Testing refusal rates in your district

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I'm just THAT much closer to bring able to stalk you!

Come at me.

 

[undertheradar]

Let's be realistic about these "opt out" numbers. On other threads, the Princeton Public Schools were an example. The acting superintendent of the schools attributed the opt outs to college prep/sat/act/no graduation requirement to participate in the tests and get this, no penalty to students who do opt out. It is obvious that there is not a controlled result of those opting out to demonstrate against the test.

 

[deedeetoo]

It's interesting the the kids from high income families who are more involved are opting out, while lower income students are taking it. If you assume a correlation between income and parental involvement and test scores, this indicates that the scores for those schools will be lower than they would have been without the opting out. So doesn't the opting out actually hurt the schools and the teachers involved? It seems like this campaign could backfire big time.

 

[usd2bmd]

The district I teach in and my kid's district nearby in Buffalo, NY are at or above 50% refusal.

Anybody else have their refusal rates?

I don't know what the rates are for our district. Luckily for us my daughter is out of high school and we don't have to worry about it but I feel for the parents of the kids who are having to take them (or not) this week. I just can't help but think there has to be a better way than testing them to death.

 

[usd2bmd]

Schools are mandated to administer the tests, students are not mandated to take them.

There is a district close to ours that considered and actually held a board vote to decide on whether or not they should boycott the test altogether. They voted to issue the tests but I also think the state told them they would lose funding if they didn't.

I have not done a lot of research on the tests (mostly because my daughter is out of high school), but from what I understand the biggest complaint is the way the test are written and the fact that they weren't written by educators and that it seems more like data mining and a way to fail teachers and kids.

 

[jodifla]

It's interesting the the kids from high income families who are more involved are opting out, while lower income students are taking it. If you assume a correlation between income and parental involvement and test scores, this indicates that the scores for those schools will be lower than they would have been without the opting out. So doesn't the opting out actually hurt the schools and the teachers involved? It seems like this campaign could backfire big time.

In New York it's because of the way the school system works. (The short answer is rich folks have a ton more options.) This article explains it:


I hate the Common Core’s high-stakes standardized tests — but I made my kid take them anyway

Opting out of the stressful, high-stakes test isn't so easy for many families

http://www.salon.com/2015/04/14/its_not_as_easy_as_just_opting_out_of_testing/

 

[jodifla]

Let's be realistic about these "opt out" numbers. On other threads, the Princeton Public Schools were an example. The acting superintendent of the schools attributed the opt outs to college prep/sat/act/no graduation requirement to participate in the tests and get this, no penalty to students who do opt out. It is obvious that there is not a controlled result of those opting out to demonstrate against the test.

Smart kids. Because why would you take an unproven test like the PARCC when a certain score on the SAT, a proven test, suffices for graduation.

 

[ziravan]

We opted out of standardized testing for DD7 by homeschooling. My guess would be that most people opting out to protest would use a similar method. I don't really see the point of protesting the standardized tests by opting out if your children are going to be educated by the format. The test is just a symbol.

My guess is that people are opting out to make a statement, or because it's trendy to do so in their district. I can't see how opting out is truly a protest of the test as sending your kids to the program is a much higher validation of the process than just taking the test. This is even more true in affluent areas where parents presumably have more options available to them.

If you're sending your child through the program, opting out of the test isn't much of a protest.

 

[deedeetoo]

I have to say that I just don't get this at all. Where I live these tests are no big deal. My 8th grade son actually likes the standardized test days because he gets out of his regular classes and the test don't matter like "real" tests do. They do have homework packets in the week leading up to the tests that are essentially test prep, but they don't spend any time on it in class. NY's implementation of this just seems over the top.

 

[zoemurr]

It is a very big movement in NY right now because of the way Cuomo is using them, and the fact that they are not well written. Student's performance on them now accounts for 50% of a teacher's evaluation, which many think is unfair.

I think most people agree kids should be tested. But the tests should make sense, and teachers should have some idea of what is on them. (Right now they do not, so preparing students for them has been a challenge.)

Cuomo wants 50% of a teacher's eval to be based on if their kid's scored improved. (Not passed.. improved. So if you get a 98% one year and a 96% the next it counts against the teacher.)

I believe then 30% is an outsider watching one lesson, and 20% from the school principal who actually knows the teacher. I don't think the opt-out is as much about the test as it is a support for NY teachers. Overall, poverty is what contributes to low test scores, not poor teaching. He is not focusing on that, and instead is throwing very hard working, underpaid, under-appreciated people under the bus to further his agenda of having big business run the schools.

We are in the town next to Fairport that seems to be leading the upstate revolt. My son is in 8th grade and said his class was about 1/2 full. He also said the test was very choppy. Every question said, "go back and read line __" and it was difficult to flip back and forth.

This is a famous question from my DDs 8th grade test. (I kid you not.) There have even been t-shirts designed with the moral as the tag line. Enjoy!



The Hare and the Pineapple

by Daniel Pinkwater

In olden times, the animals of the forest could speak English just like you and me. One day, a pineapple challenged a hare to a race.

(I forgot to mention, fruits and vegetables were able to speak too.)

A hare is like a rabbit, only skinnier and faster. This particular hare was known to be the fastest animal in the forest.

"You, a pineapple have the nerve to challenge me, a hare, to a race," the hare asked the pineapple. "This must be some sort of joke."

"No," said the pineapple. "I want to race you. Twenty-six miles, and may the best animal win."

"You aren't even an animal!" the hare said. "You're a tropical fruit!"

"Well, you know what I mean," the pineapple said.


The animals of the forest thought it was very strange that tropical fruit should want to race a very fast animal.

"The pineapple has some trick up its sleeve," a moose said.

Pineapples don't have sleeves, an owl said

"Well, you know what I mean," the moose said. "If a pineapple challenges a hare to a race, it must be that the pineapple knows some secret trick that will allow it to win."

"The pineapple probably expects us to root for the hare and then look like fools when it loses," said a crow. "Then the pineapple will win the race because the hare is overconfident and takes a nap, or gets lost, or something."

The animals agreed that this made sense. There was no reason a pineapple should challenge a hare unless it had a clever plan of some sort. So the animals, wanting to back a winner, all cheered for the pineapple.

When the race began, the hare sprinted forward and was out of sight in less than a minute. The pineapple just sat there, never moving an inch.

The animals crowded around watching to see how the pineapple was going to cleverly beat the hare. Two hours later when the hare cross the finish line, the pineapple was still sitting still and hadn't moved an inch.

The animals ate the pineapple.

MORAL: Pineapples don't have sleeves

And the two questions:

1. Why did the animals eat the pineapple?
a. they were annoyed
b. they were amused
c. they were hungry
d. they wanted to

2. Who was the wisest?
a. the hare
b. moose
c. crow
d. owl

 

[mom2rtk]

Did this really need yet another thread?

 

[Kbee]

I can't find any info in my area but my ds said there were only 6 (including him) that took it. I think there are 25 kids in his class.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

About 69% opt out rate at opt out rate in my district.

 

[Planogirl]

No common core in Texas. Not that I think that that is necessarily a good thing considering how poor so many of our schools are.

 

[WorldWacky]

I have no idea of the actual numbers. I know some LI districts had more than 50% opt out.

In my 4th grader's class only 3 kids opted out. All but 7 kids opted out of my 6th grader's class. All but 6 kids opted out of my 8th grader's class.


ETA
I just found the numbers online. 61% of my district opted out

May I ask what district you are in? It really varied classroom by classroom with my kids. My twins are fourth graders and in my son's class, only 3 kids opted out while in my dayghter's class, 11 opted out. The opt-out rates were MUCH higher in the Junior High.

 

[WorldWacky]

It is a very big movement in NY right now because of the way Cuomo is using them, and the fact that they are not well written. Student's performance on them now accounts for 50% of a teacher's evaluation, which many think is unfair.

I think most people agree kids should be tested. But the tests should make sense, and teachers should have some idea of what is on them. (Right now they do not, so preparing students for them has been a challenge.)

Cuomo wants 50% of a teacher's eval to be based on if their kid's scored improved. (Not passed.. improved. So if you get a 98% one year and a 96% the next it counts against the teacher.)

I believe then 30% is an outsider watching one lesson, and 20% from the school principal who actually knows the teacher. I don't think the opt-out is as much about the test as it is a support for NY teachers. Overall, poverty is what contributes to low test scores, not poor teaching. He is not focusing on that, and instead is throwing very hard working, underpaid, under-appreciated people under the bus to further his agenda of having big business run the schools.

We are in the town next to Fairport that seems to be leading the upstate revolt. My son is in 8th grade and said his class was about 1/2 full. He also said the test was very choppy. Every question said, "go back and read line __" and it was difficult to flip back and forth.

