refusing standardized testing

[Anonymous]

Somewhere I read that you can legally refuse to have your child participate in standardized testing. Has anyone actually done this? What are the ramifications for your child if you do this?

[Anonymous]

Do you mean refusing to take the MSA? At a school I used to teach at many yrs ago, lots of kids never showed up the few days the MSPAP (precursor to the MSA) was given. The admin was bribing the kids left and right to show up (pizza parties, giving away prizes, etc) but lots of kids never came. I can't blame them since the scores were solely for the school's benefit and they didn't even get them until the following fall. By then, the 5th graders were in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I am referring to the MSA. My child is currently in a private school. I have mixed feelings about the private school - some aspects of it actually don't impress me that much - HOWEVER, she doesn't have to do the MSA. They do ERBs, but no studying for the test. In the private school, if you miss the ERBs, they have makeup sessions.

Anyway, I had wondered if I could just have my child skip the MSA without problems for her later on. She hates pizza, so a pizza bribe wouldn't work for her. Just wondered if you really can skip the MSA.

[Anonymous]

What's the benefit to you to skipping it? If the school is doing a lot of prep or orienting the curriculum around the prep, your child will still be in school for those days, and as far as actually taking the test, I'm not sure a little meaningless practice in taking standardized tests is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Yes it really is all the practice for the test that is the issue. In private school they get the practice of taking the test, but don't go through all the practice.

[Anonymous]

We have included DC's perfect scores on previous-year tests as part of our application to independent schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes it really is all the practice for the test that is the issue. In private school they get the practice of taking the test, but don't go through all the practice.

Then don't go to public school b/c they really do teach to the test whether they will admit it or not. Which schools your child would attend might make a difference about how much test prep there is so talk to parents of kids currently in that school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it really is all the practice for the test that is the issue. In private school they get the practice of taking the test, but don't go through all the practice.

Then don't go to public school b/c they really do teach to the test whether they will admit it or not. Which schools your child would attend might make a difference about how much test prep there is so talk to parents of kids currently in that school.

...and don't blame the teachers. The heavy emphasis on test-prep/writing BCRs, etc. comes down from the administration. Everything is data driven and "proficient" is no longer the goal for reading and math scores. Rather, it's How do we get more kids in the advanced range? January through March is exhausting for the staff as well as the kids. I'm sure plenty of teachers would rather be doing something creative as opposed to rewriting yet another BCR.

[Anonymous]

Skipping in large numbers would be more effective than just doing it individually. We're not in the school yet, next year but I am already dismayed about what I have been hearing from students about test prep eradicating any real education. I also hear how it is not the teachers but the administration. I don't understand why more parents have not banded together to stage a test sit out to change things.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you can keep your child home the day(s) of the tests. However, the schools can test the students when they come back. I don't think the school needs your permission to administer the test. If the child is in school, I believe the child can be administered the test.

You probably can't pull your child from school for two whole months of pretest practice, however. You can (best through the PTA) request that the school administration keep track of what percentage of time in class is spent specifically on test prep, and you can ask them to justify the amount of time spent on test prep versus spent on just plain old content area instruction. A small amount of time is reasonable. A large amount of time is an indication that they don't think your students have been effectively taught all year long. If that's the case, they really shoudl review teaching strategies whole-scale.

In addition, the teacehrs shoudl be administering pretests to see which students NEED extra practice in math, reading and (for grades 4 and 5) science. If in January kids are already scoring in the "pass proficient" or "pass advanced" categories, they really shoudn't be subjected to more test review. As the principal to explain how they are assessing students ahead of time to know when needs the extra help, and who doesn't, so instructional time is maximized.

[Anonymous]

Testing doesn't eradicate ALL education, and we didn't even see two months of it. But week or two before the test are pretty bad. Also the MSA "rallies" that the kids have to go to.

I'd be up for a walk-out or sit-down protest. Wonder if DC would do it?

[Anonymous]

The walk out or sit down protest is probably not such a good idea. One component of making Adequate Yearly Progress (from NCLB) is testing 95% of the students in testing grades. If you miss that, your school will not make AYP. Unfortunately, it may SEEM like the testing push is coming down from the administration (and an easy solution would be to protest at the local school level), the problem really lies with No Child Left Behind, and the federal government.

[Anonymous]

If you do make the switch to public and boycott the MSA, the HSAs in high school (similar format) are a graduation requirement.

At the high school, those scores count toward schools' AYP and toward an individual student's graduation - assuming, of course, that the student has made the cut off score.

[Anonymous]

Apparently MSA prep will add a total of 11 hours (1/2 hour daily) between now and testing in March, at Eastern MS which failed AYP. http://themorechild.com/

[Anonymous]

"The walk out or sit down protest is probably not such a good idea. One component of making Adequate Yearly Progress (from NCLB) is testing 95% of the students in testing grades. If you miss that, your school will not make AYP. Unfortunately, it may SEEM like the testing push is coming down from the administration (and an easy solution would be to protest at the local school level), the problem really lies with No Child Left Behind, and the federal government."

I disagree. NCLB is not the entire problem. Local schools have not all responded to NCLB in the same manner. Some local schools are not in fear of not passing but overly focused on outperforming each other. Performance reviews of schools and staff is being measured by these rankings. The MCPS obsession in test prep is not about meeting the minimum bar or even median level for the NCLB requirements. Test prep is also cheaper than paying for special teachers, art supplies, science experiments or other curriculum. Do not think for a second that budget does not play into some of the decisions to focus solely on reading, writing, and math. NCLB is a very convenient excuse for many problems stemming from other issues.

A sit out in a top test score ranking school would get media attention, possibly put a crack in wall that is MCPS, and could force positive changes at the school board level.