Reseachers at Teachers College, Columbia University, are conducting research about the Opt Out Movement.
Please consider participating in their survey if you are interested in the efforts of parents to keep their children from taking state tests as a protest against the overuse and misuse of standardized testing.
The survey was designed by two professors: Oren Piemonte-Levy and Nancy Green Saraisky.
For further information, you can contact:
Oren Pizmony-Levy, PhD
Assistant Professor of International and Comparative Education
Department of International and Transcultural Studies
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street
370 Grace Dodge Hall
Box 55
New York, NY 10027
Tel (office): 212-678-3180
Email: pizmony-levy@tc.columbia.edu
Website: http://orenpizmonylevy.com/
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I completed the survey yesterday. I thought that it was well designed as an instrument and there were spaces in there to write comments on what is on one’s mind or what is happening (close to home). As a retired teacher I thought the questions were all relative to me and they did not rule out those of us who don’t have children in the schools (or work at this current time).
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I completed the survey and thought the questions were very well designed. I liked that there were areas to post further comments. The only thing I didn’t like was that I was limited to only 5 reasons why (of about 20) for one of the questions that was important to me…..so I had to whittle away about 6 choices.
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Seconding Jean’s and Lisa’s comments.
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Here is the list:
People have different reasons for participating in activities related to opting out. In this question, we are interested in the main reasons for your participation. Please choose up to five reasons.
• I oppose the Common Core State Standards
• I oppose the growing role of corporations in schools
• I oppose the growing role of the federal government in schools
• I oppose the privatization of schools
• I oppose using students’ performance on standardized tests to evaluate teachers
• My children asked if they could opt out from standardized tests
• My children complained about standardized tests
• My children don’t do well on standardized tests
• Standardized tests are unfair for racial/ethnic minorities
• Standardized tests force teachers to teach to the test
• Standardized tests take away too much instructional time
• To demonstrate the power of nonviolence as a vehicle for social change
• To disrupt the usage of standardized tests
• To gain knowledge of educational issues
• To raise awareness about public education
• To protect my children’s right to privacy; testing agencies have too much information
• Other (ENTER TEXT)
Here are my 5 reasons to support opt- out movement. Back2basic
1) I oppose the growing role of corporations in schools
2) I oppose the privatization of schools.
3) Standardized tests force teachers to teach to the test
4) Standardized tests take away too much instructional time
5) To demonstrate the power of nonviolence as a vehicle for social change
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yep….I had more than 5.
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What an agreement in opinion! My first four are the same. My fifth is “To protect my children’s right to privacy; testing agencies have too much information.”
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