Rob Astorino fights Common Core testing

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino wants the state to reveal how many children are opting out of Common Core testing. He led the charge last year when he was the Republican candidate running

News 12 Staff

Apr 16, 2015, 6:16 AM

Updated 3,295 days ago

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Rob Astorino fights Common Core testing
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino wants the state to reveal how many children are opting out of Common Core testing.
He led the charge last year when he was the Republican candidate running against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"What we have right now is teaching to a test at the expense of the rest of the curriculum," he said. "Kids are getting pulled out of music and art, everything is geared toward one test."
Astorino slammed Cuomo in midtown Manhattan.
"We demand to know from the state how many kids took the test this week, before the math tests begin next Tuesday," he said.
The state teachers union says 60,000 students opted out last year.
Officials with the North Rockland Central School District say that 49 percent of the district's students did not take the tests. At the Lakeland School District, officials say about 30 percent of students are opting out.
Students in grades three through eight are taking the English portion of the Common Core exam this week.
State officials say that schools could lose significant federal funding if students opt out, but opponents say it's not true.
News 12 reached out to the state Education Department about the number of students who opted out of the standardized tests, but has not heard back.
 


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