What if every parent said, “I refuse”?
What if every parent said, “My child is not taking the test”?
What if everyone said, “No, thank you, I’d rather not”?
The message would resound from one corner of the nation to the others. It would be heard by the Congress, now about to impose another seven years of annual testing on the nation’s children, even though no high-performng nation in the world tests every child every year. It would be heard by the President, who says teachers should not teach to the test, but that teachers who can’t produce high test scores don’t belong in the classroom. It would be heard by Arne Duncan, who said that testing is taking the joy out of learning, but nonetheless insists that every child take the test every year, no excuses. It would be heard by governors and legislators. They would hear the voice of the people. This is what democracy sounds like.
And what then? Teachers would be judged by their peers and supervisors, not by test scores. Teachers would write their own tests, to see whether children learned what they were taught. Standardized tests would be used sparingly, preferably on a sampling basis. Students would have time to explore, time to play, time to read, time to experiment, time to learn without test prep and interim assessments, without fear and anxiety. Pearson would have to reduce its profits for the year.
Send a message. Save your children. Save learning. Stop the machine.
Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Texas Education.
As a pediatrician, I am getting inundated with kids coming in for ‘ADHD evaluations’ because ‘it’s time for the TEST’. Parents and teachers, and ultimately the kids are afraid of failure. Today I saw a smart, articulate child who is “acing all his classes” in fear of not passing the TEST. What are we doing to these kids?
We are abusing them. That’s what we are doing.
I used to try to give school personnel the benefit of the doubt but no more. From my perspective, families are sent in after having heard all the buzz words applied to a young child, for which the description is developmentally APPROPRIATE. And the things the kids are asked to do is not developmentally appropriate.
Start stocking up on adderall, doc.
Call the abuse hotline ASAP!
Hoshek11,
It’s not only the kids. Many teachers I know are on anti-depressants and anxiety medications. Some I know are seeing counselors.
Yup, I am one. Teachers are being killed by stress!!!
A very disturbing article by Zahira Torrws, Los Angeles Times, School Testing Wins Support. 55% of Latino voters say standardized exams improve California public education..
I’ve never heard anything about this and have got heard about this pole.
Marian, I am posting that story in a couple of days.
Please look into who funded the LA Times survey and whether it was done by credible research methods or whether it was done by a market research firm to “push” a viewpoint.
I have posted about a recent survey from an arm of a credible civil rights organization that was also receiving funds from Gates to advance the U.S. Department of Education’ s agenda. The grant appeared to be supporting their survey which focussed on perceptions of public schools, whether the same standards should be in place for everyone, sometimes called the Common Core, and opinions on testing.
That push survey turned up results that also suggested there is less anxiety about tests among Latinos and African Americans, but there is also a difference between a general population of voters and those who have at least one child in school.
I think that the opt-out movement needs to be prepared for a multi-faceted and well- funded campaign to stereotype the supporters of less testing as young, white, well-educated- and affluent females.
Some of the surveys are likely to be widely circulated by a for-hire PR network operated by REUTERS. I am tripping on a lot of press releases from that source, many from belief tanks who want to by-pass any peer review of their reports.
NAACP is getting involved in the move away from testing:
A colleague of mine who is opting her elementary age child out of testing, received a letter from her district (Schenectady) warning her that opting out is “against the law”.
So, in order to impose national tests intended to threaten schools, administrators, and teachers, they resort to threatening parents using misinformation. Now that’s a strategy that should really help to get all stakeholders on the same page.
The reformers (edu-fakers) lament:
“O, what a tangled web we weave
when first we practice to deceive.”
“
What about the lies the teachers are telling our children , ” if you do poorly on then test I will be fired” . My 9 year old knows the test scores don’t affect her but she is having anxiety bc she is afraid her teacher will get fired if she does poorly. Teachers should be ashamed bc they are bullying our children in the same way the state is bullying them.
If every parent opted out their child from state testing it would be a miracle! But, if many parents opted out we would send a very powerful message and teachers and principals could get back to what they do best which is cultivating a love of learning, motivation through hands on exploration and educational trips, reading books that inspire, motivate and teach empathy for starters.
I agree the tests are not good for our children bc they are not age appropriate and seem to be designed to make the children do poorly, however teachers need to have some kind of evaluation system because as we all know there are too many that shouldn’t be there and I for one am tired of having to re- teach things at home bc the teachers in school don’t know what they are doing. Every one needs to be accountable for their performance at work, teachers need to stop hiding behind their tenor and get evaluated every year, and not by their peers but by an outside agency.
Google a George Carlin clip called “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it”. It’s not quite the typical Carlin light humor, but it paints a very accurate and disturbing picture of exactly why education is being destroyed in this country.
Warning, in typical Carlin fashion the language is quite graphic, not for your kids to watch.
Can anyone tell me if there are punitive consequences in NYC DOE schools if teachers tell parents to opt out, or speak about testing, at all.
These teachers have been told to keep silent ( I’m speaking of a particular elementary school), they were told they are not allowed to speak about the tests. As a result, only 2 students opted out in this school.
Any info or insights into this would be helpful.
Our district sent an email saying we could lose our cerification and be fired if we did.
Sped teacher, if everyone opted out, no one would be fired.
Yes, we were warned as well we could have our licenses revoked if we encouraged refusal or opt-out.
Diane, I’d respectfully like you to reconsider what you say in light of history and in light of R. Reagan firing all the air traffic controllers.
I would NOT put it past Cuomo to bait teachers to strike or revolt, then use that as a RahmEmanualesque opportunity to take advantage, clean house, fire everyone, and make NY schools into the McDonalds model of education.
