Anonymous wrote:The SOLs are developmentally inappropriate. They include material that is two grade levels above. The passing rate of the test is set in secret. No one, not teacher, not student gets the tests and answers back, only a score. There is no accountability for Pearson testing company. The SOLs are not based on research, they are not validated. The SOLs serve no purpose, except to punish schools and teachers. Opt Out and stand for Teaching not Te$ting. Read this article on Pearson. They write the SOLs and all the Common Core state tests. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/04/21/pearsons-history-of-testing-problems-a-list/

What about the data mining from these tests? Who owns the kids' data? Pearson? For what purposes are they holding the data? Is there 3rd party access to data? In FCPS there is, because another company saves the data at various points through the SOL testing and the servers are located in various countries. Read the description. What companies? What countries? Kids' privacy is not guaranteed.

The SOLs are developmentally inappropriate. They include material that is two grade levels above. The passing rate of the test is set in secret. No one, not teacher, not student gets the tests and answers back, only a score. There is no accountability for Pearson testing company. The SOLs are not based on research, they are not validated. The SOLs serve no purpose, except to punish schools and teachers. Opt Out and stand for Teaching not Te$ting. Read this article on Pearson. They write the SOLs and all the Common Core state tests. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/04/21/pearsons-history-of-testing-problems-a-list/

we're talking Gen Ed. kids, right?

Our ES grade level had no opt outs today.

Why don't you like the SOL English and Math? It seems fairly objective--bread and butter needed knowledge to advance?
I do agree that Social Science and History is not needed.

SOLs start this week. It is not too late to Opt Out. Send in your Opt Out letter to principal and give your kid time to read instead of testing. Some kids are reading a book of their choice or doing a learning project during SOL testing. These are a positive way for students to spend instructional time.

Good to see more parents are Opting Out. Parents have the potential to make a huge impact with testing.

It's not too late to send in your Opt Out letters. You can send them in any time. Do let the teacher know, so they can make arrangements for your kid during testing.

Anonymous wrote:

To confirm, is there any part of your teacher assessment that is tied to the actual SOL test?

Not the PP, but here's my answer:
Not the actual SOL test, but to other assessments that range from very SOL-like to released, prior-year SOL questions.

Anonymous wrote:I just sent my letter in today - I had no push back last year -actually got a few high fives from educators in the hallway. No one thinks SOL teach/test is the right way to teach kids.

That is AWESOME! I'm sending you a virtual high five now.
--Teacher

Thanks for this thread.... we are probably going to opt out.

I just sent my letter in today - I had no push back last year -actually got a few high fives from educators in the hallway. No one thinks SOL teach/test is the right way to teach kids.

Anonymous wrote:8:51 here

Zero push back. Principal was understanding and said she'd make sure he could read quietly or do other work while the other kids are doing the test.

That is great news!! Thanks for updating! Lucky kid!

Anonymous wrote:8:51 here

Zero push back. Principal was understanding and said she'd make sure he could read quietly or do other work while the other kids are doing the test.

Super! This parent is standing up for her/his child and education. The reason more parents don't Opt Out, is that there is a lot of misinformation and fear. *The fear factor alone should raise red flags to parents. Education should not be about fear.* The more parents Opt Out, the more educational leadership and VA legislatures will listen to parents. Parents and educators are peacefully protesting the excessive testing, data mining of our children, narrowed curriculum, misallocation of school funding on tests and not curriculum and the punitive measures for teachers and students for low test scores.

Keep learning. SOL high stakes testing will not cease unless parents push back.
Opt Out is growing in VA.
https://www.facebook.com/NOVAOptOut/ Northern VA
http://www.rvaoptout.com/ Richmond VA
https://www.facebook.com/groups/651194608354986/ Williamsburg VA

Anonymous wrote:
8:51 here

Zero push back. Principal was understanding and said she'd make sure he could read quietly or do other work while the other kids are doing the test.



That's pretty much what I would expect.



What will your child be doing while the other kids are sitting through god-awful test prep for hours on end?

I asked the teacher if she could identify a few areas where my child could use additional practice. He'll be working on handwriting, reading a book, and writing some responses about the book.