It appears that there were some slight reductions Statewide when it came to the "opt out"rates for the English Language Arts (ELA) high-stake test this year. However, the same cannot be said for the epicenter of the "opt out" movement, Long Island. The latest data shows that 50.7% of the students decided to"opt out" of the test, similar to last year's percentage of 51.6% and well above the 42.6% in 2015.
The highest numbers came from the solidly middle class communities of Western and Southern Suffolk County and Eastern Nassau county. By contrast, the lowest "opt out"numbers came from the lower income and primarily minority communities, mirroring last year's distribution. Below is a list of the highest and lowest "opt out"numbers by school districts.
District...............................................Opt out
Comsewogue.......................................87.0%
Rocky Point.........................................82.8%
Patchogue-Medford.............................77.8%
Eastport..............................................77.6%
Islip....................................................77.5%
Shoreham...........................................76.8%
Bayport-Bluepoint..............................76.4%
Plainedge...........................................75.7%
Sayville..............................................74.4%
East Islip............................................73.9%
Connetquot........................................73.9%
Bellmore-Merrick...............................72,9%
West Islip..........................................71.9%
Sachem.............................................71.8%
Levitown...........................................70.7%
All the above school districts are solidly middle class and predominantly White by race. By contrast the lowest "opt out" rate,s listed below, are all lower income school districts and predominately minority.
District..............................................Opt out
Hempstead...........................................5.8%
East Hampton.......................................8.2%
Elmont................................................10.5%
Roosevelt............................................12.5%
Central Islip........................................12.7%
Note that Wyandanch and Uniondale, two low"opt out" school districts did not report their "opt out"numbers yet and were not included on the list..
Despite minor changes to the high-stakes testing, the statewide"opt out"rates are still high and remained unchanged on Long Island.