Should You Opt Out
Opting out of state tests means: You are using an effective tool to fight the unethical use of standardized testing that has, for decades, hindered real progress in providing equal access to quality education in America.
United Opt Out
When significant numbers of parents opt their children out of testing, they are statistically invalidating an already faulty judgeof the quality of education.
What do we know to be true?
Yearly assessments don’t need to be of the external, commercially developed standardized variety to determine how well individual children are doing, and whether schools are meeting the needs of all students. We have better ways of making those judgements.
It was never appropriate to mandate yearly standardized tests under the pretense that it was for the good of the student and was to better inform the parent.
Teacher, district, or state created annual tests are better able to judge individual, school, or state improvements because they can be designed to better target where identified improvements are needed and are better able to lessen the effects of regional languagetesting biases due to local dialects.
Personal aside (I just have to share my observations): Having moved from one area of the country to another, I observed regional differences for myself. “Pop” or “soda”? “Couch” or “sofa”? It seems simple enough for we adults to use words interchangeably but when young childrenShould You Opt Out - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:
