TOPICS COVERED
Steps to Opt Out Refusing a Paper Based Test Refusing a Computer Based Test What do we know about NR2 and NT codes?
Emails from FLDOE RE: NR2/NT scores Alternative Assessment Resources Third Grade Resources Test Questions Every Parent Needs To Ask State of Florida Testing Calendar Schedule to Transition to Computer Based Testing
Read it. Find your local group, connect with your opt out community and let’s grow this movement.
It’s hard to believe, but there are still parents out there who don’t know that they can opt out of the tests.
Knowledge is power. The more parents are informed, the more powerful we ALL can be!
Would you print just five or ten copies of this Pocket Opt Out Guide and share in your travels?
Please FOLLOW and keep checking back on this site for more info to help your kids to opt out successfully and to keep you going strong. Thank you for joining us in this fight for kids and our public schools.
All of this information may be wonderful for you, but it’s POWERFUL when it’s shared!
In Florida, we fight the FL DOE’s relentless campaign of intimidation and propaganda, half-truths and outright lies, which is perpetuated by school districts every single time a parent is told that there is no opt out and that their child will suffer if they don’t take the state tests.
FACT: Children suffer MORE from a low score than from NO score.
As we KNOW, many parents have been opting out successfully for years, but too many parents are still unaware that it is even possible to opt out.
In an effort to help grow the opt out movement in Florida, Ricardo Ocampo is blazing a trail of activism across South Florida. He says:
Defying the law is controversial but that is how all, and I repeat all, social and political change has happened in this country.
Increasingly, teachers are stepping out of their comfort zone and are fighting back with us. We need every student, parent and teacher with us in this fight for the soul of public education.
Ocampo, a social studies teacher at William H. Turner Technical Arts High, is taking the matter into his own hands. Along with other educators and parents, he has launched a small group that is trying to grow support for Opt Out. They call themselves the Grassroots Education Movement of Miami, or GEM.
They are traveling to churches in black neighborhoods and gathering in union halls to recruit new supporters. Ocampo acknowledges GEM faces an uphill battle.
“South Florida doesn’t have a strong activist and labor movement overall, compared to places like Chicago, California and New York. So we’re dealing with that first. Secondly, people have a lot of doubts. They don’t know whether it’s legal or not,” he said.
Their goal for now is just to educate as many people as possible, so they can spread the word.
“We’re not going to wait around for politicians,” Ocampo said.
On May 11, at the Miami-Dade Public Schools board meeting, Social Studies Teacher and GEM organizer, Ricardo Ocampo set the record straight in a blistering speech, addressing the rights of parents and students to opt out of state testing.
On May 11, at the Miami-Dade County Public Schools board meeting, Social Studies Teacher and Grassroots Education Movement of Miami(GEM) organizer, Ricardo Ocampo set the record straight in a blistering speech, addressing the rights of parents and students to opt out of state testing.
Here is the transcript of his address to the MDCPS board and Supt. Carvalho:
Good evening School Board members and Superintendent,
I decided to sign up to speak after watching a 7th grade student, Isabella Perdomo, speak about FSA testing and opting out during the March 9th School Board meeting. She asked what would happen if a student was not present for the testing or make-up, and was curious about the possible consequences of not taking the exam. She referred to this as opting out. There are some things that she said and that were brought up by District personnel that I’d like to briefly discuss.
Minimally participating First of all, it’s important to note that opt-out looks differently from state to state. In Florida the approach taken by most parents is having their children “minimally participate” in the state exams. While it’s true that there is a Florida statute 1008.22 that requires all districts and students to participate in the state exams, the definition of “participation” is not clearly defined and is thus open to interpretation. ‘Minimally participating’ entails breaking the seal of an exam or logging into the exam but not answering a single question, thus earning an NR code. This is very different from not sitting for the exam at all.
At that meeting also, Board member Navarro asked whether opting out is an option, and was told by District personnel that it is not. But actually, it IS an option. Is it written in state statute? No. The Superintendent is correct, it is not. But, in fact, many parents and their children have opted out successfully already. I know of many parents who have opted their children out of the exams, and their children have gone on to graduate, enter college, and be successful in their higher education.
