Jeanette Deutermann, parent leader of Long Island Opt Out, explains here why she will not allow her children to take the state tests. The interesting question she raises is, why are public officials and the media so desperate to compel students to take these tests? The tests provide no useful information to teachers or parents. Teachers are not allowed to see the questions or the answers. They are not allowed to learn what children do and do not know. The tests have no diagnostic value. The tests have a passing mark set so high that the majority of students are expected to “fail.” What is the point? Why the pressure to force children to take these useless tests?

As the debate over common core, high-stakes testing, and privatizing/profiting off our public schools rages on, one thing is clear: reformers, Commissioner Elia, and the Federal Government still do not quite understand why we opt our children out of high-stakes testing. Strip away all of the rhetoric, all the political battles, the union battles, all the money. What do you have left? A child. A child who, as young as 8, is taken into a room stripped of all wall art and colorful learning tools (as per test administration guidelines) by teachers and school administrators whose normally warm, jovial, and friendly behavior has been replaced by solemn looks of concern. Yes, some concern for themselves (how these children do on these assessments will be published in local papers, go on their permanent records, can make or break their careers, and even close their schools) but most of that concern is for that of their students, their children, whom they are charged with protecting, who are about to be thrown to the wolves. As these youngest learners take their seats, they are given stern instructions that are antithetical to a normal elementary school classroom. No speaking, no noise, no looking around, no asking for help on questions. The child begins to get nervous. This nervousness is making them feel like they have to use the bathroom, but they were just told that going to the bathroom was a big deal. The test begins. They believe this test is very important. Their parents and teachers told them not to worry, that it doesn’t matter, but they know it does. They know their teacher has been preparing them for it all year. They desperately want to please their teachers and parents. They begin reading the questions. They don’t understand what they are reading. (The reading passage is three grade levels above their own). They don’t understand the questions either. There seems to be two right answers for every question. Panic creeps in. A classmate begins crying. This causes another to cry. The teacher tries to calm them down, but the teacher herself has tears in her eyes as well. Two hours go by while the child struggles to complete questions that were designed to fail 70% of her and her classmates. She has a special education classmate that will have to endure a grueling 3 hours or more of testing, as he has double time for testing. The test is finally over. Unfortunately this is just one day. This child will have to repeat this event 5 more times over the next two weeks. The teacher doesn’t bother with normal instruction over these two weeks. The children just can’t endure any more.

Some children experience the stress of the looming tests for weeks and even months leading up to the tests. Parents report lack of sleep, stomach pains, and anxiety symptoms from their usually well-adjusted children. Some just feel the filtered down stress that is all too common in today’s classrooms as teachers are being held under a microscope while under constant attack from those looking to replace them with non-union Teach For America trained temps. Some react during homework, especially those in districts that continue to use confusing, poorly written, purposely convoluted modules. Parents are tired of hearing “I’m stupid”, “I don’t want to go to school anymore”, “I’ll never be able to do this”. Other parents refuse because of the change from a whole child education, in which arts, music, play, science, social studies and creative learning dominate the day, to one in which ELA and math prep have taken over. Most see that as detrimental and harmful to their children’s well being, perhaps with even more long-term damaging effects than the tests themselves.

You can begin to understand why a parent, ANY parent, might say “enough”. So while opting out has turned into a tool of resistance to fight back against harmful policies, a loss of local control, the corporate takeover of education and politics, a top down approach to education, and a way to force political officials to listen, at its core is the simple primal act to protect our children. The Federal Government, Commissioner Elia, and corporate funded groups like High Achievement believe that clever marketing strategies will fix the problem and get parents to forget all about the harm done to their children each and every day. They believe a few tweaks here and there should cause us to throw our children back into the shark tank of good intentions. When that doesn’t seem to work they switch gears and simply try to threaten. We have heard these threats before. Again, there is a disconnect to the understanding of what we are motivated by. Financial bribes or threats could never convince me to put my children in harm’s way.

So what can the Federal Government or State Education Department do to prevent opt outs? Not much. Parents are not their employees, and our children are not their property. They can force school officials to offer the test to every single student. Oh wait! They already do that. Every single student in New York State was offered the NYS assessments in 2015. 240,000 of them said “no thank you”, and declined to pick up a pencil. As much as it befuddles and confuses the State and Federal Education Departments, the simple reality is there is NOTHING they can do about a student who refuses to pick up a pencil and a parent who encourages, directs, and supports that action. Actually, I’m incorrect. There is something they can do. They can restore testing times to pre-reform assessments times. Two 70 minute assessments, administered in fourth grade and eighth grade. They can reverse course on common core, instead allowing educators in each state to create challenging, appropriate, and research based standards. They can allow educators to create tests so we can test what is taught rather than teach what is tested. They can remove student performance assessment measures from the evaluation system. VAM (value added measures) have been thoroughly researched and found to have no impact on improving student learning or reducing the achievement gap. They can provide alternate pathways to graduation for our special education students. Finally, they can bring equity to our schools. The achievement gap is a result of one single factor: poverty. Funding, not testing, is the only way to improve learning outcomes for our most vulnerable and highest needs children. Smaller class sizes, materials, support staff, and community school models will do what no test ever could.

My advice to Commissioner Elia and the United States Department of Education? Don’t try to stand in the way of parents protecting their children. It won’t end well. Our children are our number one priority. What’s yours?