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Friday, May 1, 2015
vol. 3, no. 18
S DAY MOTHER’ ing Din & Gift Guide
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publications special section
• may 1, 2015
pAGES 31-50
pAGE 2
Increase in opt outs for math tests
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TA K E M E H O M E
21.9% of students on the N. Shore decline to take latest state exam BY JA m eS G A L L O w AY One week after hundreds of North Shore students sat out the state English Language Arts exam, test refusal figures jumped even higher for the state’s math exam in a sign the opt-out movement continues to pick up steam. More than 2,200 students, or about 14.7 percent, opted out of the English exam administered to grades three through eight two weeks ago, between the Herricks, Mineola, East Williston, Great Neck, Roslyn, Manhasset, Port Washington, New Hyde ParkGarden City Park and Sewanhaka school districts. But for the math exam, North Shore opt outs swelled to 21.9 percent as more than 2,600 students from the same districts refused the test, a trend that was largely consistent across Nassau County. “I think the [opt-out] move-
ment is like a snowball rolling down a hill: It’s gaining momentum as social media and the press pick up on it,” said Mineola Superintendent Michael Nagler, whose district’s opt outs rose to 20.9 percent for the math exam from 18.3 percent for the English. Statewide, at least 193,000 students opted out of the English exam. And, with less than half of school districts reporting, math exam opt outs already exceed 150,000, according to figures from the anti-testing advocacy group NYS Allies for Public Education. Across Long Island, 46.5 percent of students opted out of the math exam, according to figures compiled by Newsday — and many districts in eastern Suffolk reported opt-out rates in excess of 50 percent, with Comsewogue leading the way at 83.5 percent. Even as opt-out numbers increased across the North Shore, Continued on Page 66
PHOTO BY MARTHA GORfEIN
A girl embraces a furry friend during the North Shore Animal League’s “adopt a pet” program. See more photos on page 62.
Town OKs zoning change on senior housing project BY B I LL SAN ANTONIO
ity at the Mount Olive property in Manhasset and adopted the findings of a State EnvironmenThe North Hempstead tal Quality Review Act investiTown Council on Tuesday ap- gation of the project detailing proved a zoning change for a the cleanup of contaminants proposed senior housing facil- that have deemed the 3.19-acre
parcel a “brownfield” site. With the approval, the site is rezoned from “Residence-C” to the town’s new “Senior Residence” zone, making way for 48 one-bedroom and 24 twoContinued on Page 77
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