There is a Facebook group called Opt Out Miami-Dade – with roughly 1600 members and many parents there who have opted out their children from the exams. Even the president of the United Teachers of Dade, Fedrick Ingram stated on the weekly UTD radio program on April, 22 2016 that he has opted out his own children. Therefore, I do not think that “misinformation” is getting out into the community, as suggested by district personnel.
Consequences Another point that was made by District personnel (Ms. Izquierdo specifically) is that “if you don’t take the FSA in the 10th grade, you don’t graduate.” This is not necessarily true, as there are alternatives like concordant scores on the Act or SAT. In 3rd grade you also have alternatives, like portfolios. These alternatives need to be discussed between parents and the administration from the very beginning of the school year so that the process is carried out smoothly.
Federal law does say that states must test at least 95% of students each year, or face the possibility of losing federal funds. Yet New York, California, and another 6 states with large opt out movements fell below 95% threshold last year. And according to a WLRN article from April 18, 2014 “their only penalty was to submit written plans to boost future participation,” and states did not lose ANY funding.
Harassment/Intimidation Another issue dealing with opt-out is harassment or intimidation. Students should not be badgered or intimidated by anyone into taking the exams. In an April 22, 2016 Miami Herald article, quotes Gisela Feild, the head of testing for Miami-Dade schools stated that the district does not direct its principals and test chairs to put pressure on parents. However, there are several testimonies from parents and students that show otherwise. Just a couple of weeks ago, there was a parent and child at Miami Lakes Education Center that faced this exact type of harassing behavior from the administration when they decided to opt out of the FSA exam. Moreover, several other parents on the Opt-Out Miami-Dade page have expressed similar complaints about the treatment that their children have received from school administrators. This is shameful, unacceptable, and should not occur. One cannot force a child to take an exam. Only the parent has the right to tell his or her child what to do.
Privatization and Civil Rights – The Issue of our Era To conclude, the testing system that’s been set up is a disaster. Recent data shows that both math and reading scores on the (NAEP) National Assessment of Educational Progress test, have dropped for 4th, 8th, and 12th grades. We are not making progress, but are actually going backwards and doing a disservice to our children and their futures.
The testing craze has converted our public schools into year-round ‘testing centers,’ thus creating a great obstacle for students, teachers, and administrators and greatly hindering the overall learning environment. I’d go so far as to say that this is THE Civil Rights Issue of our era. Children are put under unnecessary stress, teachers are evaluated with bogus tools like VAM (Value Added Measure) which the Superintendent agrees are flawed.
So we cannot simply sit by and wait for elections and elected officials to MAYBE change these BAD policies when it is our children, the future leaders of our society, who are being denied a quality education. Low test scores on state exams are used by so-called school reformers (like Bill Gates, and the Broad and Walton Foundations) to add more funding to charter schools and eventually privatize the entire public education system.
I agree that defying the law is controversial, but that is how ALL and I repeat ALL social and political change has occurred in history. We would still have slavery, Jim Crow, no women’s suffrage, no collective bargaining rights, minimum wage, etc., had it not been for civil disobedience.
People are being forced to take action, because what we see is the destruction of public education. That is why there is a statewide network of opt out groups (as well as a national movement) that are saying, “Enough is enough.”
Parents everywhere are grateful to courageous teachers like Ricardo Ocampo and Ceresta Smith, who are standing tall for their students and fellow teachers as they call out the intimidation and misinformation, condoned and perpetuated by their district leadership in OUR public schools.
Are you aware of just how much your child is testing in school?
Are you under the impression that the only tests being administered to children are the “high stakes” tests from the state, such as the FSA or the State End of Course (EOC) exams?
Even our most informed parents are not always aware of exactly how much testing is going on in school today.
Although testing is only mandated by law for grades 3-10 in Florida, ALL grades are experiencing a serious loss of authentic instructional time as a result of excessive testing now. Most districts are testing K-2 as well – to get the kids used to testing, they say, or for “progress monitoring”. The fact is that testing of any kind now is increasingly becoming a high risk activity for our youngest children. Children who do not test well, even if they are otherwise a good student, are at risk or being flagged for intervention. Districts say this is a safety net to “catch” them early.
