THERE IS WIDESPREAD dissatisfaction among students and parents nationwide concerning state-mandated student testing. Students and parents point to the fact that extensive testing causes stress and anxiety; school administrators drive home the point that testing students provides important data. The growing “opt-out” movement has pitted school administrators, legislators and parents against each other. New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and other states have taken sides. In New Jersey, the State Assembly voted to permit parents to opt their children out of PARCC common core tests. The legislation required that schools organize activities for students who opted out.
Yearly, Michigan elementary and middle school students are tested in grades 3-8 in math and language arts, and in additional subjects at other grade levels. High school students are tested in the 11th grade. These tests are on top of those required by local school districts.
In response to a significant number of Ann Arbor students who opted out of state testing at the Open School and Community High School, the Superintendent proposed a policy that would have removed students who opted-out from state testing from application-based programs, such as Ann Arbor Open and Community High School. It was a heavy-handed, draconian response which did little to engage the community. Instead, the threat provoked outrage.
The AAPS policy was amended and again presented to the BOE for approval on June 10. While the language was deleted which called for sanctions against students enrolled in application-based programs, the BOE still demanded students participate in mandated state and federal testing:
“All students enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools are required to participate in any and all assessments mandated by State and Federal law. Therefore, full participation in these required assessments is mandatory for all students who are enrolled in the Ann Arbor Public Schools,” says the new policy.
The new policy is little more than bureaucratic bluster. There are no federal or state laws which require Michigan parents to submit to the will of Superintendent Swift and the Board of Education concerning the new policy’s demand that parents seek permission to opt-out of testing. The reality is that federal and state laws require the Ann Arbor Public Schools to enroll all eligible students and provide those students with an education.
The simple truth is this: State and federal laws require the AAPS administer the tests in order to, for example, qualify for funding from a variety of sources, including Title I. That program provides funding for services aimed at helping under-achieving students. Without testing data, the district could lose a portion of its Title I funding, which would adversely impact recent gains made to close the decades-old achievement gap. A parent, conversely, may refuse to have her/his child take state tests.
Once again, the Superintendent and the BOE are approaching a problem with their guns blazing, this time with parents in the cross-hairs. Instead of bluster, the BOE should educate parents on the district’s need for the testing data, the connection between the testing data and state and federal funding, form a committee to study the opt-out question, and engage parents and students in more thoughtful and substantive discussion.