Thursday, March 27, 2014

New video: Why NYC parents are refusing the test! Deny them the data!

See the great new video below made by filmmaker Michael Elliot, explaining why so many NYC parents are having their children refuse the state exams this year.

Today the DOE came out with a new fact sheet about the consequences for those students opting out of the exams, due to start next week.  It makes clear that there will be NO negative consequences for your child:"If, after consulting with the principal, the parents still want to opt their child out of the exams, the principal should respect the parents' decision and let them know that the school will work to the best of their ability to provide the child with an alternate educational activity (eg reading) during these times."

A sample opt out letter to send to your principal is here.   Along with all the other reasons these parents provide for protecting their children from all the stress and pressure, opting out will also deny inBloom and the other vendors the test score data and proficiency levels for your child that the state plans to disclose.   The test scores are the most valuable data to them, for their unreliable teacher evaluation systems, commercial data-mining schemes, and invalid measures of school success.

Have your child refuse the test, if you want to protest and add your voice against the dangerous trend of collecting, tracking and data-mining children without parental consent.

For other information about opting out, check out Change the Stakes and NYS Allies for Public Education.

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