As much as I miss Obama, Arne Duncan and his Race to the Top did little to benefit students and a lot to benefit for-profit test companies. Can we pallet a positive outcome of the pandemic be reduced standardized testing? One short test at beginning of year and one at end could give school-wide data points. But it’s only helpful if it’s USED to support individual student needs/gaps.

Anonymous wrote:If opting your children out of PARCC is to do them a "disservice," rich kids are in real trouble.

The inconvenient truth is that their parents permanently opt them out by sending them to...independent schools!

Have you not read the thread? The comment you are responding to said .. either opt out of public schools that are focused on preparing kids for achievement tests or allow them to take the tests they spend so much time preparing for. The disservice is not getting to actually do the thing you've been practicing doing. (So, no inconvenient truth. Just poor reading comprehension on your part.)

Anonymous wrote:You must have something better to do than run down parents who act on principle, trying to convince them that they can't, or shouldn't, opt out of the miserable PARCC.

Doesn’t everyone on DCUM have something better to do? At least I would hope so.

I had the same reaction when I took a 5th grade sample test off the PARCC web site recently.

I don't know the politics behind the District sticking with the PARCC, but they sound messy and sordid.

PARCC sucks- it sucks time, resources, patience, learning opportunities and adds anxiety to both adults and students, and very little actually data that is used to inform instruction. As a teacher I tried to PARCC math test and some questions as so incredibly confusing that I couldn’t understand the questions. It’s a total waste of everyone’s time.

+1

You must have something better to do than run down parents who act on principle, trying to convince them that they can't, or shouldn't, opt out of the miserable PARCC.

Anonymous wrote:Not if you’ve opted out in advance. Admins and teachers don’t want adversarial parents filing complaints. They leave the tiny number of families who opt out alone. Moreover, my kid has a watch phone. She knows to call me if any make-up testing is pushed on her.

But there is no opt out. Just parents with too much free time.

Not if you’ve opted out in advance. Admins and teachers don’t want adversarial parents filing complaints. They leave the tiny number of families who opt out alone. Moreover, my kid has a watch phone. She knows to call me if any make-up testing is pushed on her.

Anonymous wrote:Funny, true that some testing can wait.

With 2 hours of testing each morning for a week in April or May, my kid and I can take interesting little outings around Capitol Hill, where our DCPS is.

I'm thinking Capitol Visitor Center, Former Frederick Douglas House and Belmont-Paul (Suffragette) memorial when these museums aren't crowded, as on weekends. Disservice, yea.

They can also pull your kid in the afternoon for make up testing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We can barely staff regular school I am not sure how we are supposed to staff proctoring PARCC.

Oh don't worry! Pearson has "graciously" made an allowance so that now teachers can proctor up to 25 (i believe don't quote me). Either way they cut the 15 student max for a single proctor

Pearson sold off PARCC a few years ago.

I hope there’s push back. Between iReady, parcc, etc 30 days are taken by standardized tests at the middle school level.

for sure there's going to be more push back against state testing in 2022 in this metro area than pre coivd

remember terry mcauliffe?

If opting your children out of PARCC is to do them a "disservice," rich kids are in real trouble.

The inconvenient truth is that their parents permanently opt them out by sending them to...independent schools!

Funny, true that some testing can wait.

With 2 hours of testing each morning for a week in April or May, my kid and I can take interesting little outings around Capitol Hill, where our DCPS is.

I'm thinking Capitol Visitor Center, Former Frederick Douglas House and Belmont-Paul (Suffragette) memorial when these museums aren't crowded, as on weekends. Disservice, yea.