Anonymous
05/13/2019 15:03
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Reviving this thread after a two-week break to report that we're opting out of PARCC testing this week at our by-right EotP DCPS elementary school with little difficulty, though we're removing our student from testing time blocks ourselves. From what we've gathered, a small investment in time, politeness and low-key determination is all you need to opt out.
If anybody other parents in DCPS programs wants to follow suit next year, based on our experiences, here's what we suggest.
*Start by finding out who your school's "Testing Coordinator" is. Arrange to meet with this admin, perhaps the vice principal, for briefly in Feb or March. Bring your child's latest school report, showing # of excused and unexcused absences accrued to date, to the meeting. The fewer unexcused absences your child has, the stronger your position will be on opting out. I went to the meeting with a report card showing zero unexcused absences. I started the school year planning to opt out, knowing that unexcused absences would weaken my position. Also, I guessed that planning to miss the entire testing week to opt out would weaken my position, so I arranged with the school to have the child miss only testing blocks, not instructional time. That approach worked well for us.
*At the meeting, tell the admin that you intend to opt out of PARCC testing (don't ask permission). S/he will likely ask you who you spoke to at OSSE. Give no names, tell him or her that you were instructed to speak to your school's testing coordinator re opting out. Go away and write the admin a good letter stating your intent to opt out, clearly and briefly explaining why. Stress that you intend to opt out quietly to smooth the way. Your letter will be handed off to DCPS and OSSE testing higher ups. We wrote a two-page letter objecting to the quality, length, design and especially the source (corporate conglomerate Pearson Education Ltd) of the PARCC. Expect this admin to twist your arm not to opt out, mainly because the District has no opt out policy. Politely explain that you will stick to your guns regardless. It's the admin's job to prove to DCPS higher-ups that s/he has done his utmost to persuade you from opting out, so listen politely to his or her spiel on opting in. Stay polite, don't give them a hard time.
*Ask the admin to tell you when testing will take place for your child's cohort. Ours did, readily. Tell the admin that you plan to remove your child from school during testing blocks, returning them afterward. If the admin gives you a very hard time in response, you can politely ask for a packet of forms to withdraw your in-boundary child from a by-right school for the two-week testing period, then re-enroll them, so DCPS can't ding you on attendance. Don't respond to threats that your child could not be guaranteed a return to his or her current classroom. Faced with the prospect of your politely dis-enrolling your student, your admin is likely to back down on giving you a hard time. See if you can get the admin to agree that you can quietly remove your child from school during testing blocks. Ours did, readily.
*If the admin agrees to let you remove your child from school, speak briefly to the child's classroom/homeroom teacher to arrange for the kid to be sent to the front office at the start of each testing block, so you can discreetly pick them up there. Send an email to the school's Testing Coordinator before school on each testing day stating your intent to remove the child during that day's testing block, returning them to class afterwards. Keep your emails for your records (in case you get hauled before the school registrar eventually, or worse, a social worker or Superior Court judge).
*Before you opt out, role play with your child to practice politely fending off inquiries from curious peers about opting out. Get the child on board with a game plan to deal with peers that calls as little attention as possible to your opting out.
*Implement your opt out plan, punctually, on each of the 5 testing days. When you sign in and out of the school to remove the child from PARCC testing, photograph our signature on the sign-in and out sheets at the front desk for your records. Go wherever you want and do whatever you want during the testing time blocks, which vary in length daily from 90 to 140 minutes daily. I take turns removing the child with my spouse, and a babysitter whose name the school has.
*Hope that the OSSE testing people will ignore you after testing has concluded. So far so good for us, though we know that we're not out of the woods yet....
If anybody other parents in DCPS programs wants to follow suit next year, based on our experiences, here's what we suggest.
*Start by finding out who your school's "Testing Coordinator" is. Arrange to meet with this admin, perhaps the vice principal, for briefly in Feb or March. Bring your child's latest school report, showing # of excused and unexcused absences accrued to date, to the meeting. The fewer unexcused absences your child has, the stronger your position will be on opting out. I went to the meeting with a report card showing zero unexcused absences. I started the school year planning to opt out, knowing that unexcused absences would weaken my position. Also, I guessed that planning to miss the entire testing week to opt out would weaken my position, so I arranged with the school to have the child miss only testing blocks, not instructional time. That approach worked well for us.
*At the meeting, tell the admin that you intend to opt out of PARCC testing (don't ask permission). S/he will likely ask you who you spoke to at OSSE. Give no names, tell him or her that you were instructed to speak to your school's testing coordinator re opting out. Go away and write the admin a good letter stating your intent to opt out, clearly and briefly explaining why. Stress that you intend to opt out quietly to smooth the way. Your letter will be handed off to DCPS and OSSE testing higher ups. We wrote a two-page letter objecting to the quality, length, design and especially the source (corporate conglomerate Pearson Education Ltd) of the PARCC. Expect this admin to twist your arm not to opt out, mainly because the District has no opt out policy. Politely explain that you will stick to your guns regardless. It's the admin's job to prove to DCPS higher-ups that s/he has done his utmost to persuade you from opting out, so listen politely to his or her spiel on opting in. Stay polite, don't give them a hard time.
*Ask the admin to tell you when testing will take place for your child's cohort. Ours did, readily. Tell the admin that you plan to remove your child from school during testing blocks, returning them afterward. If the admin gives you a very hard time in response, you can politely ask for a packet of forms to withdraw your in-boundary child from a by-right school for the two-week testing period, then re-enroll them, so DCPS can't ding you on attendance. Don't respond to threats that your child could not be guaranteed a return to his or her current classroom. Faced with the prospect of your politely dis-enrolling your student, your admin is likely to back down on giving you a hard time. See if you can get the admin to agree that you can quietly remove your child from school during testing blocks. Ours did, readily.
*If the admin agrees to let you remove your child from school, speak briefly to the child's classroom/homeroom teacher to arrange for the kid to be sent to the front office at the start of each testing block, so you can discreetly pick them up there. Send an email to the school's Testing Coordinator before school on each testing day stating your intent to remove the child during that day's testing block, returning them to class afterwards. Keep your emails for your records (in case you get hauled before the school registrar eventually, or worse, a social worker or Superior Court judge).
*Before you opt out, role play with your child to practice politely fending off inquiries from curious peers about opting out. Get the child on board with a game plan to deal with peers that calls as little attention as possible to your opting out.
*Implement your opt out plan, punctually, on each of the 5 testing days. When you sign in and out of the school to remove the child from PARCC testing, photograph our signature on the sign-in and out sheets at the front desk for your records. Go wherever you want and do whatever you want during the testing time blocks, which vary in length daily from 90 to 140 minutes daily. I take turns removing the child with my spouse, and a babysitter whose name the school has.
*Hope that the OSSE testing people will ignore you after testing has concluded. So far so good for us, though we know that we're not out of the woods yet....
Anonymous
04/28/2019 08:02
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm learning things. Sounds like OSSE's bark is much bigger than its bite where opting out goes. Paper tiger.
I mean what they going to do, tie your child to a chair and make them take the test? Of course not there is nothing they can do in reality. Child and school however will have to deal with the consequences.
Such melodrama.
Anonymous
04/28/2019 07:47
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I'm learning things. Sounds like OSSE's bark is much bigger than its bite where opting out goes. Paper tiger.
I mean what they going to do, tie your child to a chair and make them take the test? Of course not there is nothing they can do in reality. Child and school however will have to deal with the consequences.
Come on. Which "consequences?" This is the way school admins talk and it's silly. Unless more than 5% of the students in a particular DC public school opt out, the school's PARCC scores are not impacted. I understand that no DC public school has ever had even half of 1% of students opt out.
My child is happy to be developing a little PARCC Time curriculum with me. We've decided to spend 10 hours learning about the American Revolutionary War. She has no interest in speaking to peers about opting out - she understands that it's nobody business but ours. In DC, you can't blithely leave your kid in school and opt out - you have to take them out of class during testing blocks, or they will be plonked in front of the computer - you earn your opt out time.
Anonymous
04/28/2019 07:38
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Deal 7th graders lose seven mornings of class from 8:45 to 11:00 if everything is going well. It’s not just 10 hours.
Unbelievable. Even so, like 4 Deal parents opt out. What's wrong with DC?
Proud to be from NY, where nearly one quarter of PS families have been opting out in recent years.
do you opt out of Regents exams too?