Most parents I know will not opt their children out of state tests. They either believe the rhetoric, or they fear what will happen.
Same here. Our school had 100% MCAS participation 😦
I also hear “my kid thinks the tests are fun”, “tests don’t bother my kid”, “I had no idea there was a downside to testing” etc. Lots of work to do still.
My daughter starts worrying in September and it never stops. She is diagnosed with anxiety. She can’t sleep the nights before the tests and then freaks out about being too tired to do well. A vicious cycle…Yet, she refuses to opt out because no one else is. I can’t convince any parents in our school/district to opt out. And the teachers (I teach in the district) don’t express concern either. They are clueless sheep.
BTW, she was rated as “advanced” in ELA and math last year (4th grade), but STILL freaks out.
Same here.
It is how rights are lost. The State telling parents how to parent. Break out the goosestep and armbands.
In a very strongly worded email, teachers in Florida were also told they are not allowed to even mention opting out – not to parents, or on “social media”. In fact, I’m afraid to post this comment!
Hi
Thanks for you comments!
In NYC at the DOE nobody got such a notice. So, although the Principal of this particular school told teachers they could not discuss the test, there was no legal directive saying so. This is a huge school system with no real directives regarding Opt-Out, each district or Principal has their own take, just trying to find legality or punitive measures against the testing mania and its effects on the teachers .
Same for teachers in Utah. It’s why I have this moniker.
@annat you are the parent and make choices for your child. Poor kid! Worring in September? We are the only family in my district to opt out. I am no sheep and your child shouldn’t be one either.
Again, I ask:
What if EVERY teacher broke this rule in some way – as a collective group and all at the same time. To be consistent, wouldn’t they have to bring us ALL up on the same charge -morals, misconduct, insubordination, whatever they want??? Then, of course, we could all file a grievance, have hearings, etc. Could districts get rid of every teacher and go through the hiring process for thousands of teachers? It would be absolute chaos. School districts know they would never be able to handle this if we all spoke out, so they count on the fact that we will be silenced.
Dear Alice, Cuomo is looking for a way to break unions. Mass dissent will give him the chance to “mow the lawn” and start fresh with a bunch of desperate college grads teaching the kids with 6 weeks of training, just like NYC charter schools.
There are other ways to be proactive.
The vietnamese saved their country from Western imperialism not via open warfare, but through a sustained effort to undermine the efforts of the bungling morons of the CIA and Congress to spread ideology through violence. The viet kong won and the US left in shame, all while claiming it wasn’t a war or it was a police action or whatever.
This is not going away and it will require a massive, sustained uprising to beat back the oligarchs pushing the privatization agenda (Gates, the Kochs, the Waltons, Pearson).
Think outside the box.
What do you suggest we do?
I was involved in a Twitter chat and mention that I was going to tell my daughter to tank the state test if it fell too close to her AP tests. The result I was called in and talked to by my principal. I will be posting a blog post on testing after ours is over.
And how did they know you were involved in that Twitter chat? By chance? I doubt it, part and parcel of these malpractices is the belief that those running them have the right to spy on, turn in and or otherwise harass those who know better than to believe the edudeformer bullshit. I’d bet, hell, I’d even give away some of my beautiful ocean front property over at Lake of the Ozarks in Central Missouri, that someone involved in these malpractices is monitoring your communications.
If we can help let us know – we have opt out guides for every state at our website and on our FB group page we have folks ready to assist! FB page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/unitedoptout/ and website is http://www.unitedoptout.com.
I never realized schools were actively trying to prevent students from opting out of state tests. Some readings I have done for a class discussed how students as young as seven were having anxiety, nausea and trouble sleeping because they were so stressed out about their tests. I feel like opting out is a good method to reduce these problems.
Our whole middle school opted out but we are private, Our school does get funding from the state but all the grades below eighth opted out. I think Cuomo is for himself not for the kids of NY. I did not vote for him nor would I ever. It is a shame Teachout didn’t beat the pants off him. Maybe next time.
They would take money away from schools anyway, and blame it on the teachers who could not get the parents to agree to opt-in. It is always my fault.
Thanks titleonetexasteacher but that information does not fly in NYC!
They cannot take funding away. My concerns were regarding the teachers who were specifically asked by parents what they should do in the NYC DOE, regarding testing, I have not gotten any legit response so far.
Our state has student surveys. It is our job to get students to take them. The survey questions look like a Gates Foundation design and are laughable. Students could care less about them. Talk about digging your own grave.
I’m afraid that there are minority advocacy groups throughout NY State who think this reform movement and tying scores to evaluation is a good practice.
I’m also afraid that in our Darwinian American culture, many parents feel it’s good and healthy for their children to face challenges, even if they don’t come out “winners.”
What neither population undertand is that this will narrow the curriculum and incentivize teaching to be test oriented. It will produce turnover in the school every 5 to 8 years easily. It will create teacher and principal shortages. It will lead to privatization, and social and economic polarization. It already IS doing those things as an onset.
Numbers are concrete and palpable things for people.
Holistic treatments of children as well as any residual stirrings left in our tribal, primal gut and moral consciousness are not something so measurable for both the intelligentsia controlling this show and the test crash dummies who are convinced they are benefitting from corporate models of accountability.
This pits so many cohorts against each other.
It’s a hot mess.
Divide and conquer.
Still, this battle will not stop in its evolution. How could it?
I refuse to use my child to boycott a test. What message are we teaching our kids? I am going to “opt out” every time there’s something I don’t want to do! No! Yes I don’t believe that these assessments should be utilized to tell a teacher’s worth, yes it stifles creativity, yes to all of the above! But this is an adult fight & write and protest legistlation, write letters, be a proactive adult. No, I refuse to use my child to boycott something I don’t believe in. I hug my child, say “do your best” and tell them they are learning a strategy to stay calm and learn how to choose the best response on one of the many assessments they will face in life. the SAT, ACT, GRE, final exams, blah,blah, blah! Taking a test is a life skill, opting out is NOT a life skill. I hope everyone who is opting out is just as passionate about writing letters and calling their political representatives!
ilovetolearn,
My own children are grown and have children. I am happy to say that my grandchild in 3rd grade is opting out. I am proud of him and his parents. He is NOT being used. He is being protected against child abuse. But this is a decision for every family to make.
The world is not opting out and if you look at the best colleges you will see where are our kids. Nowhere. You cannot undermine education and testing.
“I refuse to use my child to boycott a test. What message are we teaching our kids? I am going to “opt out” every time there’s something I don’t want to do!”
Refusing to sheepishly follow a harmful law is not teaching children to quit when they face a challenge. It is teaching them that adults sometimes have to think for themselves and not just go with the flow.
It is teaching them that when adults decide to take a stand against an injustice, even when taking that stand is difficult, bad laws and practices can be changed.
It is teaching them about a very important part of what it means to be an American. Our form of government comes from a struggle against unjust laws that benefitted a wealthy class based far away but hurt local communities that had no say in the matter.
It is important for children to learn that the adults in their lives will stand up and make their voices heard when there is good reason…… and there is good reason. If my children were still in school, they would not be taking the tests. My children grew up walking picket lines with striking coal miners, nurses, and nursing home workers. They were taught about the struggle for social justice and solidarity when faced with power born of wealth. They are beautiful young women who stand up for themselves and others. They don’t run away from a challenge, they face it head on and try to get others to join them. They have voted in every election since they were eighteen years old. I raised them to be strong and resilient.
If your child understands why you are taking a stand they will not get the wrong message. What message are you giving to your child?
If you love to learn, skip the standardized tests. The tests are limiting learning for test prep. Please be aware Reformers are counting on people to go along to get along. Teachers raise concerns, but we are marginalized and demonized. But there are still serious problems with the tests and how they are used. Parents, I hope, still have the ultimate voice in raising their own children, safely.
The tests like GRE, GMAT, LSAT, ACT, SAT are not much in life once a person gets past them. They are increasingly a formality, and I painfully took them all when I was lost 20 something. I did terrible on my first GRE attempt, particularly the content area. But I went on to design and build large scale systems in that field (and they actually worked). The Bar Exam doesn’t prevent bad lawyers, but it may eliminate good lawyers. And for most of a career, employers could care less about ACT scores as a life skill. But they do want self motivated employees who can solve real world problems that are not multiple choice.
I am not a teacher but I am a professional (lawyer) and I follow and pay very close attention to my children’s education. I have not opted my child out this year. My child is not stressed about the tests. He understands their “importance” and true purpose (to evaluate the school and teachers) and understands this is in itesf important but also understands there may be many things on the test that he is not able to answer and that is how this particular test is designed. It’s designed to see how the school needs to better teaching him, not that he needs to better learning. The school he attends, to my understanding, has not overly pushed test prep. He has spent a good deal of time this year (including last week’s field trip to a science musuem) on non-test related learning and subjects and I don’t feel like he has been overwhelmed with test prep. On spring break a voluntary packet of prep materials were sent home with an instruction to the parents that if they wish to do some extra work over the break to ready their child for the test these materials could help, They were not mandatory and would not be checked by the teacher. I appreciate that these new tests might not be a perfect system but I personally don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with standardized testing. And don’t think that teaching childrent at a young age how to handle the experience of standardized testing is a bad thing. These children will be taking tests in multitudes of scenarios for the rest of their lives. That’s life. I also appreciate that teachers are upset and concerned because they feel their jobs are on the line based on the results of these tests. And these tests may be an unfair barometer of their job performance. But again another reality is that in every profession the professsional is judged on their perormance and their results. Teachers should be no less accountable. And having “peer review” be the only (or even the majority of) criteria for that evaluation is simply not enough of fail safe to get rid of bad teachers. And this is where I think there is a position that NO ONE (at least on this side of the debate) ever acknowledges. There are BAD TEACHERS. Lazy, ill trained, unknowledgable, burnt out teachers. Who are failing at their jobs. Simply being a teacher doesn’t make everything you do perfect and above reproach. You are professional and need to be held accountable for your performance. Does this higher standard of accountabilty mean that less people will be become teachers or that people will quit the profession. Probably? Will we lose good teachers along with the bad, yes I’m sure we will but the system is not working as it is, and demanding (and bullying) parents into opting their children out of the tests is not the way to fix the problem either. As I said in the beginning these tests did’t stress my child out. I have explained what they mean. I will tell you what got him very upset. But I use the word “didn’t” intentionally. Because yesterday he came home very upset about the tests. He said “johnny” and “susy” and “jimmy” and “janie” said they didn’t have to take the tests tomorrow because their moms thought the tests were unfair and bad for the kids. And that the government was going get to the results and mak unfair judgments about the school and his teachers – a school he loves and teachers he loves. And how he was worried that he wouldn’ do well and let his teachers down. For the first time he was upset about the tests. But not because of any stress he felt from the tests themselves or even the prep leading up to it, but instead because this ridiculous cat-fighting and name calling and aggressive opt -out tactics had made it to his ears. So thanks Diane Ravitch and follow opt-outers, you created your own reality. Stressed out kids. Well done.
sorry about the typos.
Pissedoffmom,
You are entitled to your beliefs. The research is clear that student test scores are not a valid way to judge either teacher quality or school quality. Why do you want your child’s scores to be used to fire his teacher? Why do you want them to be part of a decision to close his school? How do you feel about the testing company monitoring his social media accounts and data mining his confidential information? Do you know that the test will tell his teaching nothing about his strengths or weaknesses, just rank him? Do you know the tests have no diagnostic value? If you understand that and still want him to take useless tests, go right ahead. It is your right.
Diane, First, I don’t necessarily disagree with anything you’ve said and I’m not saying that the tests and criteria used aren’t unfair and need to be changed. But what I am saying is that it is absurd for teachers to cling to the idea that they can self-govern and not be held accountable to the public for their performance. Right now that type of oversight of teachers does not exist -as it does in every other profession. As a lawyer I am judged by the outcome of my cases. My boss doesn’t sit in my office 3 or 4 times a year to “observe” me and then rate me. I have a job which requires results, if I don’t provide those results there are consquences. Again, I am not saying that THESE tests are the correct barometer. But some objective criteria is neccessary. However my second point, which was really the point of my post in the first place and reason I came here to comment at all (and the point that you so convenientally ignored) is that YOUR battle cry is that the tests are causing our children harm. It’s stressing them out. They are anxiety-ridden messes who can barely cope with the stress of it all. And I said that the test and the prep didn’t stress out my child or upset him. What upset him was the the opt-out in-fighting did and what he heard from his peers, who heard from their parents. As another poster said, this is an adult fight. Leave the kids out of it, and take your fight where it belongs.
Pissedoffmom, we will have to agree to disagree. I believe that these tests have not been judged by independent researchers to be either valid or reliable. To tie a teacher’s job to tests is wrong (see the American Statistical Association statement on this method, called value-added measurement–the ASA statement says that a teacher influences 1-14% of students’ test scores, yet in many states, they will count for 50%). Why should children have to sit for online tests for 8-11 hours? We have become obsessed with standardized tests, and it makes no sense. I did not become a supporter of opt out until it became clear that neither Congress nor state legislatures were listening to parents or teachers or research. There comes a time when civil disobedience is all that is left to those who object. The tests do harm children. They teach the wrong lessons about what matters most, about what true achievement is, about every question have a “right answer.” Read Yong Zhao’s book “Who is Afraid of the Big, Bad Dragon?” about the effects of high-stakes standardized testing in China. The educators there know it is wrong, but it is now so deeply embedded that it can’t be stopped. Yong calls it “the witch that cannot be killed.” There were people who objected to the civil rights movement; they were called “outside agitators.” There were people who objected to the anti-war movement, calling them other names. Every movement has critics and supporters. I am on the side of Opting Out. You are not. That’s life.
pom,
“. . . I personally don’t believe there is anything inherently wrong with standardized testing.”
Well being a lawyer, you have certainly benefited from standardized tests. So, yes you are a good test taker, congratulations on having such a well honed life skill.
And also being a lawyer you can surely read and understand Noel Wilson’s work concerning the COMPLETE INVALIDITY of educational standards and standardized testing as I referenced in response (above/below?) to “ilovetolearn’.
Read and comprehend his work and get back to us that you still believe that “there isn’t anything inherently wrong with standardized testing.” And if after reading Wilson you can rebut or refute what he has proven about those educational malpractices please let me know as I’ve been looking, searching for, and requesting said rebuttals/refutations for over 15 years now and haven’t gotten a single legitimate one. Feel free to contact me personally at dswacker@centurytel.net with any concerns and/or comments on Wilson’s work.
“So thanks Diane Ravitch and follow opt-outers, you created your own reality. Stressed out kids. Well done.”
Spoken like a true lawyer with nary a word of logical truth. But it sure sounds good.
(sorry FLERP! if you are offended by my comment)
You know what’s interesting about all your comments (the ones to me, as well as the ones to the other non-opt out parents on this page) you attack us like we are the enemy. You make comments like “spoken like a lawyer” or accuse us of allowing us to let our children become the pawns of corporate greed. We are just parents, trying to figure out what is best for our particular child. Yet some how I’m the bad guy because I’m critical of people who clearly have an agenda and I don’t respond to threats or don’t like being bombarded with self-serviing propaganda from a group of professionals who are scared for their own job security and seem to be willing to play on my fear of not doing the absolute 100% right thing for my child. Most parents I know are confused and concerned.They don’t know what to do. Schools say one thing, teachers say another. You go on social media and it’s maelstrom of accusations and horrors which only leaves you more confused. Why should I belive you and your opinion? Because you say so? Because you have studies and experts? So do they. Because you are selfless and only care about the best interest of the child. Sorry, but I call bullshit on that one. Everyone has an agenda and the only who truly cares about the best interest of my child is me. You compare your protest and condemnation of me and my choices to the anti-war movement of the 1960’s. That’s an interesting argument, except in that scenario I’m not the military or the government, I’m the cambodian villager whose being run over by opposing armies. I’m the one you should be concerned about. I’m the one getting lost in this debate. My opinion of what is best for my child only seems to matter if it agrees with yours. But I’m just a parent, I stay up every night worrying about the choices I make for my child. My career, my bonus, my corporate earnings. my year end review aren’t on the line. The only horse I have in this race is what is best for the 10 year I tuck in bed every night.. And whatt do I think of this? I dont know, except I know I feel bullied and even more confused.
And as far as the comment about my career and life choices and life skills, In fact, I am not a good test taker. In fact I did horrible the first time I took the LSAT. But in order to be succesful and get where I am today, I studied and practiced and generaly worked my ass off, so the next time I did fantastic. What I didn’t do was whine and complain and say life is unfair and too hard and give up or blame the system for my failure. A life skill I hope my children will also learn.
Pissed Off Mom,
Diane Ravitch is a scholar and writer on the educational system for 40 years. That must carry SOME weight.
And still not one of you has addressed the actual effects of this “opt-out” rally and how the opt out is affecting the kids (both the ones who opt out and the ones who don’t). Not one of you.
Pissedoffmom said, “And still not one of you has addressed the actual effects of this “opt-out” rally and how the opt out is affecting the kids (both the ones who opt out and the ones who don’t). Not one of you.”
We have addressed it. Those on the side of opting out (and including students in their own life choices), simply believe that the testing machine is more damaging than the fight against it. As DR said, a side must be chosen, and it’s best to be thoroughly informed before choosing a side (as most of us here are).
Should teachers be accountable? Yes. But not like this.
Are there bad teachers? Yes. But there are much better ways to change that than high-stakes standardized testing.
Dear POM,
A small percentage of school systems have eloquently managed to dodge “teaching to the test” and it speaks volumes about the school your child is in that, somehow, they’ve been able to avoid that tide. There must be experienced and talented people in your child’s school that have artfully navigated this storm . I live in Florida where most of the curriculum in my child’s “A rated” school is test prep (it even says “PARCC Practice” every few pages in the Go Math Florida workbook–written prior to the FSA switch). Sadly, my 5-year-old never had recess in kindergarten and pretend play items/toys were non-existent in the classroom. He expressed a few times that it was difficult to be serious all day (though he was well-behaved). Convergent thinking comes easily to my son and he tends to score well on standardized tests (he’s already taken the Stanford at the end of kindergarten). Therefore, he will be rewarded by the testing mindset. However, it alarmed me when one day he referred to children in his first-grade class, who did not learn as quickly as he, as “bad”. I explained that all kids learn things at different speeds and that every child has a gift–some gifts are not reinforced each day in school.
Now, my oldest child is 12 and in 7th grade and she has Dyspraxia/ADD–she is artistic, creative and has top-shelf divergent thinking skills. Standardized tests do a poor job at showing that she is “college and career ready”–although on weekly exams, she maintains a B average in subjects such as Math and Science. She is a “big picture” thinker and is on page 38 of a novel she’s writing. She is a GOOD writer! She crafts sensitive descriptions of places and people. She is acutely aware of social dynamics and is able to articulate it clearly. Her room was pre-designed first on a posterboard where she attached her sample photos of the vision she had. She was able to execute it in reality and it is beautiful and aesthetically balanced. This is a girl who is jovial and animated and has an infectious sense of humor. In 5th grade, she scored a 2 in both math and reading. This assessment did not describe her teacher’s ability (it was the first year since 3rd grade I didn’t need a math tutor and her chapter tests were in the B range) and it did not describe her potential in career or college OR LIFE. These standardized tests require intense concentration for long periods of time. They measure how good your child is at keeping track of details. While those skills are needed in some college programs and careers, they are negligible in others. This bright child was placed according to her Level 2 scores in lower level courses the beginning of 6th grade despite As and Bs in 5th grade. Needless to say, she suffered anxiety and embarrassment. She is in private school today.
There’s a better way that can work for all kids. I was lucky enough to go to school in Massachusetts at a time in which there were no high stakes tests and 95% of my high school class went to college. Most teachers in my high school had Masters and PhDs and designed their own classes. Accountability was not an issue because the system worked and we learned a fund of real knowledge (Russian Lit or French Realism? Seminar in British History or Continental?) Our teachers knew their subject as opposed to be experts of learning theories (what Education majors know) with no real subject knowledge of anything.
I believe in teacher accountability as measured and trusted upon by administrators (with appropriate training and experience) who know their individual school’s needs and teacher designed assessments. There is a better way than adopting a rigid testing system. For this I refer you to Pasi Sahlberg –also a Dan Rather documentary called Finnish First. It is found online. It is a more humane vision for educating children and produces good results for all different types of learners, not just convergent thinkers.
I Agree 100% My kids think PSSA’s are fun. They are not stressed because we don’t stress them, over discuss them. Nothing in the family is changed because of PSAA’s Sleep time wake time still remain the same. I wish people wake up to reality. These Habits Opt out are going to ruin our kids. The world runs on test and college admissions are dependent on them. That is a reality Like it or Not.
I agree with Pom! We did not opt our child out. There are too MANY teachers that need to be re-evaluated. Too many times has my child’s teacher taught them something incorrectly or had no motivation to teach at all. I find that unexceptable! Then you have the GREAT teachers that not only teach well, but have time to make what they are learning enjoyable. I don’t believe that these test should be the only way to evaluate teachers, but let’s face it, everyone is evaluated at their job one way or another. I too have to say my child went into the test confident and stress free. Test taking is a skill that is learned. You will need to take tests for a lot of things in life. Even something as simple as getting a drivers permit you need to take a written test. So instead of teaching our children it’s ok to break the law and it’s ok not to do something because it’s either stressful or because we don’t want to, let’s teach them there are other ways to come to a solution. I am tired of being BULLIED by all the people that opted out. Until now, I haven’t said anything about this. But, I have parents relentlessly calling trying to force me to opt out, they follow my friends to their cars and try to force them into changing their minds. What example are they setting. I do not harass anyone about my beliefs and do not appreciate the actions of these other parents not respecting the choices I am making for my child. I find it disturbing to know that parents think their kids are entitled to watch a fun movie while testing is going on & if that doesn’t happen it’s considered child abuse…REALLY?!? What’s going to happen to all these teachers you are trying to “save” when funding is cut and teacher positions are eliminated? I’ m not happy that my child may be forced to have larger class sizes and the hs may have to make cuts in the curriculum. What about higher taxes? Hey…here’s an option…maybe I will join the opt out club. I’ll opt out of paying the taxes and all the people that opted out of the test can pay my tax bill along with the tax bills of everyone else who took the test. Do you think it’s ok for little kids to come home crying because other kids in the class are harassing them and making fun of them for taking the test? I don’t!! My child does well on test but she practices and studies for them. We tell her all she can do is try her best and we are proud of her no matter what. My child wants to make something out of her life and not just be flipping burgers for the rest of her life. So if you believe in opting out that’s your opinion and I respect that, but you need to respect my opinion too!
