Will You Let Your Kids Take the State Tests? [POLL]

Parents across the Hudson Valley are in a heated debate over whether to let their children take standardized tests over the next two weeks or make them opt out.

The tests, given to students in grades 3-8, are aimed at evaluating a child's progress. But they've become a heated source of debate. Some parents believe that their children are being tested too much and worry that their learning skills may be unfairly labeled at an early age if they do poorly.

Proponents of the testing, however, stress that these tests aren't a placement exam, but a way to see how much learning is actually going on in the classroom. And this is precisely the reason why the New York State Union of Teachers is against the tests. According to the Times Herald Record, 20 percent of a teachers evaluation is based on the results of the exams.

In fact, the NYSUT is urging parents to opt their children out of the tests this year. Their hope is that if enough students don't take the exam the results won't be reliable enough for the State to use for teacher evaluations. There is even a website supported by the union that instructs parents on how to have their children refuse the exam.

Whether this controversy over testing has been caused by frustration from parents, fear mongering from the teacher's union or a genuine concern for students' education, one thing is certain; children are stuck in the middle of a fight that most of them don't really quite understand.

State tests are mandatory, and all children are required to take them by Federal law. Parents who've opted their children out in the past, however, have not seen any legal consequences. Some worry that teaching children to disobey authority and refuse to take the state tests sends a bad message while others say it's about standing up to a system that they don't believe is working.

We want to know what you think: