Parents, YOU are the Boss… and you can say NO.
Across the state of Florida, some parents of rising fourth graders are being informed that their child is being retained in the third grade because their FSA scores were in the bottom 20% of the state – no matter what that score may be. Some middle and high school students are being made to sacrifice electives for remedial or Intensive Reading/Math.
In the absence of a valid FSA score, schools are making these critical decisions based on the data they have, which may be from progress monitoring tests, such as Achieve 3000 or Discovery Ed, etc. In other words, districts are improvising in the face of no real guidance from the state, with little consistency from one district to the next. This is meaningless. If every student passed the test, there would still be a bottom 20% of those passing students, to whom a test would say, “You failed.” Yet children are being retained and remediated regardless of what their actual scores are – in spite of the fact that the FSA validity report is not due back to the state until Sept. 1.
This is happening in certain districts and within those districts, only in certain schools.
But why is this happening and why is it happening so inconsistently?
From PoliticoFlorida –
Since state law requires the tests be used in determining whether third graders are promoted, the state Department of Education released to schools the lowest quintile of third graders’ scores,
those “at risk” of retention. The department also alerted schools where students passed ninth-grade English and algebra exams, which are graduation requirements.
For other grades, districts may choose whether to use the test scores in promotion decisions. Stakeholder groups said schools had to move forward without the scores…
Vince Verges, assistant deputy education commissioner for accountability, research and measurement, said it will be up to districts what to do with the results.
With that, districts have been left to decide for themselves what to do to promote the children who were flagged for being in the bottom quintile – no matter what their actual scores are.
In spite of decades of solid research by child development and education experts, which overwhelmingly conclude that third grade retention is not onlynot beneficial, but is, in fact, harmful for children, the Florida legislature chooses to maintain this draconian policy. Current research shows that retention is harmful, not only for children in the third grade, but in all elementary grades.
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The ultimate decision for ANY class placement for your child rests with YOU, the parent. Your consent is required. And you don’t have to give it. It doesn’t matter if you are told that your child’s retention or remediation was a state, district or school decision.
You can simply say, “No.”
If you don’t want your child remediated, DON’T give your consent or permission for the school to do so. It may not be easy to do this with your school, but it really is that simple. If you get resistance from your school, KEEP CALM and remember that YOU are the final authority on the education of YOUR child.
You may wish to respectfully ask for the statutory citation mandating retention Parents, YOU are the Boss… and you can say NO. | Opt Out Orlando:
