Anonymous wrote:Reading up on the issue over the years has helped me make a list of of 2 dozen reasons I'm against PARCC testing. But I'm not against state standardized testing in K-8th per se. I'd be fine with type of standardized tests I took in school as a kid. They were Iowa Basic Skills tests, administered in one morning a school year without students having done any test prep, and without teachers evaluations linked to results, and graded by a non-profit (the Univ of Iowa). Teachers and parents were privy to both questions and answers, and results were returned in two or three months, always before the end of the school year when students took the tests. Those tests worked for me; the PARCC does not.

These just don't exist anymore, anywhere. Today's Iowa exams for elementary school students are 1/2 day exams given over 5 days.

I have very mixed views on the PARCC as a useful testing vehicle, but I would like to point out that a large portion of a teacher's contract is based on PARCC results. Teachers give 100% to our kids every day. This is a 4 hour opportunity for your students to give back to them - and coincidentally it is teacher appreciation week. That being said, if the teacher is not doing your child justice, it is an opportunity for your child to show his or her lack of progress which also reflects on the teacher and is important as well.

On the Deal specific front, last year there were unexpected computer issues, so students did not always end up taking tests on the scheduled days. There are also scheduled make-up days, so if you are keeping your kid out to avoid testing, it may end up being quite a few absences. To successfully avoid testing you may need to really stay on top of the schedule for the next few weeks on a daily basis.

Anonymous wrote:Reading up on the issue over the years has helped me make a list of of 2 dozen reasons I'm against PARCC testing. But I'm not against state standardized testing in K-8th per se. I'd be fine with type of standardized tests I took in school as a kid. They were Iowa Basic Skills tests, administered in one morning a school year without students having done any test prep, and without teachers evaluations linked to results, and graded by a non-profit (the Univ of Iowa). Teachers and parents were privy to both questions and answers, and results were returned in two or three months, always before the end of the school year when students took the tests. Those tests worked for me; the PARCC does not.

Even Iowa is going to a new test aligned to current standards, but they chose the Smarter Balanced assessment, not PARCC. https://iowacore.gov/content/parents-smarter-balanced-assessments

Reading up on the issue over the years has helped me make a list of of 2 dozen reasons I'm against PARCC testing. But I'm not against state standardized testing in K-8th per se. I'd be fine with type of standardized tests I took in school as a kid. They were Iowa Basic Skills tests, administered in one morning a school year without students having done any test prep, and without teachers evaluations linked to results, and graded by a non-profit (the Univ of Iowa). Teachers and parents were privy to both questions and answers, and results were returned in two or three months, always before the end of the school year when students took the tests. Those tests worked for me; the PARCC does not.

Can I ask if this is because you are trying to protest or because you think taking the test itself is detrimental to your kid?

I ask because I always assumed the problem with all this testing is the teaching to the test--which comes well before the test itself.

Just curious.

OP, if you're in-boundary and determined to opt out, you always have an option to head off the risk of truancy charges if your admins won't work with you on opting out (probable). What you can do can legally dis-enroll on day 1 of PARCC testing, and re-enroll on the last day of testing, or the last day of make-up testing. Worth considering if your child has already wracked up unexcused absences going into the testing period. Keep your annual enrollment forms in good order so you can resubmit them to your school's registrar in a snap.

Fair point.

The first group of parents who opted out on NCLB mandated tests, at a MS in Scarsdale NY, faced many barriers. Flash forward 15 years and opting-out has become so commonplace in the State of NY, the national opt-out epicenter (where 20% of students refuse to take state standardized tests), that the test has been re-designed to induce parents to opt-in. This year, results in NY are not linked to teachers evaluations for the first time, and there are no longer testing time limits.

Here in DC, the opt-out movement hasn't gained much traction. The small number of families (1%?) who opt out should expect headaches and hard work as local opt-out pioneers.

Anonymous wrote:What a pain.

Civil disobedience is not supposed to be easy, or free of repercussions.

What a pain.

See concurrent thread. Know that opting out presents real challenges in DC. Go in with your eyes wide open because the hassle-filled process may not be for your family. Summing up the advice dispensed:

*Know how many unexcused absences your child has tallied at the school before you begin the process. If the kid can't miss several PARCC testing days, and perhaps another several school days when make-up tests are given, without nudging 9 or 10 unexcused absences (9 is the limit before an intervention), opting out almost certainly means that DCPS truancy officials will try to crack down. Document PARCC related absences in correspondence with the school, in writing, keeping copies. You can claim that the child is out sick for as many as 5 school days in row. Keep good records of testing days missed in case you wind up fending off the school's registrar, a city social worker, or even a DC Superior Court judge.

*Keep your student home on testing days. Your cannot expect your child to be supervised outside a testing room during PARCC testing in DC. Deal will almost certainly not accommodate students opting out on campus.

* A day or two before your student returns to school, send admins and your child's homeroom teacher a brief note asking that your student not be subjected to make-up testing. No need to explain your reasons, but you can. Don't expect your note to be honored. The school is likely to play hardball with you by plonking the kid in front of a computer to take make-up tests.

*Train your student to refuse make-up tests to the best of their ability. With a MS kid, you might want to consider slipping them a cell phone they hide on their person, which they agree only to use to call you if they're placed in front of a computer to take a make-up test against your wishes. Know that if a child is unable to duck out of make-up tests, he or she cannot be required to answer any questions.

*Don't engage with OSSE, administrators, or other parents on opting-out. While you should expect no support or clear information from any quarter, the language of the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) is still on your side, as are your 14th Amendment rights. Truancy hassles are really the only cudgel DCPS has to try to prevent an in-boundary family from opting out, and it's a blunt instrument.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:Would be grateful for procedures relating to opting out of PARCC testing at Deal.

See other opt out postings, nothing unique about this school as process is the same. The school is not going to tell you that you can opt out, follow advice listed by parents and take your chances.

Unlike some jurisdictions, DC has no opt-out procedures. Guidance the State Board of Education:

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

Lots of information here: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/637797.page

Call the main number and ask to speak with whomever is in charge of testing.

Would be grateful for procedures relating to opting out of PARCC testing at Deal.