(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Dean Murray (R,C,I-East Patchogue) today expressed outrage at a report that state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia is continuing her war on the growing refusal of Common Core testing and standards by parents and educators statewide. After previously threatening to withhold aid to schools, Commissioner Elia is now seeking legal advice to compel students into taking these inappropriate tests.
“About 20 percent of our 1.1 million students refused to take the Common Core tests. That’s an astounding number and instead of looking for ways to penalize concerned parents, children and educators, our education commissioner should be working with them to fix our schools,” said Murray. “I urge parents and educators to continue to standing up for what’s right, developmentally-appropriate testing and curricula, as well as an evaluation system that doesn’t tie the fate of good teachers to these ill-conceived Common Core materials.
“No amount of threats and name calling can change the fact that Common Core just isn’t working. I urge Commissioner Elia to end the threats and do what she should have done from the beginning: talk to our educators and parents to come up with solutions that work,” Murray concluded.
