it is your right to refuse the tests on behalf of your child; you don’t need to justify your decision to anyone. The NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) instructs principals to offer such meetings (possibly hoping that the principal can talk the parent/guardian out of refusal), but there is no law or regulation that requires parents/guardians to attend, and in fact this would be discriminatory. Send a polite excuse if you wish, but don’t go.

Q: If we refuse the tests, will my child have to take the make up?

No, make-up exams are for children who were absent during the testing period (and who were not intending to refuse the tests). If you have any concerns about whether the school will respect your right to opt out, make it clear that you are refusing the makeup tests as well.

Q: What if my principal tells me that I am not allowed to refuse the tests, pressures my child to take the test, or treats my child unfairly for refusing?

Many teachers and principals are supportive of students and parents who boycott the tests, but some are not. If you have difficulty, refer your principal to this NY State Education Department document, which makes clear that the state no longer questions a parent's right to opt out of state tests. It also clarifies that there are no consequences for children who refuse. If you still need help, call NY State Senator Robert Jackson at 212-544-0173, and contact us; we will try to assist you.

Q: What if I refuse permission for my child to take the test, but the school makes my child take it anyway?

Parents/guardians should inform the principal of the situation as soon as possible. The school should enter into the computer that there was a “misadministration” of the test. The student should not be given a score, whether or not the answer sheet has already been scanned into the computer.

If you are challenged, contact us and we will try to assist you.

Q: Will students who refuse the tests be subject to any negative consequences (being scored a level 1, held back, banned from extracurricular activities, denied services, etc.)?

Legally, there are absolutely no consequences for students who refuse the assessments. Students who refuse will be coded as “not tested” and will not receive a score. Please refer to questions below if you are told otherwise or are wondering about a specific alleged consequence.

Q: Will opting out stop my child from getting into a good middle or high school?

This question, and the anxiety it generates, gets to the heart of why many NYC parents are reluctant to opt out. However, state law specifies that the New York state test scores cannot be the sole or primary criterion in the admissions rubric.

Middle school: The NYC Department of Education is no longer using test scores in middle school admissions. Even the handful of middle schools that are screened are not allowed to use state test scores as a factor in their admission decisions.

High school: Every high school is required to have an admissions formula (called a “rubric”) approved by the DOE. In many cases, schools don’t use state test scores in their rubrics at all. (This includes all New York City specialized high schools, for example.)

• There are many reasons besides test refusal why students might not have NY state scores: they moved here recently, they went to private school, they were ill during both test administration and makeup days. Accordingly, the admissions rubric must include information about how the school addresses students who don’t have New York state test scores. In most cases, schools that ordinarily include scores as part of their rubrics will simply increase the weight given to report card grades when a student has no scores to report.

• Students have been refusing the tests in New York City, in growing numbers, for more than a decade. They have received offers to a variety of the city’s middle and high schools, including its most sought after, and have gone on to thrive in college. This is true even for students who refused the tests in 4th or 7th grade. (Scores from those years are generally the only ones that were considered in admissions rubrics, pre-pandemic.)

Q: My child has an IEP. Can I opt out of the tests and still have them fulfill their IEP?

Yes, any student may opt out of the state tests. There is no formal connection between your child’s IEP and the state tests. In making your opt out decision for your child with an IEP, you may find it useful to know that the tests are generally not sensitive enough to measure the progress made by children with disabilities; in 2019 New York state tests labeled approximately 86% of children with disabilities as failing (“not proficient”).*

Many parents and educators believe that the tests are particularly damaging for children who are dramatically below grade level. An example from one special education teacher: “Take the case of a 4th grader who reads on a 1st grade level due to dyslexia. It is really upsetting for that child to sit for hours with a test booklet labeled ‘4th Grade;’ she knows it is much too hard for her, but also that her teachers and parents expect her to complete it. In addition, that particular test cannot measure any progress which she may have made toward the goals of her IEP because its starting point wasn’t appropriate for her.”

Q: Will boycotting the tests interfere with my child’s promotion or put them at risk for being sent to summer school?

Some principals have told parents that children who do not take state tests will not be promoted or must attend summer school. This is not true. State law specifies that standardized test scores cannot be the sole or even primary criterion for promotion. Assessments from the entire school year are considered when discussing progress and readiness for the next grade, and families should be informed of student progress throughout the school year.

If promotion were in doubt, that information should have been entered into the system in January and shared with families by February. (In other words, well before the administration of the tests.) If there is a pre-existing concern about a child’s promotion, the teacher creates a portfolio with samples of the student’s work, which is reviewed by the principal. According to the NYC Department of Education’s 2017 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), the most recent detailed public information available on this topic, “Schools may not require students to complete a promotion portfolio simply because a student does not take the State test” (p.2). (Other languages here under “Grade 3 to 8 tests.”)

