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

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Reply to "PARCC -- What a waste. Can we opt out?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]See this guidance from the Office of the Student Advocate (page 2 covers opting out).

https://sboe.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/sboe/page_content/attachments/OSA%20Assessments%20FAQ%205-13-16.pdf

Short answer - not really [/quote]

According to that document, the short answer is yes.  Yes, you can opt out.  Bear in mind that if the school has a celebration party for completing the test, your DC may be excluded.  Also, you may need to find some documentation (get your pediatrician to write a note) to state why your child was "sick" on testing days.  
[b]
[i]Is there an opt-out policy for statewide assessments?[/b]

There are currently no formal disciplinary consequences for a student who refuses to take the	test.  A student who does not take the PARCC assessment may be excluded from any incentive rewards.

[b]Does	my child HAVE to take the PARCC assessments?[/b]

Currently, there	is no	legislation	banning parents	from	opting out	of statewide assessments, nor is	there legislation	for an opt-out process.  According to the statewide assessment policy from OSSE, eligible students are	required to take	any statewide assessments.  A child may be	marked as	absent for the time missed during assessment testing days.  A student who does not take the	PARCC assessment may also be excluded from any incentive	rewards for successful completion of assessments.[/i]

I would love to see DC develop an anti-testing culture comparable to that in more educated states such a Massachusetts (http://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/the-facts-on-opting-out-of-mcas-or-parcc/).[b]  I resent the school using my child for its own purposes.  This doesn't benefit the students.[/b][/quote]

What's worse is that some (many?) elementary schools have younger grades "celebrate" the older grades taking the PARCC by holding school-wide rah-rah PARCC assemblies or making signs or whatever.  So not only is wasting the time of kids in testing years, but also the time of the kids in non-testing grades.  Meanwhile, it is teaching the younger kids that the tests are a big deal and that that deserve a lot of emphasis, which is exactly what you don't want if understand the downsides of test-driven education.[/quote]

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