From another Facebook group: Template letter for testing in school. Dear (name of administrator) We are writing today to formally inform the district of our decision to refuse to allow our child (name) , to participate in any standardized assessments imposed on children across the state for the 2014-2015 school year. Our refusal should in no way reflect on the teachers, administration, or school board. This was not an easy decision for us, but we feel that we have no other choice. We simply see these tests as harmful, expensive, and a waste of time and valuable resources. This year we will show effort to eliminate unnecessary and harmful assessments in our public schools. Our child will not participate in any assessments other than those solely for the use of the individual classroom teacher. We refuse to allow any data to be used for purposes other than the individual teacher’s own formative or cumulative assessment. Any assessment whose data is used to determine school ranking, teacher effectiveness, state or federal longitudinal studies or any other purpose other than for the individual classroom teacher’s own use to improve his or her instruction will not be presented to our child. To be clear, our children will not participate in the following: -Any state assessment -Any so-called “benchmark” exams whether they are teacher-designed or not, since these exams are imposed by entities other than the individual teacher. -Pre–assessments connected to “Student Learning Objectives”. -Any surveys, or “field tests” given by corporate or government entities or testing companies. -Any progress-monitoring or RTI assessments such as Aimsweb -Any exam used to formulate an evaluation or score for our children’s teachers or their school. We will be encouraging other parents to stand up against the testing fad and, more importantly, the corporate and government takeover of our schools. We believe in and trust our highly qualified and dedicated teachers and administrators. We believe in the high quality of teaching and learning that occur in our child’s school. We hope our efforts will be understood in the context in which they are intended: to support the quality of instruction promoted by the school, and to advocate for what is best for all children. Our schools will not suffer when these tests are finally gone, they will flourish. (Name of School District) should have a unified policy in place to address children who are refusing these assessments. We do apologize in advance for the inconvenience or scrutiny that this decision may cause the administration, the school, and staff. Sincerely, (your name)
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 02:19:17 +0000