This is a famous question from my DDs 8th grade test. (I kid you not.) There have even been t-shirts designed with the moral as the tag line. Enjoy!



The Hare and the Pineapple

by Daniel Pinkwater

In olden times, the animals of the forest could speak English just like you and me. One day, a pineapple challenged a hare to a race.

(I forgot to mention, fruits and vegetables were able to speak too.)

A hare is like a rabbit, only skinnier and faster. This particular hare was known to be the fastest animal in the forest.

"You, a pineapple have the nerve to challenge me, a hare, to a race," the hare asked the pineapple. "This must be some sort of joke."

"No," said the pineapple. "I want to race you. Twenty-six miles, and may the best animal win."

"You aren't even an animal!" the hare said. "You're a tropical fruit!"

"Well, you know what I mean," the pineapple said.


The animals of the forest thought it was very strange that tropical fruit should want to race a very fast animal.

"The pineapple has some trick up its sleeve," a moose said.

Pineapples don't have sleeves, an owl said

"Well, you know what I mean," the moose said. "If a pineapple challenges a hare to a race, it must be that the pineapple knows some secret trick that will allow it to win."

"The pineapple probably expects us to root for the hare and then look like fools when it loses," said a crow. "Then the pineapple will win the race because the hare is overconfident and takes a nap, or gets lost, or something."

The animals agreed that this made sense. There was no reason a pineapple should challenge a hare unless it had a clever plan of some sort. So the animals, wanting to back a winner, all cheered for the pineapple.

When the race began, the hare sprinted forward and was out of sight in less than a minute. The pineapple just sat there, never moving an inch.

The animals crowded around watching to see how the pineapple was going to cleverly beat the hare. Two hours later when the hare cross the finish line, the pineapple was still sitting still and hadn't moved an inch.

The animals ate the pineapple.

MORAL: Pineapples don't have sleeves

And the two questions:

1. Why did the animals eat the pineapple?
a. they were annoyed
b. they were amused
c. they were hungry
d. they wanted to

2. Who was the wisest?
a. the hare
b. moose
c. crow
d. owl

WHAT?!!?

 

[msjprincess]

May I ask what district you are in? It really varied classroom by classroom with my kids. My twins are fourth graders and in my son's class, only 3 kids opted out while in my dayghter's class, 11 opted out. The opt-out rates were MUCH higher in the Junior High.

I'm in East Islip

 

[Tinijocaro]

We opted out of standardized testing for DD7 by homeschooling. My guess would be that most people opting out to protest would use a similar method. I don't really see the point of protesting the standardized tests by opting out if your children are going to be educated by the format. The test is just a symbol.

My guess is that people are opting out to make a statement, or because it's trendy to do so in their district. I can't see how opting out is truly a protest of the test as sending your kids to the program is a much higher validation of the process than just taking the test. This is even more true in affluent areas where parents presumably have more options available to them.

If you're sending your child through the program, opting out of the test isn't much of a protest.

Status symbol? How so? What kind of status could anyone attain by this?

The test isn't just a symbol. The test provides data on your children. Data that will then be used against schools and teachers. By refusing the tests in large numbers, we are hoping to skew the numbers. The data will be unusable if enough people opt out. I love the education that my children have received through public school. I have one in college who missed all this CC stuff. Two high schoolers and a middle schooler. It's the elementary school kids whose whole foundation for learning is being affected by this insane testing. It's heartbreaking and while I'm glad my kids missed the worst of it, it's not all about my kids. I care about what happens to all children.

 

[lauradis]

We opted out of standardized testing for DD7 by homeschooling. My guess would be that most people opting out to protest would use a similar method. I don't really see the point of protesting the standardized tests by opting out if your children are going to be educated by the format. The test is just a symbol.

My guess is that people are opting out to make a statement, or because it's trendy to do so in their district. I can't see how opting out is truly a protest of the test as sending your kids to the program is a much higher validation of the process than just taking the test. This is even more true in affluent areas where parents presumably have more options available to them.

If you're sending your child through the program, opting out of the test isn't much of a protest.

Most people don't what to spend all day with their children, everyday of the week.

Or in reality they have to work full time to support them selves.

While I agree with you, and do not like common core of stupidity, think outside your box, besides pulling your child out of brick and mortar school what would you do???

 

[Tinijocaro]

If you are so inclined, read the following. It really explains from a 1st grade teacher's point of view how education has changed since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, then Race to the Top, then Common Core. It's heartbreaking. If you read one thing, read this.