“Taking a test is a life skill, opting out is NOT a life skill.”
Bullshit! It’s not a “life skill”. It is a “skill”, a very minor one at that when it comes to true “life skills”.
If you truly love to learn you would begin to learn why the educational malpractices of educational standards and standardized testing (and even the grading of students) is COMPLETELY INVALID. Or you might want to learn that to use the results of any assessment for purposes other than for which the assessment is designed is COMPLETELY UNETHICAL (and that is exactly what these assessment regimes like VAM, SLO and SGP do.)
To understand the myriad errors and falsehoods involved in the educational standards and testing regime that render any conclusions “vain and illusory” read and comprehend Noel Wilson’s never refuted nor rebutted “Educational Standards and the Problem of Error” found at: http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/577/700
Brief outline of Wilson’s “Educational Standards and the Problem of Error” and some comments of mine.
1. A description of a quality can only be partially quantified. Quantity is almost always a very small aspect of quality. It is illogical to judge/assess a whole category only by a part of the whole. The assessment is, by definition, lacking in the sense that “assessments are always of multidimensional qualities. To quantify them as unidimensional quantities (numbers or grades) is to perpetuate a fundamental logical error” (per Wilson). The teaching and learning process falls in the logical realm of aesthetics/qualities of human interactions. In attempting to quantify educational standards and standardized testing the descriptive information about said interactions is inadequate, insufficient and inferior to the point of invalidity and unacceptability.
2. A major epistemological mistake is that we attach, with great importance, the “score” of the student, not only onto the student but also, by extension, the teacher, school and district. Any description of a testing event is only a description of an interaction, that of the student and the testing device at a given time and place. The only correct logical thing that we can attempt to do is to describe that interaction (how accurately or not is a whole other story). That description cannot, by logical thought, be “assigned/attached” to the student as it cannot be a description of the student but the interaction. And this error is probably one of the most egregious “errors” that occur with standardized testing (and even the “grading” of students by a teacher).
3. Wilson identifies four “frames of reference” each with distinct assumptions (epistemological basis) about the assessment process from which the “assessor” views the interactions of the teaching and learning process: the Judge (think college professor who “knows” the students capabilities and grades them accordingly), the General Frame-think standardized testing that claims to have a “scientific” basis, the Specific Frame-think of learning by objective like computer based learning, getting a correct answer before moving on to the next screen, and the Responsive Frame-think of an apprenticeship in a trade or a medical residency program where the learner interacts with the “teacher” with constant feedback. Each category has its own sources of error and more error in the process is caused when the assessor confuses and conflates the categories.
4. Wilson elucidates the notion of “error”: “Error is predicated on a notion of perfection; to allocate error is to imply what is without error; to know error it is necessary to determine what is true. And what is true is determined by what we define as true, theoretically by the assumptions of our epistemology, practically by the events and non-events, the discourses and silences, the world of surfaces and their interactions and interpretations; in short, the practices that permeate the field. . . Error is the uncertainty dimension of the statement; error is the band within which chaos reigns, in which anything can happen. Error comprises all of those eventful circumstances which make the assessment statement less than perfectly precise, the measure less than perfectly accurate, the rank order less than perfectly stable, the standard and its measurement less than absolute, and the communication of its truth less than impeccable.”
In other word all the logical errors involved in the process render any conclusions invalid.
5. The test makers/psychometricians, through all sorts of mathematical machinations attempt to “prove” that these tests (based on standards) are valid-errorless or supposedly at least with minimal error [they aren’t]. Wilson turns the concept of validity on its head and focuses on just how invalid the machinations and the test and results are. He is an advocate for the test taker not the test maker. In doing so he identifies thirteen sources of “error”, any one of which renders the test making/giving/disseminating of results invalid. And a basic logical premise is that once something is shown to be invalid it is just that, invalid, and no amount of “fudging” by the psychometricians/test makers can alleviate that invalidity.
6. Having shown the invalidity, and therefore the unreliability, of the whole process Wilson concludes, rightly so, that any result/information gleaned from the process is “vain and illusory”. In other words start with an invalidity, end with an invalidity (except by sheer chance every once in a while, like a blind and anosmic squirrel who finds the occasional acorn, a result may be “true”) or to put in more mundane terms crap in-crap out.
7. And so what does this all mean? I’ll let Wilson have the second to last word: “So what does a test measure in our world? It measures what the person with the power to pay for the test says it measures. And the person who sets the test will name the test what the person who pays for the test wants the test to be named.”
In other words it attempts to measure “’something’ and we can specify some of the ‘errors’ in that ‘something’ but still don’t know [precisely] what the ‘something’ is.” The whole process harms many students as the social rewards for some are not available to others who “don’t make the grade (sic)” Should American public education have the function of sorting and separating students so that some may receive greater benefits than others, especially considering that the sorting and separating devices, educational standards and standardized testing, are so flawed not only in concept but in execution?
