OPINION: The Opt Out movement is gaining ground, quietly
Concerns go beyond standardized testing
Now imagine that this protest continues for several years in a row and that it takes place in multiple locations simultaneously.
Wouldn’t you want to know what parents are protesting and why?
New York state is the epicenter of what is known as the “Opt Out” movement. Standardized testing is a common feature in K-12 schooling in the United States, with federal legislation requiring since 2002 that states test virtually all children in grades 3-8 in mathematics and English language arts. But during the past four years, New York parents have actively excluded about one in five students from taking the annual state tests (including 18 percent in the spring 2018 test administration).
Other states have also experienced high rates of opting out. Indeed, in 2016, the U.S. Department of Education warned 11 states that their opt-out rates exceeded five percent. Nevertheless, data from the spring 2018 test administration show that Colorado saw 8 percent opt out in 7th grade and 11 percent opt out in 8th grade; and in Alaska, the state-wide opt out rate is 8.5 percent. Rather than try to understand why parents might opt out of state testing, the federal government simply threatened states that high opt-out rates could affect their federal funding.
Why haven’t we heard more about this? Partly because it’s a grassroots movement without clear leadership or an elaborate organization. Unlike movements such as Occupy Wall Street or Black Lives Matter, “opt out” activism does not take place in the streets. Rather, it is more subdued, and is focused on public schools, which despite their status as public institutions, rarely open themselves up to public scrutiny. Moreover, the movement has yet to form an Continue reading: OPINION: The Opt Out movement is gaining ground, quietly
