This form is to be completed only by parent/guardian(s) of students not participating in state testing for the 2021-2022 school year.Link to online form: https://bit.ly/FLVSOptOutForm
IMPORTANT NOTES
As far as we know – this does not pertain to brick and mortar schools, nor district virtual programs.
Until either Gov. DeSantis or Education Commissioner Corcoran waive the requirements, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO FSA NEXT YEAR, THE STATE REQUIREMENT THIS YEAR IS STILL IN EFFECT FOR 10TH GRADE FSA ELA READING AND FOR THIRD GRADE ON THE FSA ELA READING.
DISCLAIMER*: It is each parents’ responsibility to ensure alternative assessments, NOT the schools’ responsibility. This post by The Opt Out Florida Network recommends and assumes that parents:
This organization is NOT “The Minimal Participation Network.”
We are The OPT OUT Florida Network. Proudly.
Since 2012, parents have turned to us in desperation, sharing their outrage and frustration about the campaign of intimidation they receive from schools when they voice any objection to the obsessive and inappropriate high stakes testing, which labels our capable children as failures, with devastating results. We empathize with parents AND teachers’ stories of incessant, weekly i-Ready minutes… or else…; bogus threats of retention that will not happen; unsubstantiated threats of remediation to their (YOUR) children – all based on test scores – FSA scores, to be specific. You are lied to, in order to secure your compliance and deliver up your child to a rigged test. You AND your children are bullied and harassed when you do opt out, even if you call it minimal participation. These are not appropriate behaviors for professional adults in a school environment.
Opting out says, “I do not consent.”
Anything else IS consent.
In our earlier days, when opting out was often met with hostile responses from schools, parents were hesitant to opt out and the term minimal participation was coined by a parent out of good intentions. It was a way to avoid pushback from the schools. But that comes from a place of fear, not empowerment, and it implies minimal effort.
Even though we continue to promote opting out in a way that does not affect the precious 95% participation, too many principals tell us, by their words and deeds, that they value school grades more than our kids.
Guess what, folks?
What minimal participation and 95% participation guarantees is that the Florida legislature will NEVER listen to you.
Think about it. Why should they?
Not until parents wake up and let it be known, en masse, that we reject their high stakes accountability, will the powers that be hear you.
Years ago, a teacher commented on the lengths parents go to just to make testing less painful for their children. He said to me,
Parents are constantly trying to figure out ways to make what schools do to their kids less traumatic. It’s as if they don’t realize they can shut down all the stupid testing with one, giant, focused protest.
“Minimal participation” is an example of that. It is parental tribute to the very adults who facilitate this broken system of test and punish accountability; a system, which makes children hate school and veteran teachers leave their profession.
It is a misnomer that has also led to the misperception, which implies:
that parents who opt out harm our schools. They do not.
that opting out is about “just this child.” It is not.
that parents, who opt out, thumb their noses at our schools and the people who work there. We. Do. Not.
There is a bigger picture, and we are all a part of it.
We know that standardized tests are a better measure of affluence than of true academic ability. When schools don’t “make the grade,” they are labeled as “failing schools” and are denied equitable funding and resources. Such schools are subject to being taken over by private, charter corporations; removing local control, and fracturing close-knit communities, in particular, predominantly black and brown communities. We OPT OUT of that.
The Opt Out Florida Network objects to high stakes testing in order to strongly support public school teachers, who are also harmed by high stakes accountability. Because of high stakes testing, experienced teachers are fast becoming an endangered species. We OPT OUT of that.
No school has ever been denied funding because students opted out. None. Nationally. Not even in the state of New York, where annually, 20% of all students… OPT OUT.
There are many public school teachers, former and current, in our ranks, who not only support the movement with their time, but also opt their own kids out of testing. The behavior of a few rogue teachers or principals is not reflective of our alliance with educators in support of public education. Bad behavior on the part of our schools diminishes public education and it must be called out. Don’t complain about it. Report it.
This week, a very informed parent notified her child’s school about opting out of the upcoming FSA.
Twice, the principal asked her if she wanted to opt out or “minimally participate.” Twice, she told the principal that she wanted to “opt out” of all FSA testing for the year…
Principal: “There really isn’t an “opt out” option. “Minimal participation” is better for the school because it shows that we attempted to give the student the test, so they do count in our numbers.”
The irony.
“Please let us know what you would like (Name) to do.”
She did. Twice. Was the mother not clear enough when she twice communicated,
“My child will opt out of all FSA tests this year”?
…or did the principal just dismiss her?
This principal is not informed enough to understand that minimal participation IS opting out, permitting one action and forbidding the other. The spelling and meaning are different, but the manipulation of parents and students to test at all cost is what is perpetuated by using the language of minimal participation.
Even though schools know that we have successfully opted out for nearly a decade now, they must continue the line, because heaven help us if they ever gave us permission to opt out and it ends the testing abuse.
