SOLs

[Anonymous]

The school is going to be making arrangements for kids to come to school and take their SOLs. I’m thinking of opting my elementary student out of taking this as I don’t think their only time going into school for this school year should be to sit and take a standardized test. Do SOLs even matter? What are the implications of opting out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The school is going to be making arrangements for kids to come to school and take their SOLs. I’m thinking of opting my elementary student out of taking this as I don’t think their only time going into school for this school year should be to sit and take a standardized test. Do SOLs even matter? What are the implications of opting out?

I’m doing the same. No implications at the elementary school level.

[Anonymous]

All the SOLs are doing this year is showing how badly remote learning failed, or how well it succeeded.

[Anonymous]

I've heard that the state can seek a waiver from the federal government.

[Anonymous]

I think there’s no negative implication to opting out if you have a student younger than 6th grade. With 6th grade if the kid wants algebra - the math SOL supposedly is considered.
I will opt in for my 3rd & 6th graders. I believe test tasking is something you can get better with, with practice. As a general matter I think all third graders score lower across the board - I think because it is their first time taking it - and I’m fine for mine to start getting practice. I don’t care if others opt out. I don’t think it’s a big deal either way.

[Anonymous]

Do schools and teachers get any benefit from the students getting good SOL scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do schools and teachers get any benefit from the students getting good SOL scores?

Normally yes, it effects school accreditation at the state level I think?

This year is different.

[Anonymous]

i'm opting mine out b/c there is no benefit to them personally.

[Anonymous]

I would absolutely opt them out. Let them spend the time learning. They can take them in the fall, I read somewhere. But fir elementary, no need and so much less stress for everyone if you skip them. Your kids don’t need test stress on top of everything they’ve dealt with already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do schools and teachers get any benefit from the students getting good SOL scores?

Benefit, no. You have to have a certain amount of kids passing for accreditation. But the accreditation piece is waived this year. Ur you want your kid to take it they can but IMO the test is compromised and unreliable because a) they didn’t take it in spring so we have no benchmark, b) impossible to know whether they did well due to instruction or help at home and similarly if they did poorly due to instruction or outside factors since we didn’t have them with us in the learning environment. I don’t think it’s worth them taking it in elementary and will probably opt my kids out (I’m a teacher). For high school, I do not trust that they’ll have been adequately modified to consider the circumstances and constraints and that concerns me.

[Anonymous]

I’m having my child take them. He won’t pass and it will look terrible for the schools.

If you think that your child will not pass, you absolutely should have him/her take them. Don’t put any pressure on them obviously and let them know however they do is fine. Schools never share the scores with the students.

Do not allow the school to talk you into a “retake” to raise the score.

[Anonymous]

I might send my child if we the parents are vaccinated by then. Other than that, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m having my child take them. He won’t pass and it will look terrible for the schools.

If you think that your child will not pass, you absolutely should have him/her take them. Don’t put any pressure on them obviously and let them know however they do is fine. Schools never share the scores with the students.

Do not allow the school to talk you into a “retake” to raise the score.

Kids feel stress taking tests when they don’t know the material. They know they don’t know it. If you want to do this nobody can stop you but I ask you to consider it’s significantly more detrimental to do that to your kid than it will be to the schools.

[Anonymous]

I believe if you opt out the school gets a 0 anyway. But in ES and MS it has zero effect on you too.

Even with the algebra thing in FCPS, it's kind of BS and now they will let anyone into algebra.

[Anonymous]

OPT. OUT.