My answer is NO!!!!!
One final note with Wilson channeling Foucault and his concept of subjectivization:
“So the mark [grade/test score] becomes part of the story about yourself and with sufficient repetitions becomes true: true because those who know, those in authority, say it is true; true because the society in which you live legitimates this authority; true because your cultural habitus makes it difficult for you to perceive, conceive and integrate those aspects of your experience that contradict the story; true because in acting out your story, which now includes the mark and its meaning, the social truth that created it is confirmed; true because if your mark is high you are consistently rewarded, so that your voice becomes a voice of authority in the power-knowledge discourses that reproduce the structure that helped to produce you; true because if your mark is low your voice becomes muted and confirms your lower position in the social hierarchy; true finally because that success or failure confirms that mark that implicitly predicted the now self evident consequences. And so the circle is complete.”
In other words students “internalize” what those “marks” (grades/test scores) mean, and since the vast majority of the students have not developed the mental skills to counteract what the “authorities” say, they accept as “natural and normal” that “story/description” of them. Although paradoxical in a sense, the “I’m an “A” student” is almost as harmful as “I’m an ‘F’ student” in hindering students becoming independent, critical and free thinkers. And having independent, critical and free thinkers is a threat to the current socio-economic structure of society.
I agree, you have the right to opt out but my point is that by using the children as a political boycott is not the right decision unless you are pairing it with major letter writing and calling political representatives. I have 2 children taking the test tomorrow and you should hear the stories of the the “opt out” kids verses “not opt out” and how it’s causing tension and pressure between kids on the playground. This makes me sad. There must be change but I wish we didn’t need to use the children to do so.
I would ask why you are using your children to support the warped system of high-stakes testing.
Have no fear, I Love to Learn! Your children will become master test takers. They will learn to fill in bubbles. Think about all the multiple choice tests you had to take in life after your college career. Your children will surely be more prepared than you were.
Ilovetolearn,
Which is worse, having your children make a political statement by refusing to take the tests, or having your children’s tests scores be used as a political weapon against their school and teachers? Insisting that you want your children’s education to be free from politics is sadly not an option for anyone right now.
Unfortunately, the so-called reformers have forced this upon us, and we have to take sides. People must decide which side they’re on, the side of public education as an aspirational democratic right, or the side of great wealth setting policy in its own interests, a debased teaching profession, digital surveillance and monetization of kids.
You’re mistaken to think that, by going with the flow and having them take the tests, your children are not being used politically; the question is, what kind of politics are the being caught up in?
Man, this is some serious stuff here, Michael. It begs the question, though: if it’s so important, why aren’t teachers opting out and refusing to administer the exam? Why are only children and families, who don’t have tenure or 3020a hearings or legal representation to protect them, being asked to bear 100% of the sacrifice?
Tim or TE,
Public school power rests with the public. The public no longer supports teachers. What “sacrifice” is there in asserting parental rights? If a teacher opts out, the lose their career and soon we will probably see prosecutions by Reformer governments. Parents who opt out do not lose their children (yet?). The power rests with parents, but they need to use it. Teachers are ignored, parents make school boards and politicians jump.
But you make a good beginning argument for guaranteed opt out protections for BOTH teachers and parents. My state, Ohio, does not have real tenure, legal representation, hearings, or much else, anymore. Many states are similar. Promote opt out, Goodbye, Mr. Chips.
Tim, you’re kidding, right?
Setting aside the huge percentage of non-tenured probationary teachers who can be fired on the spot for being outspoken about high stakes testing, I was responding to the political context in which Ilovetolearn made his/her comments.
Additionally, since our union mis-leadership supports Common Core (explicitly) and high stakes testing (duplicitously), teachers have nowhere near the protection you assume. I guess you’ve been reading too many newspaper articles on education, where every piece is obliged to include “… the politically powerful teachers unions…”
Yeah, right, the politically powerful teacher’s unions. Take a look at the current NYS budget if you want an quick refutation of that canard.
Tim
Any teacher that refuses to administer a test can be charged with insubordination.
There is no protection for such a blatant and straightforward violation of duty.
As strongly as many of us object to the federal, test-and-punish regime that is oppressing public education, we still have bills to pay, families to feed, and limited career options. Personally, I requested re-assignment to supervise our opt out room instead of administering the tests. My request was granted as a professional courtesy by my building principal.
Ilovetolearn:
The ability to say NO to something that is stupid and immoral is one of the most important life skills a person can learn.
Our family is very firm about following rules and respecting authority. We also believe in hard work and following through with challenging situations. We are not having our child refuse these tests because we don’t want her to face any of the discomfort or anxiety that comes with doing something difficult. In her lifetime, she will encounter many stressful situations, and fostering her coping skills, not avoidance skills, is a job that my husband and I take very seriously as parents.
We are refusing these tests on behalf of our daughter so that she and public school students throughout NYS can be afforded the opportunity to realize their right to the most enriching public educational experience possible. Both our federal and state’s executive and legislative branches have been failing our public school students in this capacity, and the passing of the most recent NY state budget and bills that were tied to it confirms further failure. In the years that I have been in the classroom, I have seen and experienced firsthand the effects of increased emphasis on high-stakes standardized testing on my own students and their educational experiences. Despite best intentions to the contrary, curriculum across all areas has been stripped in order to allow for priority to be placed on preparing students for high-stakes tests that are: flawed; often developmentally inappropriate; and do very little to improve instruction, provide quality feedback, or enhance students’ learning.