"Today was the first day of the NYS ELA tests. I must state right from the outset that my students do not take these tests. Not yet. But in two short years, they will. And yet, these tests had an effect on my students today and will continue to do so in the days to come. You see, these tests have a ripple effect. The immediate effect is that my students who receive services such as reading and resource will not receive these services for the next TWO WEEKS since the teachers who provide these services are proctoring the state tests. They will also lose services when some of these same teachers are pulled out to score the tests in the subsequent weeks. (They will lose out again when we begin the SLO testing in May, but that is for another post). The longer term effects are more devastating. You see, their education has been hijacked by these tests. Although my "Firsties" are not taking these tests yet, they are preparing for them and will continue to do so throughout their Elementary years.

When I started teaching oh so many years ago, we focused on thematic instruction and integrating all subject areas so that our students had opportunities to make connections. We taught in ways that honored many learning styles, student's individual differences and developmental stages, along with their individual needs. We understood (and still do) that each child has different intelligences and learning styles. My walls and windows of my classroom were covered with songs and poems, student artwork and artifacts of student learning. My little ones sang and read and played. We taught using literature with rich language and focused on building background knowledge. Children were encouraged to synthesize knowledge and draw conclusions using what they knew and what they were learning. We used a tremendous amount of glitter and paper and encouraged children to express themselves in ways that played to their strengths. We did projects and had lots of hands-on learning with manipulatives. I assessed through observation and working directly with students.

Over the years, we have had to move away from what we know is right for kids to what we are told we must do in order to prepare students for the tests. At first, teachers knew that we could use those tests to help identify areas where students needed further instruction and where we could improve our teaching. We accepted that our 4th and 8th grade students would be tested and we knew how to prepare them. We focused on those areas and we saw growth. We didn't like "No Child Left Behind" but we could work within it. Fast forward to "Race To The Top" and Common Core and the use of the tests to evaluate teachers. Without going into all that is wrong with this, let me just say how it has effected my little ones: My walls are no longer covered with songs and poems and artwork. That has been replaced with "anchor charts", "I can statements" and "Learning targets". We barely use construction paper and I have not purchased glitter in 3 years. There is no time for art projects or creative expression. Children can no longer choose their learning. They write to prompts and must write different genres at certain times. Math is done on paper and manipulatives are few and far between (except when I pull out the old stuff). Reading is "close reading" and answers to questions are to be solely based on the text, without synthesis of prior knowledge. Assessment is daily and must be documented along with being scripted (because Big Brother is watching). Modules are scripted, teacher led and boring for little ones. We have to have 50% of text presented as informational text. Students have to write essays before they even have automaticity of letter formation. ALL THIS IS DONE SO THEY CAN PREP FOR THE TESTS. My students will take keyboarding in 3rd grade so they can take the tests online...BEFORE SOME OF THEM EVEN HAVE THE PHYSICAL HAND SPAN TO USE A KEYBOARD.

Our littlest learners are preparing for these tests as soon as they enter school. We know that. We know that our colleagues in grades 3-8 depend on us to lay the foundation. We know that our little ones are being used as weapons to help destroy public education. We know that they cannot possibly do well on these tests as they are written 2-3 grade levels above their current grade level and that an arbitrary "cut score" will be determined AFTER the tests are scored to manipulate the data. We know that we cannot discuss these tests and that they cannot be used to inform instruction nor to inform us of our students' progress. These tests are solely being used to create false data about our students and our schools. They are being used to make our public schools look as though they are "failing" and that our teachers are incompetent. They are creating a pressure cooker atmosphere.

Our Bully of a governor wants to turn our public schools into For-profit Charter schools (which are little more than test prep factories that do NOT have transparency of finances). He is beholden to his hedge fund donors and his big $ donors. In addition, he has publicly stated that he wants to break the teacher's union. Our children's education has been hijacked. Our teachers are being abused by an agenda that puts money over what is right for kids. Our society's future is being manipulated to create a country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, both in terms of dollars and education and opportunities. The simple fact that the private schools where the children of the elite attend do not have to participate in these tests or this curriculum, is very telling.

Today's refusal numbers are encouraging. This is a lesson in civil rights and civil disobedience. We are teaching our children that they have a way of changing what is wrong in our government and our society through nonviolent means. We are teaching them that they have a voice. We are showing them that we can all create change. We are also showing them how to stand up to Bullies. And THAT is a great lesson that no amount of test prep can compare to."