Dive Brief:

• While it's unclear how widespread the opt-out movement is, the reality is that many administrators have been caught between the needs and desires of parents and the requirements of state and federal governments. 
• New York state saw the largest numbers of students opting out (177,000), while states like Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota with extensive technical difficulties during testing offered schools and districts opt-out opportunities.
• District Administration spoke with Frederick Hess, the director of education policy studies at American Enterprise Institute, to get tips for administrators dealing with the opt-out movement, which include having administrators take time to explain why testing is imprtant. 

Dive Insight:

So instead of saying, for example, that "it's the right thing to do," Hess says adminstrators can try explaining why they believe tests can be used to gather crucial data and more accurately assess the needs of the student body. He also recommends making the realities of testing more clear by having real discussions with teachers and parents about how much time is being dedicated. By engaging in these conversations, effective solutions to these issues can be found, he says. 

Recommended Reading

District Administration: Administrators respond to Common Core opt-out requests