Opting out of PARCC testing in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly hilarious. I'm sure parents of children at private schools all over the DC Metro area are laughing hysterically at the notion that PARCC testing is key to children being successful. It is my understanding that there are people who are paid to come and shill for the testing machine on social media. It has to be that, because it seems hard to believe that anyone could be so stupid as to believe that the PARCC has any impact on anything other than the ability to punish teachers. Oh, it also makes money for Pearson shareholders, right?

It's not so hilarious that we have been graduating millions of kids each year who are at best semi-literate, who can't make change, who can't point out the Pacific Ocean on a world map, who are barely employable, who either can't get into college or who would need serious remediation if they did.

Sadly you can't see beyond your own myopic, self-centered ideas to understand there's a whole lot more at stake here than your quaint little notions about "teachers being punished" or "Pearson shareholders..."

But nothing I see regarding this test will help solve your concerns. The PARCC testing is eating up an enormous chunk of the school year and is not going to help these kids suceed. Although each student may have only 10 days of testing but I know that at our school at least the testing and testing arrangements are consuming the energies of the administration, specialist and teachers - even more so at schools without extra teachers hired by PTAs. And the kids are going to struggle to even read and understand these tests - much less take them. And fasced with this seemingly hopeless struggle many just give up. I am dreading proctoring these exams - it is so disheartening to watch students be further shamed by testing. The resources and time these tests use would be much better spent teaching these kids, tutoring the ones who need extra help, bringing back sucessful programs such as Head Start.

I applaud any parents how protest this test by not allowing their children to participate.

You might feel it doesn't serve to improve anything but I would counter that everything you are pushing, by protesting testing and trashing accountability and standards, only serves to make America's education problem WORSE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly hilarious. I'm sure parents of children at private schools all over the DC Metro area are laughing hysterically at the notion that PARCC testing is key to children being successful. It is my understanding that there are people who are paid to come and shill for the testing machine on social media. It has to be that, because it seems hard to believe that anyone could be so stupid as to believe that the PARCC has any impact on anything other than the ability to punish teachers. Oh, it also makes money for Pearson shareholders, right?

It's not so hilarious that we have been graduating millions of kids each year who are at best semi-literate, who can't make change, who can't point out the Pacific Ocean on a world map, who are barely employable, who either can't get into college or who would need serious remediation if they did.

Sadly you can't see beyond your own myopic, self-centered ideas to understand there's a whole lot more at stake here than your quaint little notions about "teachers being punished" or "Pearson shareholders..."

But nothing I see regarding this test will help solve your concerns. The PARCC testing is eating up an enormous chunk of the school year and is not going to help these kids suceed. Although each student may have only 10 days of testing but I know that at our school at least the testing and testing arrangements are consuming the energies of the administration, specialist and teachers - even more so at schools without extra teachers hired by PTAs. And the kids are going to struggle to even read and understand these tests - much less take them. And fasced with this seemingly hopeless struggle many just give up. I am dreading proctoring these exams - it is so disheartening to watch students be further shamed by testing. The resources and time these tests use would be much better spent teaching these kids, tutoring the ones who need extra help, bringing back sucessful programs such as Head Start.

I applaud any parents how protest this test by not allowing their children to participate.

You might feel it doesn't serve to improve anything but I would counter that everything you are pushing, by protesting testing and trashing accountability and standards, only serves to make America's education problem WORSE.

Except that's not what pp is saying -- she is speaking out against PARCC and high-stakes standardized testing that has been shown statistically not to benefit students and not to fairly or adequately assess teacher quality. It's this very type of system, fostered by NCLB that has made american education worse.

[Anonymous]

Where is the concrete data, analysis and evidence to prove that NCLB has made education worse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where is the concrete data, analysis and evidence to prove that NCLB has made education worse?

where is the concrete data to show it has done what it was supposed to do to improve education? the idea was that by closing underperforming schools and testing students every year and firing underperforming teachers, all students would be proficient by 2015.

