Many Support New York Law Opting-Out of the Common Core

At a rally to celebrate a bill intended to withdraw New York State from the national Common Core and Race to the Top initiatives was held on Tuesday and dozens of people showed up to support it, including Shoreham parent Jeanine Cozzetti, founder of a Facebook group "Parents and Teachers Against the Common Core" (PT-ACC).

The Common Core curriculum, a national standard that was supposed to align student learning and better prepare them for college and careers, has faced increasing push back by parents and teachers this year, some encouraging students to opt-out of standardized testing.

We asked readers on West Islip Patch's Facebook page and on the site how they felt about the law and whether students were tested too much in school. The debate got pretty heavy on our Facebook page. To read all the comments click here. Below are a few of the comments:

Desiree' Luppens Aiello: I totally support it....Teach them what they need to know to be successful in life...That is what is important.

Brian Kelly: They need to get rid of these standard type testing in all states . The teachers are more concerned about the score on these tests and are failing to teach what is really important.

Kathleen Demeo I AGREE.....TOO MUCH TESTING.....

Jacqueline Gonzalez-Monte Support! They take away from what our children really need to learn. They lose a month or more of learning to prepare for these tests!

Jessica De Falco Horvath: The Common Core is much more than standardized testing. I think once people really delve into what it is really about, they will be in agreement that it is a bad idea all around. The testing is just part of it. A big part, but only part of a bigger picture. I fully support NYS withdrawing from the Common Core. It is not up to the Federal Government to tell us what we have to teach our kids, or how we have to teach them. If they are so worried about underperforming districts, they should focus on those specific districts. West Islip, while not perfect, can not be considered an at risk school district that needs intervention from the federal government. One thing I know for sure, we do NOT want education removed from local control. That is not going to be good for anyone. You can be unhappy with your school board, but you don't want the people who are responsible for your child's education to NOT be elected by you.

Jenn Mirabella Tomeo: So my daughter came home with her MAP scores. I need directions to understand them. Teach them what they need to learn not just for tests, I think it's ridiculous that all year long they teach for these stupid tests and then what? There done for the year? My daughter was all concerned about how she did, she said mom I have to do good because they go on my record! Why goes my 2nd grader need to worry about that!

Kathleen Demeo: i agree....the children are tested way too much......it inhibits learning..

Gary Nasta: The American education system is a failure! Why? Because every time we try to improve it, the teachers fight it, and we go back to the same old mediocre system. We were tested in school and we turned out just fine. The Common Core is a good thing. Do some research and find out what it is all about. Don't believe the hype! We need to improve the American education experience. We lag behind the rest of the world and it's time for a change.

Eileen Melville Imhoff: So Gary..... you are speaking from what experience??? You were not tested the way children are tested today. Stop blaming the teachers..... have a discussion with a teacher or two..!! I speak as a teacher as well as a parent! So......

Rob Bernocco We "lag" behind other countries because we educate, test and report ALL children. Other countries select who gets educated and report only results they want reported.

Liz Altobello: My daughter is in 4th grade and I opted out... We refused common core if some people would read more about it they would understand its not for our child's education ...it's all about money and also it's a big privacy concern of our child's data.

We'd like to continue the conversation here: How do you feel about it? Is there too much standardized testing in our schools? Would you like to see the Common Core repealed?