In a sign that the opt-out movement continues to grow, the number of elementary school students who refused to take Pennsylvania's state standardized tests rose dramatically over the past two years.
Between 2013-14 and 2014-15, opt-outs on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment math test more than tripled – from 1,017 students to 3,270. That's a 220 percent jump.
In the same years, PSSA English language arts opt-outs jumped 139 percent – from 1,355 to 3,245.
Opt-outs on the science test jumped 263 percent – from 309 to 1,123.
These are the largest jumps in nine years of available data.
These numbers, though, actually account only for parents who formally opted out. The state also counts students whose parents refused to have them take the test without going through the opt-out process.
Read more of this report at the website of our partner Keystone Crossroads.
