Although Mayor Joe Petty lobbied hard to reverse the school committee’s decision to allow parents to opt out, the school committee stuck with their original decision. Parents mounted a “say no to Joe” campaign, and the school committee agreed with the parents who elected them. Parents are free to opt their children out of PARCC Common Core field testing.

Categories Massachusetts, Testing

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Bob Shepherd says:

March 20, 2014 at 10:40 pm

This is the simple right of every parent, of course.

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Suzy Reid says:

March 20, 2014 at 10:45 pm

http://saveourschoolsnz.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/sick-schools-further-information.pdf From Suzy Reid

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Tracy Novick says:

March 20, 2014 at 11:22 pm

Diane, as a member of the committee, this is not an accurate reflection of what happened tonight.
The administration was already allowing opting out and brought to the meeting a letter, as we’d asked for in one of the reconsidered motions, that reflected that position. We thus filed–tossed out–that item.
The other item that we had before us was to send a letter to the state, expressing our disagreement with their position that students could not opt out. That motion was also filed, on a 4-3 vote. Thus no such letter will be sent, a reversal of the earlier position of the committee.

We never had before us an item that was an up or down vote on parental opt out.

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- dianeravitch says:
  
  March 21, 2014 at 12:13 am
  
  Tracy, thanks for the clarification.
  
  Does the school committee assert that parents have the right to opt out?
  
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  - Brian O'Connell says:
    
    March 21, 2014 at 10:38 am
    
    Diane: As a member of the Worcester School Committee, I believe the answer is yes. Although the Superintendent’s letter to parents and guardians regarding PARCC did not require a vote of approval, its message is clear, and, I believe, it reflects the majority sentiment on the Committee. It states that “should you choose for your child not to participate in the field test, please notify your child’s principal prior to the testing date. Your child’s school will be notifying you of the testing dates soon. There will be no academic or disciplinary penalty for not participating, and appropriate accommodations will be provided during testing time.” Parental rights to “opt” their children out of the PARCC pilot are definitely in place in Worcester.
    
    Brian O’Connell
    Worcester School Committee
    
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artseagal says:

March 21, 2014 at 12:16 am

Wonderful news for Worcester, MA… but sadly 6th grade MD students just field tested PARCC and 5th grade will be following along soon in science I think. Whether they had a choice was never brought up. Frankly, Pearson should be paying willing students to take this test and not on school time. Pearson is a business and since when should people be required to work for their business for free… because this is what students are doing when valuable learning time is taken away from them. Why should students be forced to help Pearson to create tests during school. Students are supposed to have 180 days of learning in MD and Pearson has no right to take that away! And to follow this in a logical sequence… there is an minimum age at which a young person can be employed and our 6th grade students do not meet that minimum age. I think Pearson should be banned from forcing students to work for them!

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- Linda says:
  
  March 21, 2014 at 10:58 am
  
  Excellent point!
  
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Barry Hildebrand says:

March 21, 2014 at 3:07 am

Has Common Sense finally prevailed in Liberal Mass?

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Tracy says:

March 21, 2014 at 6:59 am

Yes, Pearson shuld be paying, if not the children themselves, the schools in such a way to directly benefit the kids. They ARE a business and this is R&D for a business. Schools should not have to pay for the “privilege” of taking such a test.

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- A Teacher From Georgia says:
  
  March 21, 2014 at 11:39 pm
  
  Art, Tracy, and Linda, and everyone else,
  
  Keep making those points….LOUDLY….EVERYWHERE!!!!! With all the billions that Pearson is making, the LEAST they can do is pay research fees to WILLING participants!!
  
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inspireteaching001123 says:

March 21, 2014 at 1:15 pm

Reblogged this on Inspire Teaching.

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Betsy Marshall says:

March 21, 2014 at 10:32 pm

Say “No to Joe”……. very catchy 😉

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