Didn't happen that way. Keeping the statistics did point out the huge differences in learning between SES groups, but NCLB has done nothing to change this.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]It is a great test. Unfortunately the current school system in the US is lacking. I am from Europe and I am scared that my kids are getting inferior education in the US (my husband is American). The teacher of my third grader distributed a division packet, where it was stated that a number divided by zero IS zero. I was petrified when I saw it!
I am thankful for the fact that this test will help our kids to get better quality of education and as the time goes by, underperforming teachers will be eliminated or will have to work harder to keep their jobs. [/quote]

I cannot imagine where you get the idea that "it is a great test". Did you go to PARCC's site and try the "great" tests for yourself? http://parcc.pearson.com/practice-tests/

Our kids' teachers and the school Principal say that it is a BAD TEST:

-- not developmentally appropriate in many cases,
-- unclear and vague in many parts,
-- ultimately testing typing and computer skills as much as content (e.g. 3rd graders have to type essays),
-- "not ready for prime time",
-- with VAST MAJORITY of states opting out, won't even provide the comparison that was envisioned

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader uses the keyboard daily so that isn't an issue. And why on earth are your kids "stressed out" by testing? Perhaps you are projecting. Considering they will be subject to these tests now and throughout their entire educational career you might want to consider homeschooling. In high school they will not be able to graduate without them. k

So I ask again, what are you hoping to accomplish? Instilling fear in your child for your own political grandstanding? It isn't to the benefit of your child.

Then more of half of American kids won't graduate. The tests are designed for the majority of kids to fail.

The tests are designed to test kids against life skills that they would need to be marketable and to survive in the outside world. These days more and more blue-collar jobs are being outsourced or eliminated by automation, and even some white collar jobs are seeing the same fate. If your kid is going to be failing these tests, he's probably also going to be failing LIFE. You are setting kids up for lifelong failure by not raising the bar. There's a lot more at stake here than some test - or even some teacher's job for that matter. You people need to pull your heads out of the sand and understand the future.

You really should google the genesis of this test and who was involved in putting it and common core together. The ONE -- yes, ONE -- mathematician who was involved DID NOT sign off on the final product.

People need to learn to think as critically as they are assuming this curriculum and test will teach their kids to be!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly hilarious. I'm sure parents of children at private schools all over the DC Metro area are laughing hysterically at the notion that PARCC testing is key to children being successful. It is my understanding that there are people who are paid to come and shill for the testing machine on social media. It has to be that, because it seems hard to believe that anyone could be so stupid as to believe that the PARCC has any impact on anything other than the ability to punish teachers. Oh, it also makes money for Pearson shareholders, right?

It's not so hilarious that we have been graduating millions of kids each year who are at best semi-literate, who can't make change, who can't point out the Pacific Ocean on a world map, who are barely employable, who either can't get into college or who would need serious remediation if they did.

Sadly you can't see beyond your own myopic, self-centered ideas to understand there's a whole lot more at stake here than your quaint little notions about "teachers being punished" or "Pearson shareholders..."

But nothing I see regarding this test will help solve your concerns. The PARCC testing is eating up an enormous chunk of the school year and is not going to help these kids suceed. Although each student may have only 10 days of testing but I know that at our school at least the testing and testing arrangements are consuming the energies of the administration, specialist and teachers - even more so at schools without extra teachers hired by PTAs. And the kids are going to struggle to even read and understand these tests - much less take them. And fasced with this seemingly hopeless struggle many just give up. I am dreading proctoring these exams - it is so disheartening to watch students be further shamed by testing. The resources and time these tests use would be much better spent teaching these kids, tutoring the ones who need extra help, bringing back sucessful programs such as Head Start.

I applaud any parents how protest this test by not allowing their children to participate.

+1

[Anonymous]

Gave up on OSSE. We contacted our Principal and explained that we are opting out.

[Anonymous]

Do the anti-testing people hang out with the anti-vaccine people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the anti-testing people hang out with the anti-vaccine people?

Yes. We're planning a joint convention. Ignorance is bliss, huh?

[Anonymous]

You really should google the genesis of this test and who was involved in putting it and common core together. The ONE -- yes, ONE -- mathematician who was involved DID NOT sign off on the final product.

Where did you find this information? Do you have a link to an article?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You really should google the genesis of this test and who was involved in putting it and common core together. The ONE -- yes, ONE -- mathematician who was involved DID NOT sign off on the final product.

