(MintPress) – The school year may now have a different vibe for many students as the spring ushers in standardized testing weeks across the country. However, what has traditionally been a part of the school year dedicated to filling in Scantron bubbles has morphed into protests and opt-outs by parents and educators of the standardized tests. Critics say the tests are harmful not only to the students, but also to the curriculum as a whole.
The movement has already been put into action, as the state of New York began standardized testing last Tuesday. The federally mandated tests are used as a gauge of placement into talented and gifted programs, grade promotion and school and teacher evaluations. With the futures of many within a particular school district influenced by the high-stakes tests, many feel that the tests have too much sway and focus education on a measure of a test instead of facilitating a free learning environment not under the stress of a looming test.
“Learning in our schools has become a matter of meeting static, arbitrary and superficial ‘standards’ rather than engaging in the dynamic, endlessly creative process of discovery that children come into the world eager to embark on,” Jeff Nichols, a parent of a third grader, told the New York Times.
Across the country in Washington, more than 100 opt-outs have been expressed in the Snohomish School District. Parents involved with the protest movement say it is the only way to facilitate change in the education system, as participation in the standardized tests is only showing approval of the system, they said.
“Parents need to be an advocate for their children and in this day and age that might mean they’ll have to be political activists. I think more and more parents are realizing that this is what they need to do to get their voices heard,” said Michelle Purcell, a parent with three students in the district.
A common criticism of using tests as a measure of education success is that teachers are forced to teach to the test, rather than fostering creative thinking in the classroom. Change the Stakes, a New York group dedicated to education reform and ridding the system of standardized testing, says the tests have an “unwarranted amount of power” that creates an atmosphere where students are no longer taught to critically think because their thought process has been narrowed to the specifications of a test.
“(The test is) not benefitting our student learning and it takes away several days of instructional time,” Purcell said.
Stanford University economist Eric Hanushek told the Huffington Post that the movement only generates small, localized support within districts and is not a widespread solution parents see as viable.
“I don’t think there’s a large contingent of parents who think we shouldn’t be testing,” Hanushek said. “There’s a very vocal anti-accountability group, but it’s not a group that’s captured the hearts and minds of parents.”
But United Opt Out Nation, a group that encourages the elimination of high-stakes testing, said they have seen opt out numbers increase significantly in some states. Statistics to follow widespread participation are tough to come by, however, group administrator Peggy Robertson said. That’s not to say inquiries into the movement have not been on the rise.
“In Colorado alone from 2009 to 2010 the opt out increased five times as much,” Robertson said in an interview with MintPress. “What’s interesting is a lot of states won’t report the opt out numbers so it’s hard to get an estimate. For example, we’ve called Florida and asked for the opt out information, and they say they don’t have it. But of course they have to have it.”
Robertson said the biggest push for the movement has been in states such as New York, California, Colorado and Florida.
Change the Stakes is advocating for parents to participate in the opt-out movement, but encourages participants to be wary of any ramifications. With no formal written rules about what happens when a student does not take a standardized test, Change the Stakes notes that students could be held back or be mandated to attend summer classes and if large numbers participate in an opt-out, principals, teachers and the school could face consequences.
Federal law requires schools to test at least 96 percent of students each year. Not complying puts a school at risk of being labeled a failing institution.
Root of the issue
The crux of standardized testing as the measure of student success is the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush. The legislation was Bush’s attempt at education reform, and while the standards-based approached passed through Congress, it wasn’t long after it was applied that critics spoke out against it. The bill aimed to make all students proficient in math and reading by 2014, by the legislation’s standards.
On top of the federally regulated tests, states were still mandated to create tests of their own to measure student success. The result was a report of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the standard of which schools needed to meet. In 2009, the percentage of schools that failed to meet AYP was 33 percent. In 2010 it rose to 39 percent before spiking in 2011 to 48 percent. Schools that failed to meet AYP have been intervened with by the government, facing restructuring or even closure.
Since then, states have been applying for and receiving waivers from NCLB, with 10 being granted the waiver. While those states are still required to give standardized tests to students, they no longer face government intervention if they fail to meet AYP.
“[The tests] reward the ability to quickly answer superficial questions that do not require real thought. They do not measure the ability to think or create in any field,” said FairTest, an organization dedicated to end the “misuses and flaws” of standardized testing. “Their use encourages a narrowed curriculum, outdated methods of instruction, and harmful practices such as retention in grade and tracking.”
Robertson said the opt out movement isn’t about eliminating tests, but rather ending education reform at the corporate level.
“We are not opposed to testing; we’re opposed to high-stakes testing,” Robertson said. “Our ultimate goal is to simply opt out of corporate education reform. We are asking people opt out of the state test in order to deny them the data because without the data, they cannot shut down schools and they cannot profit off of children.”