I seriously just want to opt out of testing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And so those parents should be charged under neglect. Each parent/guardian has that as a responsibility and each child has the right to attend school. End of discussion.

Correction, the discussion has just started. Each parent/guardian has a responsibility to try to ensure that his or her child(ren) gets a great education. Bring on the trips to compete in international piano competitions, while earning straight As, and to visit culturally rich Asian countries (from which an adopted child's ancestors hail) while working with a tutor. The WaPo coverage of abusive and bone-headed DCPS truancy policies has been terrific.

Opt out if you want, OP, but cover your truancy bases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you can hassle with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education people over officially opting out (we did it, big headache, believe me, they aren't there to help you opt out), or just write your principal a note telling him or her that you're going to opt out. I'd notarize the note and make my own arrangements for childcare on test days - you can't trust DCPS to work with you. You send your kid to school have them marked present, then take them home, or wherever else, for the rest of the school day. Email the school every day to explain what you're doing for your records, just in case the truancy police/social workers come knocking over unexused absence issues.

Your kid can't be held back a grade, or otherwise penalized, if you opt out. You don't need to explain a thing - the law is on your side. Just do it if you wish. I wouldn't worry about aggregate scores, indivudal scores, philosophy of testing, helping the the poor or anything else if you decide to opt out. As you may know, nearly 20% of public school families in NJ opted out earlier this year, mainly to protest high stakes standardized testing vis a vis teachers' assessments. If only DC parents were half as plucky collectively.

As long as they child is marked present they can't flag you for truancy even if you pull them out early every day of testing. Especially if you have informed them ahead of time.

Unfortunately, they can under Kaya's "80/20" rule, imposed by fiat over the summer. Google it. This school year, if a DCPS student misses 20% or more of any given school day, he or she can be marked absent for the entire day. Many elementary schools seem to be ignoring the rule, particularly those catering to high SES parents, but I wouldn't bank on DCPS not flagging a family for truancy if a kid is pulled out early each day of PARCC testing. Remember, this is the school system hauling the parents of globe-trotting piano protegies and children adopted from Mongolia to court on charges of criminal child neglect.

I don't think this is just Kaya. Charters started that rule as well.

Attendance mandates come from OSSE.

Yes, but it's so much easier to blame Kaya for everything.

[Anonymous]

Testing doesn't bother me. I know what my child's capabilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And so those parents should be charged under neglect. Each parent/guardian has that as a responsibility and each child has the right to attend school. End of discussion.

Correction, the discussion has just started. Each parent/guardian has a responsibility to try to ensure that his or her child(ren) gets a great education. Bring on the trips to compete in international piano competitions, while earning straight As, and to visit culturally rich Asian countries (from which an adopted child's ancestors hail) while working with a tutor. The WaPo coverage of abusive and bone-headed DCPS truancy policies has been terrific.

Opt out if you want, OP, but cover your truancy bases.

Keep opting out and keep building your child's anxiety and fear of tests. I love it. Can't wait to see you at the DMV. Can I please opt out of this test and still get my license? please call me when you decide to try that one on them so I can stand there laughing my head off. This whole world is about testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And so those parents should be charged under neglect. Each parent/guardian has that as a responsibility and each child has the right to attend school. End of discussion.

Correction, the discussion has just started. Each parent/guardian has a responsibility to try to ensure that his or her child(ren) gets a great education. Bring on the trips to compete in international piano competitions, while earning straight As, and to visit culturally rich Asian countries (from which an adopted child's ancestors hail) while working with a tutor. The WaPo coverage of abusive and bone-headed DCPS truancy policies has been terrific.

Opt out if you want, OP, but cover your truancy bases.

Keep opting out and keep building your child's anxiety and fear of tests. I love it. Can't wait to see you at the DMV. Can I please opt out of this test and still get my license? please call me when you decide to try that one on them so I can stand there laughing my head off. This whole world is about testing.

Your whole world is about testing, because you are a Pearson shill. Very sad.

[Anonymous]

How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

Funny, back in the day when I was in public school, we had much less standardized testing and somehow I managed to do well on the college boards, the GRE and my drivers test

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

Funny, back in the day when I was in public school, we had much less standardized testing and somehow I managed to do well on the college boards, the GRE and my drivers test

Which "day" was that? I was in elementary school 37 years ago and we had standardized tests, Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the California Achievement Tests, the tests took a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

Funny, back in the day when I was in public school, we had much less standardized testing and somehow I managed to do well on the college boards, the GRE and my drivers test

Which "day" was that? I was in elementary school 37 years ago and we had standardized tests, Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the California Achievement Tests, the tests took a few days.