If the principal threatens your child with any negative consequences for refusing the tests, refer him or her to the DOE FAQ, mentioned in the previous paragraph. If you still need help, call NY State Senator Robert Jackson at 212-544-0173, and contact us; we will try to assist you.

Schools should respond to a student's struggles with a plan to help them, and that plan should be discussed with parents/guardians.

Q: I heard that under the federal education law (ESSA) my child will be scored a 1 (the lowest score) if they opt out. Is that true?

On the level of the individual student nothing has changed under ESSA. As in previous years, students who refuse the tests (and make no mark on the test booklet or answer sheet) will be recorded as "not tested."

Q: I’ve heard that if a large number of students opt out, our school could lose money. Is this true?

Short answer: No.

Detailed answer: Threats about loss of funding are trotted out every testing season. This is connected to federal law that demands 95% participation in annual testing. HOWEVER, guidance issued in 2021 (in wake of the pandemic) makes clear that the federal government will grant waivers to states that ask to be excused from the consequences of the 95% rule. New York state has requested a waiver, so we fully expect that schools in New York state will not be penalized for opt out. In fact, even in non-pandemic years, no school that we know of has had funding taken away even though more than 90% of NYS school districts failed to achieve the mandated 95% participation rate. (The original purpose of the 95% rule was to ensure that schools did not selectively exclude low-performing students from testing; it had nothing to do with parents exercising their rights to boycott the tests.) Moreover, because of the high refusal rate in New York, it is extremely unlikely that schools or districts would ever be financially sanctioned; it would be political suicide to try to penalize so many schools simultaneously.

Under the ESSA law, there is a “Recognition Schools” program, but like the state’s “Blue Ribbon Schools,” schools awarded “Recognition” status receive a certificate but no money. There are also schools designated in need of "Comprehensive Support and Instruction." Those schools are actually given more money, not less, to fund approved "improvement" initiatives.

At any rate, it could be argued that these threats of financial sanction for opt out are meaningless when our schools are already having money withheld: after more than a decade New York State still owes city schools nearly $2 billion dollars awarded by the courts in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity case.

Q: I’ve heard that if a large number of students opt out, our school could be taken over by the state. Is this true?

Pandemic year answer (2021): No. Guidance issued in 2021 makes clear that the federal government will grant waivers to states that ask to be excused from “accountability” provisions. New York state has requested a waiver, so we fully expect that schools in New York state will not be penalized for opt out.

Non-pandemic year answer: The bottom 5% of schools, as identified by the state's ESSA "accountability" formula, can indeed be taken over (sent into “receivership”) by the state. However, the Board of Regents, the state's ruling education body, has indicated that any school that is “otherwise high performing” will not be judged as failing and a target for takeover solely due to high opt out.

Q: What happens to my kid’s school if more than 5% of the students refuse the tests?

Pandemic year answer (2021): Nothing. Guidance issued in 2021 makes clear that the federal government will grant waivers to states that ask to be excused from the consequences of the 95% participation rule. New York state has requested a waiver, so we fully expect that schools in New York state will not be penalized for opt out.

Non-pandemic year answer: If more than 5% of students do not take the tests, the school will not have met the 95% participation goal set by federal law. (Actually, even if the school has 95% participation overall, it can fail to meet its goal if it does not have 95% participation in a specific “subgroup” determined by race, income, etc.) Remember, in recent years more than 90% of NYS school districts failed to achieve the 95% participation rate mandated by the federal government so your school will have plenty of company. Under regulations adopted in 2018, when a school fails to meet participation goals for several years running, the state will require it to initiate a multi-step plan to "improve" test participation. We are aware of several high opt out schools that submitted participation "improvement” plans that in essence read, "It is not our place to coerce families into test participation." If your school is faced with having to create a participation plan, NYC Opt Out volunteers are available to consult with you. Contact us here.

Q: If high-performing students opt out of the tests, will it lower the evaluation scores of their teachers?

In the 2019-2020 school year, Governor Cuomo paused the law that included test scores in teacher evaluation. As of this writing (3/10/21), a similar order pausing use of test scores in evaluations has not been issued for the 2020-2021 school year. In the event that no governor’s order comes through, the NYC teachers’ union (UFT) has reached an agreement with the NYC DOE wherein the portion of a teacher’s 2020-2021 evaluation derived from test scores will come from an assessment decided on by committees at each school, or a city-determined default.

Even in non-pandemic years, teachers' evaluations are not necessarily tied to state 3-8 assessments; individual districts make that decision. As for “high-performing” students in particular: First, a strong student in the classroom will not necessarily be a high performer on the tests. Second, students who do have a history of performing well on the tests may have little room for test-score growth; they may even hurt a teacher’s score due to a “ceiling effect.”