Window opens for schools to give English, math tests in grades 3-8
Monday marked the start of a multiweek window for school districts statewide to administer the standardized English Language Arts and math exams in grades 3-8. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Monday marked the start of a multiweek window for school districts statewide to administer the standardized English Language Arts and math exams in grades 3-8, with more schools giving the tests electronically.
This year, students in grades five and eight are required to take the exams online. The window for computer-based testing for these exams runs to May 17, according to the state Education Department. Schools can expand computer-based testing beyond those two grades.
This spring also marks administration of the new grade five and grade eight science tests based on new science standards. Those exams are also being given electronically.
“One of the benefits that comes with the implementation of computer-based testing is greater flexibility with the testing schedule,” read guidance from the state.
Paper-based exam administration runs from April 10 to 12 for English Language Arts and from May 7 to 9 for math.
By spring 2026, all of New York's nearly 700 public school districts are required to administer annual 3-8 tests electronically.
The tests run over two consecutive days and schools must test the entire grade on those days for each subject. For science, the entire grade must tested on the same day. These rules are school specific and do not apply districtwide.
Previously, testing typically occurred over a two-day period set by the state that ran over a shorter duration. Exams were often given on the same days districtwide.
In the South Huntington school district, this year's exam time frame runs from Monday through May 15, with dates varying among the buildings. The first group to be tested are students from the Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center who take the ELA exams Monday. Testing ends in the district next month with Stimson Middle School students taking the math exams on May 15.
Gayle Steele, assistant superintendent of instruction & curriculum for elementary education, said principals and school officials came up with the schedule.
“The flexibility is very helpful as far as planning,” Steele said.
State education officials said the expanded computer-based testing window also provides greater flexibility to schools that do not wish to test during the solar eclipse and those that may close for the observance of the Eid al-Fitr festival. Some local schools are closed Wednesday for Eid.
All eligible South Huntington students — about 1,400 — took both exams online for the first time last year, Steele said. There were no issues, she said.
South Huntington already offers a Chromebook to each student. Many districts now have similar setups which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools delivered instruction remotely.
“The kids have gotten so used to working on these devices. It becomes second nature,” Steele said.
Meanwhile, the tests remain controversial especially on Long Island, where exam boycotts remain strong. Last year, more than a third of Long Island students eligible to take the English Language Arts and math exams offered in grades 3-8 opted out of the tests. In more than two dozen districts of various types, ranging from Middle Country and Massapequa to Bellmore and Center Moriches, the opt-out rate for ELA tests exceeded 50%.
“Opting out has become as standard as sending a permission slip in for a field trip,” said Jeanette Deutermann, a Bellmore resident, parent and chief organizer of Long Island Opt Out. “Opt out numbers may decline a bit each year due to movement leaders aging out of the K-12 system, but what remains constant is parents recognizing that these assessments aren’t administered for the benefit of their kids’ education.”
Monday marked the start of a multiweek window for school districts statewide to administer the standardized English Language Arts and math exams in grades 3-8, with more schools giving the tests electronically.
This year, students in grades five and eight are required to take the exams online. The window for computer-based testing for these exams runs to May 17, according to the state Education Department. Schools can expand computer-based testing beyond those two grades.
This spring also marks administration of the new grade five and grade eight science tests based on new science standards. Those exams are also being given electronically.
“One of the benefits that comes with the implementation of computer-based testing is greater flexibility with the testing schedule,” read guidance from the state.
Paper-based exam administration runs from April 10 to 12 for English Language Arts and from May 7 to 9 for math.
By spring 2026, all of New York's nearly 700 public school districts are required to administer annual 3-8 tests electronically.
The tests run over two consecutive days and schools must test the entire grade on those days for each subject. For science, the entire grade must tested on the same day. These rules are school specific and do not apply districtwide.
Previously, testing typically occurred over a two-day period set by the state that ran over a shorter duration. Exams were often given on the same days districtwide.
In the South Huntington school district, this year's exam time frame runs from Monday through May 15, with dates varying among the buildings. The first group to be tested are students from the Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center who take the ELA exams Monday. Testing ends in the district next month with Stimson Middle School students taking the math exams on May 15.
Gayle Steele, assistant superintendent of instruction & curriculum for elementary education, said principals and school officials came up with the schedule.
“The flexibility is very helpful as far as planning,” Steele said.
State education officials said the expanded computer-based testing window also provides greater flexibility to schools that do not wish to test during the solar eclipse and those that may close for the observance of the Eid al-Fitr festival. Some local schools are closed Wednesday for Eid.
All eligible South Huntington students — about 1,400 — took both exams online for the first time last year, Steele said. There were no issues, she said.
South Huntington already offers a Chromebook to each student. Many districts now have similar setups which accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools delivered instruction remotely.
“The kids have gotten so used to working on these devices. It becomes second nature,” Steele said.
Meanwhile, the tests remain controversial especially on Long Island, where exam boycotts remain strong. Last year, more than a third of Long Island students eligible to take the English Language Arts and math exams offered in grades 3-8 opted out of the tests. In more than two dozen districts of various types, ranging from Middle Country and Massapequa to Bellmore and Center Moriches, the opt-out rate for ELA tests exceeded 50%.
“Opting out has become as standard as sending a permission slip in for a field trip,” said Jeanette Deutermann, a Bellmore resident, parent and chief organizer of Long Island Opt Out. “Opt out numbers may decline a bit each year due to movement leaders aging out of the K-12 system, but what remains constant is parents recognizing that these assessments aren’t administered for the benefit of their kids’ education.”
Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.