No, Regents exams are good exams. They're given by the state, not a corporate behemoth raking in hundreds of millions of dollars by testing little kids for 9 or 10 hours annually. Regents exams, geared at HS juniors and seniors, take an hour each. They help HS students prepare for (harder and longer) AP exams.
Anonymous
04/27/2019 22:19
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:I'm learning things. Sounds like OSSE's bark is much bigger than its bite where opting out goes. Paper tiger.
I mean what they going to do, tie your child to a chair and make them take the test? Of course not there is nothing they can do in reality. Child and school however will have to deal with the consequences.
Anonymous
04/27/2019 21:57
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Deal 7th graders lose seven mornings of class from 8:45 to 11:00 if everything is going well. It’s not just 10 hours.
Unbelievable. Even so, like 4 Deal parents opt out. What's wrong with DC?
Proud to be from NY, where nearly one quarter of PS families have been opting out in recent years.
do you opt out of Regents exams too?
Anonymous
04/27/2019 21:32
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
I'm learning things. Sounds like OSSE's bark is much bigger than its bite where opting out goes. Paper tiger.
Anonymous
04/27/2019 19:58
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Hate to be the one to break it the PP who "asked" her school's admins about opting out - this approach wasn't too swift. You tell your principal that you're opting out, and that you've done your research on the legal ins and outs. Let admins take on the stress of your opting out from there. You focus on good record keeping related to your opt out experience, and planning to manage the logistics of it (as has been pointed out, definitely don't expect the school to help you; you would need to supervise your child during testing sessions).
Expect headaches but not defeat. Don't be surprised if your opting out means that you will hear from your school's registrar, a City social worker, or even the DC Superior Court. Not only is there no clear path to opting out in DC, there is no path at all.
Even so, take heart. I know several DCPS families (in Upper NW) where parents put up with threats from their school's admins and OSSE to opt out last year, but stuck to their guns. Nothing happened to them. It's only a question of when DCPS and OSSE back off, and how, not if, because the Every Students Succeeds Act is in your corner legally (hence the scare tactics, with admins grasping at straws).
Pro-opt out parents should coordinate here.
Anonymous
04/27/2019 16:37
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Hate to be the one to break it the PP who "asked" her school's admins about opting out - this approach wasn't too swift. You tell your principal that you're opting out, and that you've done your research on the legal ins and outs. Let admins take on the stress of your opting out from there. You focus on good record keeping related to your opt out experience, and planning to manage the logistics of it (as has been pointed out, definitely don't expect the school to help you; you would need to supervise your child during testing sessions).
Expect headaches but not defeat. Don't be surprised if your opting out means that you will hear from your school's registrar, a City social worker, or even the DC Superior Court. Not only is there no clear path to opting out in DC, there is no path at all.
Even so, take heart. I know several DCPS families (in Upper NW) where parents put up with threats from their school's admins and OSSE to opt out last year, but stuck to their guns. Nothing happened to them. It's only a question of when DCPS and OSSE back off, and how, not if, because the Every Students Succeeds Act is in your corner legally (hence the scare tactics, with admins grasping at straws).
Expect headaches but not defeat. Don't be surprised if your opting out means that you will hear from your school's registrar, a City social worker, or even the DC Superior Court. Not only is there no clear path to opting out in DC, there is no path at all.
Even so, take heart. I know several DCPS families (in Upper NW) where parents put up with threats from their school's admins and OSSE to opt out last year, but stuck to their guns. Nothing happened to them. It's only a question of when DCPS and OSSE back off, and how, not if, because the Every Students Succeeds Act is in your corner legally (hence the scare tactics, with admins grasping at straws).
Anonymous
04/26/2019 21:31
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:This is the first year my kids are in DCPS from private. I asked school principal about opting-out and holy moly! It was like I was asking to murder the PreK class. It was dealt with quickly. I wanted to opt out because my DC is getting test anxiety from all pressure. They take PARCC serious!! Whispering opt out is verboten.
Of course. But do you intend to teach your kid how to recognize nonsensical requirements and evade them, or not? If the answer is yes, showing them how to stand up to things presented as faits accompli is part of the curriculum.
Anonymous
04/26/2019 21:27
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Also helps if your parents have the cash for the prep.
