OPTING OUT
Opting Out: Families and Advocates Against Standardized Testing
Compiled by Education Perspectives for the Central Valley, Inc.
Pursuant to California Education Code 60615, parents have the right to opt their children out of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Assessment. And now for the burning question:
What about “Accountability”? Isn’t standardized testing meant to hold teachers and schools accountable and to track progress?
These are the sound bites that drive political debates, the phrases that fall from the mouths of celebrated education reformers and the terms that fit nicely into newspaper headlines alongside data charts. But do these tests really tell us how students are progressing? And if so, why are so many parents hopping off the bandwagon, sparing their children the added stress, burden and hoping to make a difference in the eyes of the administration?
The most compelling argument is that highly regarded education research describes that there are many other variables that affect standardized test scores; that while the STAR assessment may give some indication as to student progress, study after study continues to tell us that an isolated test score should not be used to measure progress and should not drive instruction.
However education debate has been hi-jacked by the corporate world. Experts working in the field of education
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