You can opt-out of the testing for your kids

Parents at Castle Bridge delighted at the realization that they could yank their kids from tests. Don Lash, parent of a Castle Bridge first-grader, said “just being aware there was an alternative” was a revelation.

It was so obvious to me that I assumed all parents would know it. But after reading this article, I am understanding that many parents don't realize they can refuse to have their children take the tests that the schools are pushing on our kids.

I repeat: you can refuse to let your kids take the tests. Here's a bunch of information you might want to know about how, and down on the bottom of the article is information about federal law and opting out. It has not been updated to say "Race to the Top" and still says "No Child Left Behind", but the laws are the same.

Opting out of the testing is such a simple way to not only protect your children's privacy, but to get involved in stopping the madness:

[In New York] by October 28, families of 93 of the 97 students subject to the tests had opted out.

In January, high school teacher and activist Jesse Hagopian helped lead the dramatic test boycott at Seattle’s Garfield High School. Teachers refused to administer, and students refused to take the state test, which organizers argued wasn’t aligned to curriculum and provided statistically unreliable results. After a months-long standoff with the district which saw teachers threatened with suspension, the district relented and allowed the high school to forgo the test.

Another article, this one in the New Haven Register says:

Multiple Supreme Court cases and the 14th Amendment give parents the “fundamental right” to direct the course of their children’s education, said Ceresta Smith, also a United Opt Out administrator. The key in most cases is the ability to prove your child’s proficiency in an area through an alternative assessment, such as a portfolio of their work.

“I think what they have to keep in mind more than anything else is testing is supposed to document proficiency. ... If your child is able to demonstrate proficiency, there’s nothing written in stone,” she said.

In April, nearly 8,000 New York state parents opted their children out of Common Core-aligned exams...

“From my point of view, Connecticut is just jumping into the water, but has the potential to blow the whole thing out of the water,” Turner said of the opt-out effort in Connecticut. “The heat will be turned up as soon as districts start indicating if students are only doing CMTs and CAPT, or, like New York did, field the new SBAC assessments, as well.”

The tests have yet to show an increase in graduation rate, a reduction in the so-called school-to-prison pipeline or a decrease in poverty, McDermott said. Instead, she said, people are seeing “public schools close, a huge rise in children’s stress level. They’re getting sick, nauseous."

This is such a simple way for us, as parents, to make a statement to our schools about our feelings regarding theses tests.

My children will not be taking them. Will yours?