Editorial: For Common Core test opt outs, it's next year that counts

What can we learn from New York's still swelling opt-out movement? That many parents don't want to hear about future reform by the very "reformers" who mucked up the rapid-paced adoption of Common Core-aligned high-stakes testing. They want to see real change, and until they do, some will have their kids sit out the test.

In other words, it's next year that counts. That is, as long as the state follows through with promised modifications.

It was a tactical mistake by new Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia to push so hard to get higher opt-in numbers this year, absent deep changes. (Brace for even higher opt outs come Wednesday, when the grades 3-8 math exams start). State leaders should accept this transitional year as a wash.

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Yes there were changes in this round of tests, in both the format and the stakes for teachers. But it was far from enough to engender trust in future changes. Chalk that up to the terrible track record at SED.

It's not easy to forget how the state made a mess of so-called reform: they shoved through tests based on Common Core standards before teachers knew what to teach, and tied educators' job security to the results. When the backlash came, state leaders didn't just dismiss concerns, they claimed parents were being duped and manipulated by the all-powerful unions. Parents quickly pivoted from mistrust to resentment and mistrust.

Now Elia plans more changes, including direct teacher involvement in shaping the exams; faster turnaround on results so teachers can use the data to actually help kids learn; and an overhaul of the teacher evaluation system, including the role of test scores.

Education reform's next steps

The state should have anticipated this year's high opt-out rates (in some places, even higher than last year when 20 percent of kids statewide sat out exams). We had Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who once passed himself off as the state's "lobbyist for the students," bashing the tests and calling them largely meaningless. We saw the election of a new Board of Regents Chancellor, Betty Rosa, who said she would opt out her own kids if they were still of school age. Plus, there has been so much upheaval during the past year or two — reviews of and revisions to education policies that few understood — that only wonks and activist-types could possibly keep up.

The flipflopping, the unknowns and the promises of future change made the whole thing reek of politics. The continued mess further frustrated those parents keenly watching the process, and likely overwhelmed many others. Why not opt out until things settle down in a year or two?

Elia has made some big promises. Here's what we need to see before we can anticipate an opt-in movement:

• New York standards. Revisions to the Common Core are underway, and must reflect what the state's educators want. Rosa, the Board of Regents and Elia will have to explain and sell the changes they endorse, likely to be a difficult task.
• Clear goals. It's not enough to chant that students must be "college and career ready." It's time to explain where our benchmarks come from.
• Better state tests. Elia has promised to cut the ELA and math assessments from three days to two, and to involve New York educators in the development of questions. The tests need to reflect what kids are learning, not the other way around.
• Useable or formative test data. We need test results that can be used to improve instruction, not merely to conclude whether students hit targets. Elia has pledged to release all future test questions and to produce results earlier, so teachers can address kids' academic needs quickly.
• A review of testing and graduation requirements for special-education students. Many parents and educators believe that students with disabilities have fared worst of all during the reform era.
• A complete rewrite of the state's loathed teacher- and principal-evaluation system. Elia agrees that it was designed to punish teachers. She has vowed to involve educators in rewriting it. But Elia and Rosa may have to take on Cuomo, who changed his tune on other education matters, but seems committed to the failed evaluation model he championed.

Where New York went wrong

The opt-out movement was created and energized by ordinary, well-meaning parents. It wasn’t the teachers’ unions, who jumped on the bandwagon late. And please don’t accept the stereotype of clueless, selfish suburban parents who refuse to accept their kids’ low test scores or worry their special snowflakes' psyches would be damaged by rigor. Or that suburbanites don’t care about holding under-achieving urban schools accountable. It’s an offensive, cartoonish narrative that sells parents way short.

Parents build strong connections with their local schools. When the teachers they know and the principals they trust were becoming demoralized by state directives, moms and dads started paying attention. Many didn’t like what they saw.

New York’s “reform” agenda was dropped out of the sky by state officials, eager for the federal dollars attached, who were so convinced that they were right that they didn’t bother to prepare parents for what was coming, and scorned early grumblings.

Former state Education Commissioner John King dismissed parents' concerns, and former Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch could not seem to grasp them.

The opt-out movement includes different agendas, for sure, but everyone seemed united in protest of the state’s arrogance. It’s going to take time for the state Education Department to win the trust of local educators and parents who now see SED and Cuomo as adversaries.

The state will need to sell its changes — new standards, new tests and (please!) a new evaluation system. But it can't expect parents to buy only promises of change. Some will need to see it before they send their kids into testing rooms again.