Exact figures aside, the students themselves have been largely responsible for the opt-out surge—the rallying among adults is just part of the picture. As kids saw their peers get permission to opt out of the exam, many of them urged their parents to exempt them, too. After all, how many children actually want to take an exam—particularly one that doesn’t leave a mark on their report cards? And when the choice is between algebra questions and a few extra hours of sleep, predicting how students will respond is a no-brainer. Even my kid was in on the action.
Indeed, my 15-year-old son used every weapon in his teenage arsenal—eye rolls, deep sighs, guilt-tripping, and even logic—to pressure my husband and me to write a letter to the school opting him out of the test. None of his friends were taking it, he reasoned; it wouldn’t be fair if he had to stress out about boring math problems while his friends were eating bagels in town—and gleefully texting him about their fun morning. His classmates, he added, would be better prepared for their afternoon exams or classwork (which actually count) because they would be well-rested and have two extra hours to prepare for them. He rightfully pointed out that the PARCC was not required for graduation.
While my son did ultimately take the PARCC exam, other students were more successful in pressuring their parents. Many of the students who couldn’t get waivers took to Twitter to express their annoyance, tweeting things like, “PARCC spelled backwards is CCRAP.” Some reportedly filled in their answer sheets with gibberish. Though the opt-out campaign began as a parent protest, in some ways it developed into a student-led movement.
More here
Apt. 11d 
I hope you’ll blog links to your longer pieces….commenting here to say how thrilled I was to see this post in my feedreader, and bookmarking the Atlantic piece to read later.
LikeLike
In our town, some of the schools are reporting 50% opt out rates for 11th graders. And, it does appear to be mostly in high school. I don’t have kids in public schools, but I don’t know what I would permit if I did. I am a fairly big fan of standardized testing as a means of getting a measurement of learning (though I consider that measurement flawed). The measurement is flawed enough, though, that I worry about the way the effects of the testing on education, so the question is, would I worry enough about that to give up an opportunity to collect data?
In our state, passing the test will be required for graduation starting next year — so the opting out will be significantly affected next year by this requirement. Students can use alternative assessments (including SAT/IB/AP scores) to fulfill the graduation requirements, but only after failing the (we use SBAC) assessment. So opting out won’t be consequence free next year, unless something changes.
LikeLike
Interesting article – I didn’t know the student opt-outs were so widespread. Here, there was a lot of confusion and inconsistency here about what kids were allowed to do if they were opting out. The kids were initially told that they would have to sit quietly without even a book to read for the entire time of the test, but they did eventually back away from that. There was no sleeping late or eating bagels (would that we had a bagel place in town for the kids to go!)
My knowledge comes from my friend who teaches high school and has two bright kids who wanted to take the test, but she and her husband decided this was their best way to draw attention to how screwed up the test was (and persuaded their kids to agree). She has given a lot of standardized tests in her dozen or so years of teaching, both in our rural district and in a very difficult urban school district, but said PARCC was the last straw. Other educators and parents I know have also gotten to that point; it’s been galvanizing to a surprising degree.
LikeLike
Happy to see another post!
I would have said it doesn’t affect us, as all our children have left the public system. Then I realized, it does affect us, because the influence of federally mandated standardized tests on the public school classroom was a significant part of our decision to switch to private schools. The standardized tests did not raise the standards in our local system–rather, we watched standards gradually lower, and test-prep drilling increase. (And this was the Massachusetts Frameworks, rather than the Common Core.)
From the samples of the PARCC test posted online, I judge it is less demanding than the current SAT. (Which will be replaced very soon.) I did not sign my high school kids up for SAT prep, because they did not need it. I would not be happy if classroom instruction time were devoted to SAT prep.
Our kids did take the ERB in their private middle school; however, the time used to test was reasonable–two mornings. The results gained were consistent with later standardized tests. There was no pressure on teachers to “raise the scores” of test takers. The scores were released to parents, with an invitation to parents to discuss results with the school’s testing coordinator and the child’s teachers.
In my opinion, those who forced this issue on the nation forgot the whole “consent of the governed” thing. Of course it’s a grassroots movement, because there was no effort to persuade public school parents the Common Core was necessary. Of course it’s found first around Whole Foods stores, because in those districts parents monitor the schools’ offerings, and their children’s performance.
Here’s a proposal. Institute random sampling of the school population. Allow anyone else to opt their children in to the testing–if it’s so necessary for the parents, and gosh darn if they won’t jump with glee to receive this data. For all the other students, use the time to teach something. Anything.
LikeLike
This article was rewritten three times, and then edited by an editor who loves commas. I need some distance on this topic before I can talk about it again. Weirdly, it did really well. I think it was passed around on Facebook 21K times.
I can’t remember what’s in the article anymore, but here are my conclusions in a nutshell: A)The politics are incredibly convoluted. 2) Parents need to be part of the process. 3) Students opted out for nihilistic, rather than political reasons. If the grown ups think the test is useful, then they damn well better take the test. 4) Grown-ups can’t agree. 5) The politics and discussion should have happened before the test happened. 6) There is absolute chaos on the local level. 7) This is really only happening in wealthy suburbs.
And here’s a conclusion that isn’t in the article. Tests can’t make really troubled school districts improve. They may force C+ school districts into becoming B- school districts. But the really troubled ones will remain really troubled. These tests may take A school districts and make them A- school districts.
The new tests are really horrible for special ed kids. And regular kids who failed the last test are going to fail by even greater margins. Testing does come at a cost. They do make kids feel stupid.
There has to be some compromises between the two schools of thought on testing.
LikeLike
If the grown ups think the test is useful, then they damn well better take the test.
I used to think I was a conservative, until I discussed education with other parents. Then I realized I’m far more progressive and nutty-crunchy than I had realized.
There is a point in students’ maturity, beyond which they, too, deserve a voice in the process. For me, that point lies around sophomore year of high school. If a student presents a logical argument, they deserve to be taken seriously. If a student objects to taking a test, there is nothing that can force him to take the test. There is nothing that can force her to try.
On the testing question, in my children’s circle of friends, I’ve rather witnessed them getting more devoted to excelling on standardized tests which carry great weight in college admissions and financing–SAT I & II, ACT, AP, AIME, national language exams, etc.–than less. However, there is no personal incentive for a student to do well on the Common Core tests.
I think one great flaw of the test design is the simple score rubric–what is it now, failing, needs improvement, proficient, advanced? If there were a point scale like the SAT, etc, you would probably see students trying to post high scores.
I was shocked when I read the guidelines for what is dubbed “language arts.” Far too high an importance is placed upon “close reading,” apparently (from what I’ve read in descriptions of the CC’s development process) a bugaboo of Coleman’s. In the standards for 11-CCR, everything is a “performance task.” http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/11-12/ The only standard requiring knowledge of anything is CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.9. “Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.”
So, cynically, I presume students will be drilled in the Gettysburg address and the next shortest “foundational work.” I am also shocked that the “text exemplars” for history, literature and social studies are wildly unbalanced in favor of American works. The “non-fiction” writing doesn’t raise standards for text complexity–magazine articles aren’t that complex. They’re often inaccurate, and high school students don’t yet have enough knowledge of the world to be able to judge when details are being left out. If my high school students were spending significant time on texts like the exemplars listed under “Informational Texts: Science, Mathematics, and Technical Subjects” in the Common Core Appendix B, I’d be showing up at school committee meetings to protest. Malcolm Gladwell or Balzac? Google Hacks or Faulkner? Not a hard choice, in my opinion.
This emphasis on “performance tasks” stands in the way of education. Do you need to know anything about England in the Renaissance to compare two plays by Shakespeare? Do you need to know anything about the 19th century (and what preceded it) to summarize Walden? No, I don’t think you do, not to post a score judged “proficient” by the (eventually) machines scoring the essays.
LikeLike
I have no idea what “rubric” means but people at the school keep using the word.
LikeLike