In reality, if a child is so identified, they are often made to sacrifice art, music, PE, or even recess, and are pulled for “intervention” aka “test prep” in order to make sure that our youngest children will do well on the standardized tests, which are used to evaluate teachers. Some of these assessments may be iReady, AR (Accelerated Reader), Achieve 3000, IOWA, SAT10, MAP, SuccessMaker.
Districts are efficient in killing two birds with one stone by using one test to “monitor” children and to evaluate teachers. The added bonus for teachers is that they are made to do this to themselves.
This letter is written by Jennifer Sabin, a parent and former teacher from Polk County. Jennifer taught Eighth Grade English Language Arts in Polk County and volunteers her time as an Administrator for the Opt Out Polk County group.
Jennifer writes:
When I first joined the #optout movement, I was concerned about my Third grader taking high stakes tests. I’ve slowly and shockingly come to realize that the testing culture that fuels the FSA has trickled down to Kindergarten. Why are our five and six year olds taking a test to prove they have a good teacher? Since when is it a student’s burden to prove the ability of the teacher?
To that end, I am also opting my kindergartner out of her Reading End of Year exams. This test is not part of my child’s grade and only exists for the district to use in abusing their power.
If I had paid attention sooner, I would have also opted both of my girls out of the Art, Music, and Physical Education EOYs too. This is the email I sent to Polk County Public Schools this afternoon, marking my disapproval with the unnecessary testing:
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“I just learned that my kindergarten student is going to be taking a Reading EOY (after already taking an EOY in Art, Music, and Physical Education). I am appalled at this. I did some digging and learned this is not a state requirement which makes me even angrier. Why is Polk County doing this?
My daughter’s teacher told me this test has no bearing on my daughter’s grade. To me, this means the sole purpose of this test is to evaluate her teacher. I have grave concerns about this approach to teacher evaluation and my daughter will not be taking the kindergarten EOY. I have zero confidence in the district’s ability to use the data from a test like this fairly. In fact, I have zero confidence in the test’s ability to even begin to speak to the success of a teacher.
There are dozens of reasons a kindergarten student might perform poorly on an EOY, the least of which is her teacher’s success. A bad morning, her shoes are uncomfortable, disagreement with a friend on the bus, etc… To base a significant portion of a teacher’s evaluation on a single test is unconscionable. This is true at every grade level. Staking a teacher’s career on the performance of a 5 or 6 year old child on a single test does not make any sense.
I understand that you already stopped the elementary Science and Social Studies EOYs and commend you for that. Now, I am asking you to immediately halt all EOYs for kindergarten, first, and second grade. These self-imposed requirements do not further the profession of teaching and more importantly, they do nothing to meet children’s education needs.”
This is a self-portrait my daughter drew for her art class this year. Isn’t it a much better indicator of teacher competence than any silly test?
Read it. Find your local group, connect with your opt out community and let’s grow this movement.
It’s hard to believe, but there are still people out there who have never heard of opting out. Would you print just five or ten copies and share in your travels?
Please FOLLOW and keep checking back on this site for more info to help your kids to opt out successfully and to keep you going strong. Thank you for joining us in this fight for kids and our public schools.
Remember… if it was easy, it wouldn’t be called a struggle.
#OptOut2016
Florida’s schools are preparing for the high holy season in “Test & Punish World” and the pressure is ramping up. Preposterous claims and empty threats are being made and parents are receiving bully letters from districts and schools statewide. This will continue from now until the end of this testing season in May. WHY? Because the DOE wants your child’s data and they will stop at nothing to get it.
Take control of your situation. DO NOT BE BULLIED.
In many cases, teachers and principals are acting only on the information provided to them by the district. They are not always to blame for the poor information. However, there is no excuse for the bullying nature of the information coming from the state and from the US DOE, which make their way down the chain of command, without fail.
Fight back with FACTS. Here are some important ones:
Florida Law says that districts must administer the FSA. They do.
Florida Law says that students must participate. When students sit for the test, open the test, and do not answer any test questions, they will have “participated” to the extent required by the law AND they will have opted out.
