Read Alan Singer’s column posted in Valerie Strauss’s blog The Answer Sheet to learn how the Obama family opted out.””

Singer says that the Obamas opted out of high-stakes testing by sending their daughters to Sidwell Friends, which does not give standardized tests to every child every year and does not evaluate teachers by the test scores of their students.

Now you can opt out your children from high-stakes tests too. It’s not hard. NYS Allies for Public Education has a sample “refusal” letter and video instructions on its website. All parents have to do is fill out the letter and deliver it to the school principal, either in person or via email. They also recommend a follow-up call before the test dates to remind school personnel. Last year approximately 60,000 New York State students refused to take the tests. In New York State, high-stakes Common Core aligned math and reading tests will be administered in grades 3-8 from April 14 – 16 and April 22 – April 24.

Karen Magee, president of the New York state teachers’ union (NYSUT) is calling for a statewide boycott of the Common Core-aligned tests to protest new testing regulations and test-based evaluations of teachers propagated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Despite evidence against the validity of evaluating teachers using student scores on these tests, Cuomo demanded that 50 percent of every teacher’s evaluation be based on test results in their schools. Meanwhile, he is unable to explain how the 70 percent of teachers who do not teach tested subjects can legitimately be judged based on the tests.

Open the links and learn how you can opt out with sending your children to private school to escape the test prep and high-stakes tests imposed by NCLB and made worse by Race to the Top and the new Common Core tests.