After a representative of the National PTA wrote an article critical of parents who opt out and praising the value of data-driven decision making, Tim Farley responded. Tim is a principal in New York, a father of four young children, and a board member of NYSAPE (New York State Allies for Public Education), which led  the state’s historic opt out movement.

 

Tim Farley points out the absurdity of the National PTA’s priorities for assessment:

 

*ensure appropriate development

 
*guarantee reliability and implementation of high quality assessments

 
*clearly articulate to parents the assessment and accountability system in place at their child’s school
*bring schools and families together to use data to support student growth and learning
But Farley has different priorities:

 

“As the parent of four school-aged children, the PTA’s recommendations seem to fall short of what they should be advocating for:

 
*smaller class sizes

 

*enriching curricula that includes music and the arts

 
*funding schools fully, equitably, and fairly
supporting teachers in the classroom

 
*decoupling student test scores from teacher effectiveness ratings

 
*stopping the unfettered collection of our children’s personally identifiable information

 
“The National PTA needs to put the “P” and the “T” back into the PTA instead of being a propagandist for Bill and Melinda Gates. If they do not, they run the risk of the PTA standing for “Profits and Testing Association.”