Anonymous wrote:Believe it or not, every DCPS principal doesn't give parents who decide to opt out a hard time. Ours, at a JKLM, lets the kids who are being opted out sit in the library during testing blocks, supervised by the librarian. The opt out kids aren't chased down later for make-up tests.

If you put the opt-out test in writing to the principal and lead testing admin well in advance, you may be surprised to find that your head of school will work with you (even if s/he disagrees with you), no questions asked. It's a bit late this year, but if you really want to opt out, just do it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Thanks for this. On another thread we were hotly debating how PARCC testing hours are counting towards IEP services. Making the school's job harder for them means that special ed teacher resources get used up administering the PARCC rather than giving our kids their actual services. I get the objetions to PARCC, but it's something we just need to accept and not make harder for everyone. If you truly disagree with it tell your kid to sit there and write nonsense or whatever.

Let parents make their own decisions instead of trying to shame them into marching to your drummer and supporting your agenda (whether the agenda is don't penalize the school and administration, or don't inconvenience the teachers).

I don't feel like I'm inconveniencing teachers when I take my kid out of PARCC testing sessions to a greater extent than when I take them out of school for a medical appointment, and return them to class afterwards. My children have near perfect attendance, I sit on various parents committees and do a lot of fundraising for the school. Those who opt out are entitled to teach their children what they wish.

You accept what you want to, we'll accept what we want to, cognizant of the fact that civil disobedience comes at some sort of price (be it arm twisting, shaming, a mandatory meeting with a social worker, a court summons, accusations by fellow parents, admins, teachers etc.).

The teacher you quote above also points out how opting out of the test on testing days actually does affect others in the school. Do you discount this experience? Your actions affect others in the school. You are free to carry on but you can’t pretend you are acting in a vacuum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Thanks for this. On another thread we were hotly debating how PARCC testing hours are counting towards IEP services. Making the school's job harder for them means that special ed teacher resources get used up administering the PARCC rather than giving our kids their actual services. I get the objetions to PARCC, but it's something we just need to accept and not make harder for everyone. If you truly disagree with it tell your kid to sit there and write nonsense or whatever.

Let parents make their own decisions instead of trying to shame them into marching to your drummer and supporting your agenda (whether the agenda is don't penalize the school and administration, or don't inconvenience the teachers).

I don't feel like I'm inconveniencing teachers when I take my kid out of PARCC testing sessions to a greater extent than when I take them out of school for a medical appointment, and return them to class afterwards. My children have near perfect attendance, I sit on various parents committees and do a lot of fundraising for the school. Those who opt out are entitled to teach their children what they wish.

You accept what you want to, we'll accept what we want to, cognizant of the fact that civil disobedience comes at some sort of price (be it arm twisting, shaming, a mandatory meeting with a social worker, a court summons, accusations by fellow parents, admins, teachers etc.).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Thanks for this. On another thread we were hotly debating how PARCC testing hours are counting towards IEP services. Making the school's job harder for them means that special ed teacher resources get used up administering the PARCC rather than giving our kids their actual services. I get the objetions to PARCC, but it's something we just need to accept and not make harder for everyone. If you truly disagree with it tell your kid to sit there and write nonsense or whatever.

Let parents make their own decisions instead of trying to shame them into marching to your drummer and supporting your agenda (whether the agenda is don't penalize the school and administration, or don't inconvenience the teachers).

I don't feel like I'm inconveniencing teachers when I take my kid out of PARCC testing sessions to a greater extent than when I take them out of school for a medical appointment, and return them to class afterwards. My children have near perfect attendance, I sit on various parents committees and do a lot of fundraising for the school. Those who opt out are entitled to teach their children what they wish.

You accept what you want to, we'll accept what we want to, cognizant of the fact that civil disobedience comes at some sort of price (be it arm twisting, shaming, a mandatory meeting with a social worker, a court summons, accusations by fellow parents, admins, teachers etc.).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Thanks for this. On another thread we were hotly debating how PARCC testing hours are counting towards IEP services. Making the school's job harder for them means that special ed teacher resources get used up administering the PARCC rather than giving our kids their actual services. I get the objetions to PARCC, but it's something we just need to accept and not make harder for everyone. If you truly disagree with it tell your kid to sit there and write nonsense or whatever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Thanks for this. On another thread we were hotly debating how PARCC testing hours are counting towards IEP services. Making the school's job harder for them means that special ed teacher resources get used up administering the PARCC rather than giving our kids their actual services. I get the objetions to PARCC, but it's something we just need to accept and not make harder for everyone. If you truly disagree with it tell your kid to sit there and write nonsense or whatever.

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I think the PARCC is a waste of time, but I think that opting out is an ineffective way of protesting it. Our school and administration will be penalized if we don't have a certain number of students sit for it. The testing window is about two months long, so the testing coordinator spends the majority of that time running around trying to find kids who were absent on their scheduled days and making them take the test. When that happens, guess who has to give the test? Sped teachers, counselors, or teachers who would normally be on their planning period. Because PARCC trumps everything, kids are pulled from class indiscriminately even if they're in the middle of something important like classroom instruction or a quiz/test. I think a better suggestion is to hold elected officials accountable rather than penalizing the school and teachers who really have no control over it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you not having your child take the test?

NP: Really? There are a bunch of previous threads that debate the reasons in great detail. What difference does it make what this particular poster's reasons are?

But if you want to engage on this, let me ask you a different question: "Why are you having your child take the test?"

There are reasons for the testing, but none have much to do with the children, at least directly.

UMC parents fixated on the specialness of their child and inability to just blend in.

"Blend in" just like little robots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are you not having your child take the test?

NP: Really? There are a bunch of previous threads that debate the reasons in great detail. What difference does it make what this particular poster's reasons are?

But if you want to engage on this, let me ask you a different question: "Why are you having your child take the test?"

There are reasons for the testing, but none have much to do with the children, at least directly.

UMC parents fixated on the specialness of their child and inability to just blend in.

"Blend in" just like little robots.

Anonymous wrote:Our principal lets us take our kids out of the school building during testing hours only (our au pair takes them to the local public library during testing ours).

If you really want to opt out, don't be cowed. Ask administrators if they'll work with you, in writing. If they won't, just take the kids out if you can swing the logistics, as you would for a doctor's appointment, and bring them back. The only tool DCPS has to beat up on families who opt out is attendance, so create a paper trail in case you end up dealing with a social work, or even in court. Shoot the classroom teacher and an admin an email each time you take the kid out during PARCC testing hours explaining what you're doing and be sure to save all the emails.

If you believe in what you're doing and have some flexibility in your schedule and family can babysitters on board, you can make opting out work at any DCPCS. Opting out gets trickier at charters.