Anyone who went to public school has experienced standardized testing -- some privates too -- but they weren't as punishing as tests are today. If you don't want to believe that, fine, but opting out of some of today's ridiculous testing is not going to hobble kids' ability to get by in the modern world. It's just not.

It's a very weak argument to say that standardized testing in grade school on up is needed for people to successfully handle testing requirements after high school graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

Funny, back in the day when I was in public school, we had much less standardized testing and somehow I managed to do well on the college boards, the GRE and my drivers test

Which "day" was that? I was in elementary school 37 years ago and we had standardized tests, Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the California Achievement Tests, the tests took a few days.

Anyone who went to public school has experienced standardized testing -- some privates too -- but they weren't as punishing as tests are today. If you don't want to believe that, fine, but opting out of some of today's ridiculous testing is not going to hobble kids' ability to get by in the modern world. It's just not.

It's a very weak argument to say that standardized testing in grade school on up is needed for people to successfully handle testing requirements after high school graduation.

But it is needed to get an objective read on the quality of education and improvement or backsliding in that education. I have lived in DC a very long time and all the while the system was falling apart the school system administration, mayor, etc were whistling past the graveyard pretending like everything was fine.

[Anonymous]

Don't you people want some metrics on how the school is doing? Don't you believe that the school system should be held accountable for the outcomes of the children that it's charged with educating? Opting out of testing for your own selfish reasons just means that we are getting a skewed picture of how the school is doing.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind testing per se, but dislike multiple choice tests for elementary school children, and won't let mine anywhere near the PARCC. If the test included putting together a presentation, group work, reciting poetry, an art project, performing a song and dance number, creative writing, a choice of essay questions to respond to, speaking a foreign language, manipulating spread sheets, a spelling bee, a geography bee or any other vaguely academic exercise I thought my children might benefit from, I'd be cheering for the PARCC.

The private schools have it right- just teach and learn already, forget the bloody tests, at least for the high SES kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How will your DC get into college? Without testing? What about when in college? No finals? No bar exam? Oh, yeah, I can see them just letting your DC operate on people without taking and passing any exam. Blurry vision? Oh, you'll need an eye test, right? Wrong! Can't have my DC all stressed out about failing that test as well. Harden the f up. This whole world has tests waiting for your DC. Get real.

Funny, back in the day when I was in public school, we had much less standardized testing and somehow I managed to do well on the college boards, the GRE and my drivers test

Which "day" was that? I was in elementary school 37 years ago and we had standardized tests, Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the California Achievement Tests, the tests took a few days.

Anyone who went to public school has experienced standardized testing -- some privates too -- but they weren't as punishing as tests are today. If you don't want to believe that, fine, but opting out of some of today's ridiculous testing is not going to hobble kids' ability to get by in the modern world. It's just not.

It's a very weak argument to say that standardized testing in grade school on up is needed for people to successfully handle testing requirements after high school graduation.

But it is needed to get an objective read on the quality of education and improvement or backsliding in that education. I have lived in DC a very long time and all the while the system was falling apart the school system administration, mayor, etc were whistling past the graveyard pretending like everything was fine.

And all that time NAEP scores were going up -- faster than they have under Henderson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind testing per se, but dislike multiple choice tests for elementary school children, and won't let mine anywhere near the PARCC. If the test included putting together a presentation, group work, reciting poetry, an art project, performing a song and dance number, creative writing, a choice of essay questions to respond to, speaking a foreign language, manipulating spread sheets, a spelling bee, a geography bee or any other vaguely academic exercise I thought my children might benefit from, I'd be cheering for the PARCC.

The private schools have it right- just teach and learn already, forget the bloody tests, at least for the high SES kids.

Private schools require testing like the wippsi which is an IQ test for preschoolers for admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't mind testing per se, but dislike multiple choice tests for elementary school children, and won't let mine anywhere near the PARCC. If the test included putting together a presentation, group work, reciting poetry, an art project, performing a song and dance number, creative writing, a choice of essay questions to respond to, speaking a foreign language, manipulating spread sheets, a spelling bee, a geography bee or any other vaguely academic exercise I thought my children might benefit from, I'd be cheering for the PARCC.

The private schools have it right- just teach and learn already, forget the bloody tests, at least for the high SES kids.

Private schools require testing like the wippsi which is an IQ test for preschoolers for admissions.

that's before they're in school. What about afterwards?