Opt Out Movement: Tests Designed To Fail Most Students
PHOTO: Geoff Decker A protest in 2014 at P.S. 321 in Park Slope against the state English exams. The number of families at P.S. 321 who opted out of the tests increased dramatically this year.
It is important to remember a few key facts about the Opt Out Movement.
Number one: It was created and is led by parents, not by teachers or unions. In New York, where 20% of the students refused the mandated tests, the leader of the state’s teachers’ union did not endorse opt out until a few days before the testing started. The organizations promoting the opt out were grassroots, unfunded, and parent-led.
Number two: The opt out movement did not arise in opposition to the publication or implementation of the Common Core standards. It was only when parents received the results of the first round of Common Core testing that they got angry and got organized to fight the tests. Recall that 70% of the students in the state “failed” the first round of testing. Parents in districts where almost all the children graduate from high school, and where most are admitted to four-year colleges were told to their astonishment that their children were “failing.” The parent rebellion started, and State Commissioner John King could not quell it. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan referred to the protestors as “white suburban moms” who all of a sudden discovered that their child was not as “brilliant” as they thought. What an insult!
Number three: In three administrations of the Common Core tests, a majority of students has continued to “fail.”
*In English language arts 2015, only 31.3% of students reached the “proficiency” level across the state.
*Among black and Hispanic students, the “pass” rate was less than 20%.
*Students in New York City almost matched the statewide average, but in the state’s five big cities, only 11% “passed.”
*Among English language learners, only 3.9% “passed” the ELA test. Appalling!
*Among students with disabilities, only 5.7% “passed.” Appalling!
*Achievement gaps between racial groups were unchanged over three years of testing andOpt Out Movement: Tests Designed To Fail Most Students | PopularResistance.Org:
