Robert Kolker has written an excellent analysis of the anti-testing movement. The central figures are not “white suburban moms,” but a family from the Dominican Republic. Young Oscar, who loved school, loses interest when his favorite subjects and activities are replaced by test prep. The larger the test looms, the less Oscar cares about school.
Into this vivid story, Kolker weaves an overview of the opt out movement. For years, it was small but noisy. With the advent of Common Core testing, which failed 70% of students in New York State, the movement is flourishing. The more disgusted the students and parents are, the more their education is turned into endless testing, the more the movement finds new converts.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The author failed to provide the total enrollment in grades 3-8 in NYC DOE schools — it’s a little more than 400,000 kids. (I’m positive this omission was unintentional.)
Without that context, I guess one could describe a jump from 113 kids opting out to 320 as “flourishing.” But when you consider that even this higher number constitutes 0.08% of total enrollment . . .
To be fair, many of the DOE’s most desirable and popular selective middle schools and non-SHSAT high schools require state test scores (usually the 4th and 7th grade results) as part of the application process. Parents view the tests that are administered in 3rd, 5th, and 6th as good practice for the more meaningful tests. The 5th grade test is also used as a screen for arguably the most selective and high-performing high school in the city, Hunter College HS.
There would no doubt be a large uptick in opting-out if these schools stopped requiring state test scores. But I bet there’d also be quite a bit of uproar from parents *and* schools, who see the test results as a good measuring stick for whether kids will be able to do the work. Regardless, at the present time the opt-out movement is almost entirely suburban based.
“. . . as good practice for the more meaningful tests.”
Yep, the higher the stakes the better!! They may be “more meaningful” on one sense but they’re still totally invalid.
Maybe one day, the handful of good middle schools in New York City will accept a copy of your “My answer is NO!!!” manifesto and a smile for admission. Until that day, my kids need those scores, regardless of what you believe they say or don’t say.
Your hands are tied, Tim — as they are meant to be.
Great article! The goal of elementary education should be to instill curiosity and love for learning. Not to create “career ready” seven-year-olds.
The next step — parents of historically high-scoring students should band together and threaten to have their kids opt out en masse unless demands are met. Parents of historically low-scoring students could do the same, threatening to NOT opt their kids out if demands are not met. Parents could force administration’s hand and become the piper whose tune the school must dance to.
Ron Poirier: excellent way of applying a one-two punch (first downstairs and then upstairs) to take out the hazing ritual known as high-stakes standardized tests.
😎
Does no one remember when we were supposed to emulate the great Japanese schools and their tremendous emphasis on academics? At the time our country’s industries were having a very difficult time and of course it was the fault of the schools. In order to catch up and improve our economy the schools absolutely MUST emulate those great schools.
Now, has anyone checked on how the Japanese economy has stagnated for the last decade or so and that now I do not recall anyone mentioning emulating those great Japanese schools. Others maybe but not Japanese. AND our illustrious Tony Bennett pushed a book by a Chinese immigrant who bashed OUR school system but
even Arne Duncan pointed out that there was a HUGE lack of Chinese Nobel prize winners and of patents. Bennett seemed oblivious of the existence of the book by Dr. Ravitch.
If my memory is accurate. when our Nobel prize winners were asked to comment on why they were able to attain that level of expertise or what got them into the “groove” to invent or discover, they almost always mentioned a great teacher who inspired them.
If one can inspire the love of learning, children, people cannot be stopped but what is happening now with the testing emphasis is that creativity and the love of learning is stifled, the very things essential for an educated populace.
Too, remember that when looked at closely the Japanese students who had been pushed so very hard had learned two things when graduating from high school: 1. How to pass tests – they had not even learned the material, just could parrot the “facts” with little or no understanding and 2. to hate school and learning. They were burned out. What some of these “geniuses” who push school reform do not understand is that their goals may be good but that what they are pushing is counterproductive to attaining the very goals to which they aspire.
Yet again: Is education to be put into the hands of scholars and educators or are we like the proverbial lemmings race to the sea putting education into the hands of the politicians, inside and outside the public school arena?
But… but… but… PROFIT$!
Oscar Mata — child of just another white (no) suburban (no) mother (yes)….
And Pharez Nuñez — child of just another white (no) suburban (no) mother (no — his father spoke out in this article). I think I can rest my case!
I think the opt-out movement is great, and I hope more parents get involved in it.
However, my perception is that so far it has only spread to a few places.
At least here in LA, the second largest city in the country, with the second largest school district in the country, and a terrible test-crazy Superintendent, I have not heard of any parents opting-out at all.
I doubt that most parents in LA even know that it is possible to opt out. A large percentage are low income immigrant parents, many undocumented.
What would be needed would be people to educate the parents, and start such a movement. Teachers can’t do it, for if we suggested to parents that they opt out, we could get in a lot of trouble for doing so.
The other side has groups like Parent Revolution, which sends “community organizers” into communities to sow trouble, create havoc in the communities, and destroy the local schools.
What if we did the opposite? Send organizers (who would need to speak Spanish) into communities to really educate parents about the harm excessive standardized testing is causing their children, and help organize them to fight against it. (If there were many such organized parents throughout the city, and they had showed up at the Deasy coup to form a counter demonstration asking for a change in superintendent, I think the board vote might have been different.
I don’t know how we could finance such a program, find the organizers, etc.? An idea though.
Has anyone reading heard of an opt-out movement in LA?