Comply or be Punished
As we inch closer towards spring, most states are heading into the traditional state assessment season. This means OPT OUT time is coming soon as well. In New York the ELA and math state exams start April 16 and run until May 1st.
Recently a great deal of facebook chatter has developed over a memo from the NYSED Office of State Assessment that basically states that all students in grades 3-8 must be tested in ELA and math. The facebook opt out group for New York had a good number people asking questions and wondering if opting out is allowed.
We opt outers are facing the same circumstances that most of us dealt with last year: schools say technically we cannot opt out. Last year districts across New York received different answers from NYSED when schools inquired about parents requesting opting out. The memo shows that NYSED is fully aware of the growing movement to boycott the state assessments.
The reality is that as parents(& students) we can still boycott the testing by “refusing” The memo is another example of using fear to force compliance by citing a “negative impact” on school districts because of the 95% participation issue. I have talked with many parents who are against the explosion of standardized testing but
Recently a great deal of facebook chatter has developed over a memo from the NYSED Office of State Assessment that basically states that all students in grades 3-8 must be tested in ELA and math. The facebook opt out group for New York had a good number people asking questions and wondering if opting out is allowed.
We opt outers are facing the same circumstances that most of us dealt with last year: schools say technically we cannot opt out. Last year districts across New York received different answers from NYSED when schools inquired about parents requesting opting out. The memo shows that NYSED is fully aware of the growing movement to boycott the state assessments.
The reality is that as parents(& students) we can still boycott the testing by “refusing” The memo is another example of using fear to force compliance by citing a “negative impact” on school districts because of the 95% participation issue. I have talked with many parents who are against the explosion of standardized testing but