Once a student has “participated,” they cannot be re-tested.
The Law cannot compel students to complete a test.
Third grade students cannot be retained simply for not having an FSA score.
Students may be promoted with good cause exemptions.
Good cause exemptions make use of alternative assessments (SAT10, ITBS, or portfolios).
Students may only be retained or remediated in any grade with a parent’s WRITTEN CONSENT.
Decades of research support the professional opinions of developmental psychologists and experts in reading instruction, who state that the best course of action for struggling readers is to promote them and ALSO provide the necessary intervention and support.
High school students may replace Algebra 1 EOC score with a passing score on the PERT to meet graduation requirements.
A passing score on the ACT (19) or the SAT (430) will replace the FSA score for graduation requirements.
If you are told otherwise, follow this CARDINAL RULE:
In ALL communications with your child’s school or school district, GET IT IN WRITING.Use e-mail and if appropriate, cc at least one other person (child’s other parent, Principal, District Director of Assessment, Superintendent, etc.).
When you are asked to “come in for a meeting,” it is sometimes (not always) because they don’t want to put something in writing. If you choose to have an important meeting in person, feel free to take detailed notes during the meeting. Don’t be afraid to ask them to repeat something so you can write it down accurately.
Always follow up important discussions with an e-mail:
“This is to clarify our discussion on (date). You stated that… A, B and C. Is that correct?”(You must ask this so that they will respond, acknowledging and confirming your e-mail.)
Keep it brief. No snark. It may be as simple as…
“Dear Principal,
Please confirm that if my child opts out of the Fifth grade FSA or iReady progress monitoring assessments, she will be retained in the Fifth grade.
Regards,
A. Mazing Parent”
This is patently FALSE, but it represents an actual threat being thrown around in some schools. Such a threat is easily addressed and requires only a simple response from parents. However, an undocumented claim cannot be officially refuted, so…
…GET IT IN WRITING.
These communications are your documentation. The district cannot lose them, delete them, or claim they did not receive them. They are public records and are, therefore, retrievable under the Freedom Of Information Act. Some districts have official policy that parents must be responded to within a certain amount of time (24, 48 hours, etc.).
In some cases, the communication sent from districts is so egregious, that it warrants being reported to the general public via the press. The press can be our friend, but only if you have documentation.
Computers crash. Save these e-mail threads.
Remember… YOU are the final authority on your child’s education.
TO ALL FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED A DIPLOMA… based solely on a score of 1 on the FCAT
IF you have fulfilled all graduation requirements (met the GPA requirement, passed the Algebra 1 EOC or the PERT and have all required credits), but you have not passed the FCAT, the SAT or the ACT…
IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GET LOUD.
STUDENTS CAN FIGHT BACK. HERE’S HOW…
1.E-mail a letter to the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) and request to see your graded FCAT. This is the only evidence they have for holding you back, yet you cannot see it. They won’t send it to you, but you need the paper trail and proof that you made the request. (Vince.Verges@fldoe.org)
2. E-mail your guidance counselor to request a “Score Inquiry”, again, for your graded FCAT. This is really the same process as Number 1 but on the school side. You may have to really push to get them to do this.
3. Once you have been denied access to your graded test, in writing, by the FLDOE, contact us at OptOutOrlando@gmail.com. Make sure you keep copies of ALL correspondence.
The ACLU is looking at this as a possible case to pursue in court.
4.Contact your State Senator and House Representative. Make an appointment and meet with them. Tell them your story. Tell them why the current policy of high stakes testing is not working. Tell them that after 13 years of being a good student, you are entitled to that diploma.
5.SPEAK TO THE PRESS. If you know of others, you could speak as a group. We can help with that. OptOutOrlando@gmail.com
Last year, 9,000 students across the State of Florida were denied a diploma, based solely on failing this single test. This year, in Lee County alone, there are over 2,000 Seniors who will not receive a regular diploma.
Students have the power to change this. We cannot do this for you.
Do not allow the State to define you as a failure based on a single test score. You are #MoreThanAScore.
FIND YOUR VOICE and take back the power to cause change for yourself and for those who will be right where you are next year.