Teachers are feeling enormous amounts of pressure to teach in a manner that goes against their instincts and greatly minimizes their and their district’s ability to develop and adapt curriculum to meet the needs of THEIR students. Time is taken away from other subject areas such as science, history, foreign languages, the arts, and physical education. Field trips and assemblies are cut due to a combination of imposed tax caps and fear of losing what boils down to test prep time in the classroom.
Our voices have been lost in terms of sending letters to government officials and signing petitions. Though one child’s “opt-out” may not cause a ripple, we cannot, in good conscience, do nothing. We cannot even begin to imagine how instruction and our daughter’s education in the future will be impacted by the latest NYS law in which the very livelihood of educators is dependent, up to 50%, on flawed, snap-shot assessments.
“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.”
~ Noam Chomsky
On a somewhat separate note, but regarding refusals, I just want to say that I find it unconscionable that, in a number of districts, students who have had parents send refusal intent letters are being put in a position where they (the children!) have to confirm their refusal in a face-to-face situation. Meaning, despite a letter sent on behalf of a 9 year old, an authority figure (such as a principal) will place a test in front of that student and ask that he/she refuse the test, just for protocol purposes. Really? And we are supposed to believe that these tests are for purposes of enhancing learning and achievement when such scare tactics are employed on minors????
Reblogged this on msvigeljsmith.
“Students would have time to explore, time to play, time to read, time to experiment, time to learn without test prep and interim assessments, without fear and anxiety.”
Killing the testing machine would be a good first step toward these goals, but for students to really lose their fear and anxiety of school, we’d have to confront high-stakes grading and the underlying idea of education as credentialism/job training/futureproofing. Only then, will students truly be free to learn and play and experiment.
Amen.
As a preK teacher who will loop with my kids, I am well aware of the impact next year’s standardized test scores will have on my incentive-based (read mostly frozen) salary. Having said that, my team and I give our kids ample time to play and participate in developmentally appropriate learning, as these kids will soon face a deluge of test prep and ever-shrinking opportunities to play and interact with their peers.
I’m so scared for the future of our kids if this testing doesn’t stop !!!
I have a special needs child who is becoming a dollar sign and who needs accommodations that the tests don’t provide. They are setting our kids up for FAILURE…. So sad.
What if? What if just one educator, school, or district refused to administer the exam? Why are children and families being prodded into assuming 100% of the burden? Why are schools and districts with high opt-out rates still test-prepping their students?
There are teachers who promote opt out. We call them “unemployed”. Are you promoting opt out protections for both parents and teachers? So called whistleblower or safe harbor laws?
Tim,
As far as your “what if”:
In Missouri school districts are evaluated by the state with one of the criteria being “what percentage of juniors take the ACT, SAT, ASVAB, etc. . . ” In our rural poverty district ($8,000 per student per year) we have never had more than 30-40% of the students take those tests. Well now our admin has figured out that if we force all students to take these tests, our score will go up (talk about GAGAing and gaming a system). (and I’m not sure who is paying for it, either)
I was assigned to administer the ACT and I have refused to do so. I believe that it is unethical to ask a teacher to give a test without that teacher having vetted the test for errors, age appropriateness, etc. . . . I told them that since I cannot read, see and vet the test I cannot in good conscience give it.
There’s your “what if”.
Wow powerful idea! “Stop the machine.” It is a machine I guess I never thought about it that way. We created a machine that only values numbers. Schools should be a welcoming environment not a place pushing out results.
Practically speaking, how would opting out be communicated to all parents of the country? I was never really given that option and I don’t even know if it is something my parents would have actually done if only because I was a fairly good tester. How do you reach parents like that and communicate the significance of opting out and how it would positively effect the education community as a whole?
askamy–This is a good question. More parents are telling more parents, & parents can go to unitedoptout to find out information.
In Illinois, we have IllinoisParkthePARCC, & Chicago has ChiOptOut (both of those have GoogleGtoups): More Than a Score! and Raise Your Hand–parent leaders from those groups have been setting up informational meetings for parents, spreading the word as to opting out, why & how to do it. They–and retired teachers–also hand out opt out fliers at schools (it is legal to do so on public sidewalks). A parent opt out bill has been introduced in the Illinois House, & should be voted on soon.
If you ever researched the predictive nature of state test you would find that they tell us nothing about how successful a student will be when they are an adult. In reality, encouraging certain behaviors is more effective at improving success than teaching some ambiguous standard – but we have little time to do that.
Testing is just another way to milk the system for every penny.
For Pissedoffmom:
Your moniker definitely defines you. You have come here with an agenda: “that the adults are using the children to further the adult’s agenda” accusing those who respond to you as “not answering my question”. From what I’ve read, your question(s) hashave been addressed in almost all of the responders’ comments to your query in some fashion or another. I question whether you have the ability to discern so as you let your rage (or perhaps remuneration?) interfere with your reading comprehension.
I’ve seen your methodology in attacking those of us here used by other commenters. It seems to be the du jour methodology to blame those attempting to protect the most innocent-the children-from the harms caused by educational malpractices like these standardized tests by attempting to reflect back those harms onto those who actually do have valid studies and logical epistemological and ontological bases for their thoughts and for opposing said educational malpractices.
I would say “Nice try” but it’s not even that. Your tactic is a variation of the theme of the public school teacher as a selfish money grubbing union thug meme.
Read Wilson and get back to me about where the harm lies in attempting to assess the teaching and learning process by using false and error filled malpractices that render any results completely invalid.
We have opted-out our student who is in 9th grade. The HS told us that he needs the points for graduation and they would hate for him to get to graduation and not have the points to graduate. I was told he is the only student who opted-out in his HS. He cannot stay home from the tests because it will be an unexcused absence.