Where did you find this information? Do you have a link to an article?

James Milgram is a professor emeritus of mathematics at Stanford University. He served on the validation committee for the Common Core mathematics. He did not agree to approve the standards.
http://dianeravitch.net/2013/09/11/james-milgram-on-the-common-core-math-standards/


http://parentsacrossamerica.org/james-milgram-on-the-new-core-curriculum-standards-in-math/

"My Qualifications. I was one of the national reviewers of both the first and second drafts of the new TX math standards. I was also one of the 25 members of the CCSSO/NGA Validation Committee, and the only content expert in mathematics.
...
As a result, there are a number of extremely serious failings in Core Standards that make it premature for any state with serious hopes for improving the quality of the mathematical education of their children to adopt them.
...
Core Standards – in large measure a political document that, in spite of a number of real strengths, is written at a very low level and does not adequately reflect our current understanding of why the math programs in the high achieving countries give dramatically better results"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Inform your school now that you will be keeping your child home on testing days and that you are opting them out of the test. I'm sure if there is some provision that exists (which I doubt) they will let you know right away.

I do think you should inform them you have chosen to keep them home on testing day so there is no assumption your child just happened to be out.

Our school goes on lockdown with every grade affected by the seriousness of administering the test. That's what you get when the fear of god, loss of job and bad performance evaluations driving teachers teach to the test. It's too bad tying performance evaluations to the tests was ever implemented (I know it's been suspended this year) because the whole atmosphere in our school is really shitty and I don't see that abating just because the evaluation/performance piece isn't around this year.

The anti-PARCC sentiment will catch up to DC, it's just not here yet. It's like a rising tide of disgusted parents across the U.S.

Apparently the principal at our school told her faculty that in the event of the fire alarm going off during PARCC testing that they need to log off all of the computers first! Can you believe this? DCPS values the test over the safety of their students and faculty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inform your school now that you will be keeping your child home on testing days and that you are opting them out of the test. I'm sure if there is some provision that exists (which I doubt) they will let you know right away.

I do think you should inform them you have chosen to keep them home on testing day so there is no assumption your child just happened to be out.

Our school goes on lockdown with every grade affected by the seriousness of administering the test. That's what you get when the fear of god, loss of job and bad performance evaluations driving teachers teach to the test. It's too bad tying performance evaluations to the tests was ever implemented (I know it's been suspended this year) because the whole atmosphere in our school is really shitty and I don't see that abating just because the evaluation/performance piece isn't around this year.

The anti-PARCC sentiment will catch up to DC, it's just not here yet. It's like a rising tide of disgusted parents across the U.S.

Apparently the principal at our school told her faculty that in the event of the fire alarm going off during PARCC testing that they need to log off all of the computers first! Can you believe this? DCPS values the test over the safety of their students and faculty.

Can you imagine the lawsuit against the city in the event of a real fire if this procedure was actually followed and people hurt?!?! I have to think the school would ignore this in the real life situation. How insane -- I hope this was some sort of crazy misunderstanding...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inform your school now that you will be keeping your child home on testing days and that you are opting them out of the test. I'm sure if there is some provision that exists (which I doubt) they will let you know right away.

I do think you should inform them you have chosen to keep them home on testing day so there is no assumption your child just happened to be out.

Our school goes on lockdown with every grade affected by the seriousness of administering the test. That's what you get when the fear of god, loss of job and bad performance evaluations driving teachers teach to the test. It's too bad tying performance evaluations to the tests was ever implemented (I know it's been suspended this year) because the whole atmosphere in our school is really shitty and I don't see that abating just because the evaluation/performance piece isn't around this year.

The anti-PARCC sentiment will catch up to DC, it's just not here yet. It's like a rising tide of disgusted parents across the U.S.

Apparently the principal at our school told her faculty that in the event of the fire alarm going off during PARCC testing that they need to log off all of the computers first! Can you believe this? DCPS values the test over the safety of their students and faculty.

PP, you should make sure that misconception is addressed, that would be awful if they spent time doing that in the case of smoke or fire with young children in the building.