PARCC -- What a waste. Can we opt out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A veteran Dem staffer actually. Despite Ted Cruz.

Interesting. The Dems were the strongest backers on the Hill for this corporate testimony regime.

.

* Correction, testing regime.

amen. I miss 44 but not his ED, even if they were infinitely more qualified than current.

on a related note -- given that teachers will be evaluated on student performance, why not let your on grade level or higher student take the test and at least provide the data being unfairly used to assess their competancy vis a vis your child's performance?

[Anonymous]

Few parents seem to know that up to 5% of the kids can skip the test in any school without the ELA and math tests being given a 1 grade. Since hardly anybody opts out here in staid DC, if you do, you almost certainly aren't going to be hurting your teacher's evaluation. The United Opt Out movement estimates that only around 1.5% of DC public school families opted out in 2016.

If you want to opt out from your IB DCPS for whatever reasons, my strong suggestion is that you keep this thought to yourself (unless you want to take flak from other parents, OSSE, admins and possibly teachers), tune out the chatter and quietly opt out without guilt, shame or fear if your kid is well under 10 unexcused absences threshold when you begin the process. We've started a family tradition of taking a study trip out of town during PARCC week, picking a theme in advance. Works for us. If you're OOB at a DCPS or in a high regarded charter, I wouldn't risk it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS. According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that state-mandated standardized tests cannot measure include

creativity
critical thinking
resilience
motivation
persistence
curiosity
endurance
reliability
enthusiasm
empathy
self-awareness
self-discipline
leadership
civic-mindedness
courage
compassion
resourcefulness
sense of beauty
sense of wonder
honesty
integrity

So what? God help us all if someone comes up with a test for all that too!!!!!!

P.S. Just because they don't test it doesn't mean it isn't being taught or instilled in the students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Few parents seem to know that up to 5% of the kids can skip the test in any school without the ELA and math tests being given a 1 grade. Since hardly anybody opts out here in staid DC, if you do, you almost certainly aren't going to be hurting your teacher's evaluation. The United Opt Out movement estimates that only around 1.5% of DC public school families opted out in 2016.

If you want to opt out from your IB DCPS for whatever reasons, my strong suggestion is that you keep this thought to yourself (unless you want to take flak from other parents, OSSE, admins and possibly teachers), tune out the chatter and quietly opt out without guilt, shame or fear if your kid is well under 10 unexcused absences threshold when you begin the process. We've started a family tradition of taking a study trip out of town during PARCC week, picking a theme in advance. Works for us. If you're OOB at a DCPS or in a high regarded charter, I wouldn't risk it.

christ. it's just a test. that kind of hysteria is on par with anti-vaxxers. so what if people follow your advice and push the school number to 6% or higher? Gee, thanks for the great job you did teaching and caring for my child the past 9 months, but we're going to @#&$ your year end evaluation over our hangups.

Keep riding that herd immunity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Few parents seem to know that up to 5% of the kids can skip the test in any school without the ELA and math tests being given a 1 grade. Since hardly anybody opts out here in staid DC, if you do, you almost certainly aren't going to be hurting your teacher's evaluation. The United Opt Out movement estimates that only around 1.5% of DC public school families opted out in 2016.

If you want to opt out from your IB DCPS for whatever reasons, my strong suggestion is that you keep this thought to yourself (unless you want to take flak from other parents, OSSE, admins and possibly teachers), tune out the chatter and quietly opt out without guilt, shame or fear if your kid is well under 10 unexcused absences threshold when you begin the process. We've started a family tradition of taking a study trip out of town during PARCC week, picking a theme in advance. Works for us. If you're OOB at a DCPS or in a high regarded charter, I wouldn't risk it.

christ. it's just a test. that kind of hysteria is on par with anti-vaxxers. so what if people follow your advice and push the school number to 6% or higher? Gee, thanks for the great job you did teaching and caring for my child the past 9 months, but we're going to @#&$ your year end evaluation over our hangups.

Keep riding that herd immunity

Not our fault that the union was unwilling to strike over test scores being tied to teacher evaluation.

Unlike with vaccines, the research doesn't back the corporate reform model that boils every child down to math and ELA.

I have every right not to share my child's personal information with this testing corporation.

[Anonymous]

If all the high perfoming kids boycott
DCPS can claim they closed the achievement gap
A win-win

[Anonymous]

+100. Dark, but funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If all the high perfoming kids boycott
DCPS can claim they closed the achievement gap
A win-win

[Anonymous]

My 3rd grader took the ELA PARCC yesterday. He was excited as they were given gum and mints. I like looking at my kids scores when they come out. Data is always interesting. Also while we are hating on Pearssons, we should hate on College Board too. They have quite the gig - PSAT, SAT and AP exams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader took the ELA PARCC yesterday. He was excited as they were given gum and mints. I like looking at my kids scores when they come out. Data is always interesting. Also while we are hating on Pearssons, we should hate on College Board too. They have quite the gig - PSAT, SAT and AP exams.

Don't forget the SAT 2 subject tests!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3rd grader took the ELA PARCC yesterday. He was excited as they were given gum and mints. I like looking at my kids scores when they come out. Data is always interesting. Also while we are hating on Pearssons, we should hate on College Board too. They have quite the gig - PSAT, SAT and AP exams.

Don't forget the SAT 2 subject tests!!

Yes. It was great that ESSA eliminated the College Board's direct Federal subsidy. We shouldn't be giving them earmarks with our taxpayer dollars.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a huge fan of standardized tests like PARCC, but it kind of goes along with the territory when you choose to attend public school. There has to be some kind of standardized test for the purpose of accountability. I don't think that parents should be allowed to opt out--if you choose to send your kids to public school then there are certain requirements they have to adhere to, and PARCC is one of them. For what it's worth, I send my kids to public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a huge fan of standardized tests like PARCC, but it kind of goes along with the territory when you choose to attend public school. There has to be some kind of standardized test for the purpose of accountability. I don't think that parents should be allowed to opt out--if you choose to send your kids to public school then there are certain requirements they have to adhere to, and PARCC is one of them. For what it's worth, I send my kids to public school.

I don't have a choice to send my kids to school, the government requires it.

[Anonymous]

You can be okay with some standardized testing and yet not like the PARCC. The PARCC exam has all sorts of problems, noted in various posts above, besides simply being a standardized test.

The take-the-test commenters keep arguing that people should just deal with the PARCC because standardized testing has some value. These commenters are misunderstanding what the PARCC vomplainers are complaining about.

So we've got two groups here talking past Each other....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a huge fan of standardized tests like PARCC, but it kind of goes along with the territory when you choose to attend public school. There has to be some kind of standardized test for the purpose of accountability. I don't think that parents should be allowed to opt out--if you choose to send your kids to public school then there are certain requirements they have to adhere to, and PARCC is one of them. For what it's worth, I send my kids to public school.

I don't have a choice to send my kids to school, the government requires it.

What? More than 3% of American families with school-age children home school, legally. No state seeks to prevent home schooling. Most states don't require home schoolers to submit to standardized tests. Moreover, the Every Child Succeeds Act doesn't require children to take state-mandated standardized tests. What it does is allow states to enact opt-out policies, or not, and allows the federal government to withhold funding from individual schools where at least 95% of children are not tested. The government has never withheld funding, not once in the 20 years No Child Left Behind and now the ECSA have been in force, so it's an idle threat.