Whatever. FYI, Khan Academy has become a College Board vendor, offering extensive, well-targeted free on-line "official" prep for the "new SAT' in the last couple of years to help level the playing field.
The disciplined just don't need the well-off parents anymore. They can watch dozens of nicely produced Khan Academy SAT prep videos instead.
9 days of PARCC testing is indeed a serious waste of time for 3rd graders.
Anonymous
04/26/2019 21:21
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Also helps if your parents have the cash for the prep.
Anonymous
04/26/2019 19:44
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Also the prep is very different.
Standardized test prep— for the SAT, PSAT, GRE, LSAT, or other generalized tests— is very specific. Kids drill the questions so they know what to expect. And there are a few strategies to learn too: how to skip and when; what possible answers can be eliminated immediately (this changes with position in the test). Test prep for more specific knowledge tests isn’t too far from that, but also involves some teaching-to-the-test.
As you can tell from what private schools do, a good strategy is to prepare for the SAT, etc when high stakes tests like that come up. Spending 10 days on the PARCC in third grade is a waste of time.
Standardized test prep— for the SAT, PSAT, GRE, LSAT, or other generalized tests— is very specific. Kids drill the questions so they know what to expect. And there are a few strategies to learn too: how to skip and when; what possible answers can be eliminated immediately (this changes with position in the test). Test prep for more specific knowledge tests isn’t too far from that, but also involves some teaching-to-the-test.
As you can tell from what private schools do, a good strategy is to prepare for the SAT, etc when high stakes tests like that come up. Spending 10 days on the PARCC in third grade is a waste of time.
Anonymous
04/26/2019 19:29
Subject: Re:How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:If becoming a good standardized test taker was critical to future SAT, ACT, AP etc. success wouldn't the wealthy and powerful, who commonly enroll their children in pricey independent schools, be clamoring for their children to take Common Core linked-tests like the PARCC? The fact is, the rich don't bother with the time-wasting annual standardized tests public school students are forced to take, or anything like them. They've opted out as a class. Their kids generally take 2-3 hour entrance examinations for middle and/or high school, and that's about it before the SAT, possibly the PSAT.
It's nonsense that 8-11 years need to start practicing for the SAT. It's like saying, you can't become a good driver if you wait until age 16 to get behind the wheel, you need to start driving many years earlier.
Wow, you really have NO idea what you're talking about. Do you know just how much the private school parents pay on private tutoring and test prep both for admissions to private school in the later years (the ISEE and SSAT for middle and/or high school admissions) and then for SAT prep?
I have a kid in private and it's common for parents to pay $5K to PREP their kid to take the standardized test for middle school admissions. I know kids who took the test 8 or 9 times and were tutored for 12 of 15 months on a weekly basis on the tips and tricks of standardized test taking. Pretty much everyone tutors. The city and greater DMV is filled with these test prep businesses. Ever hear of "Prep Matters in Tenleytown??? What these places are teaching is how to take standardized tests.
Also, the K-8 schools in DC (Sheridan, Lowell, etc) all teach SSAT/ISEE prep in in middle schools to help their kids take the standardized tests for high school admissions. It's part of their school day. The kids do it for months.
If you think the "rich" don't standardized test prep both in and out of the classroom you are vastly incorrect. Wow.
Kaplan prep for the SAT is VASTLY VASTLY different than 10 school days spent prepping in middle school for a rote test that is being taught to.
I’m a former Kaplan prep teacher. I’ve taught at the college level. Also I have done graduate school admissions. I have lots of experience with students taking standardized tests.
Here’s what the fancy private schools do:
Private school, with almost no assessment testing in-school.
Plus, test prep classes for important assessment tests.
Yes the difference is they are not using class/school time to test prep and test, out of school hours.
Anonymous
04/26/2019 19:27
Subject: How to opt out of PARCC at Deal?
Anonymous wrote:Deal 7th graders lose seven mornings of class from 8:45 to 11:00 if everything is going well. It’s not just 10 hours.[/quote
Plus if you are an ESL students you have almost a week of ACCESS testing on top of PARCC, last year they were out of class or without a teacher for almost 3 weeks. remember there has to be a administrator and proctor for each class testing and usually teachers can't test own kids.