Don’t be afraid to call it what it is. Your protection against institutional bullying comes not from appeasing them to keep the peace, but from being informed, so that you can use that knowledge from a position of strength and confidence. You have that information here. Continue reading →
Jennifer Sabin is an Admin in Opt Out Polk and was the subject of this article in The Ledger (below). She is an academic advisor at Southeastern University. Jennifer is also a former eighth grade Language Arts teacher from Polk County, Florida, with a BS in Communication from the University of Miami, a mom of three beautiful children and a former Polk County school board candidate. Jennifer has been opting her kids out of Florida’s high stakes tests since 2016.
LAKELAND — Charlotte Sabin, 13, has been opting out of state Florida Standards Assessment testing for five years now, beginning when she was in the third grade, with no repercussions.
“I was kind of nervous because I was the only one in my school doing it,” she said about not participating with the rest of her third-grade class. “But I also felt really cool because I was sitting there going, ‘All you have to take this test and I’m going to go eat doughnuts.’ The next year, I had a friend who opted out and it was cool because that was the only time in my life I’ve ever been a trendsetter.”
Charlotte, who attends Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, goes to class on testing days, breaks the seal on her test, fills out her name, then her mother, Jennifer Sabin, checks her out of school and the pair head to the doughnut shop. It has become an annual tradition.
Jennifer Sabin, of Opt Out Polk and daughter, Charlotte, 13.
It was Sabin who talked to her daughter about what she feels is the importance of opting out of statewide testing, something she and other critics refer to as the “test and punish system.” That’s because kids who do well in class otherwise are retained in the third grade if they don’t pass the test. In addition, high school seniors who pass all their classes can be held back from graduating if they don’t pass the FSA. And teachers whose students don’t make something known as “adequate yearly progress,” can have bonuses withheld, which, they say, is unfair for teachers instructing struggling students.
Charlotte said her mom “explained that it was a really important thing for her … she explained that it helped the teachers and the students. It would be a great thing to do because it could help bring change. And if you do this, other people might do it, too. I like helping people. It’s fun.”
Sabin said opting out of testing is something most parents don’t realize they can do — despite what any administrator or guidance counselor might tell parents.
Opt Out Polk
Sabin heads up a group called Opt Out Polk, which helps to answer questions from parents who are considering having their child not take the statewide test. Some parents say the test gives their children crippling anxiety, while others say one test should not make or break a child’s progression from third grade to fourth. Failing any portion of the FSA can also keep a high school student from graduating.
Standardized testing in Polk County began last week and lasts for several more weeks as students in different grades and in different subjects fill in the bubbles on their answer sheets, click on the right answers on a computer or write essays.
“I think I first realized it because somebody told me, ‘Have you heard of Opt Out?’” Sabin recalled. “I was frustrated with the way the test was being used and I didn’t want my kids to participate in that system of evaluation.”
Sabin teamed up with The Opt Out Florida Network, finding a little-known option for parents: the good cause exemption, which allows parents to use other assessments instead of the FSA, or a student-work portfolio from throughout the school year.
Jennifer has been opting out of the FSA for years. Charlotte, seen here on the right, is noticeably younger in this photo.
According to the Polk County Public Schools webpage, the determination of a good cause exemption for promotion to fourth grade includes:
Standford Achievement Test, Tenth Edition, scoring above the 45th percentile.
STAR Reading Assessment — scoring at or above the 50th percentile.
Istation ISIP Reading Assessment — scoring at or above the 50th percentile.
“Polk County Public Schools fully supports the option of third-grade portfolios as outlined in (state statute), which states that a student who demonstrates through a portfolio that he/she is performing at least at level 2 on the statewide standardized assessment is eligible for good cause exemption,” the website reads.
It is not known how many Polk County Public Schools students opt out because district officials say they do not keep track of that statistic.
Sabin, who is an academic adviser at Southeastern University, said the test was not originally designed to be used the way the state uses it.
“There’s no good reason to take the FSA,” Sabin said. “It wasn’t designed to evaluate students the way Florida uses it. It wasn’t designed to evaluate teachers the way they use it. The FSA causes harm to teachers and schools. We know it correlates strongly with socio- economic status. It makes it hard for students from low socio-economic status to perform well.”
Pros and cons of standardized tests
State standardized testing came about under the late Democratic Gov Lawton Chiles, who developed the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — or FCAT — in the 1990s. When Republican Gov. Jeb Bush was sworn into office in 1999, he developed his A-Plus Plan, which for the first time tied state testing to school grades and held struggling schools accountable — allowing students at those schools to transfer to better-performing public schools, charter schools or even private schools and to take their per-pupil funding with them.
And that tie to money is when things got competitive and complicated with testing.
According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which “promotes educational excellence for every child in America via quality research, analysis, and commentary, as well as advocacy and exemplary charter school authorizing in Ohio,” standardized tests offer objective assessment.
They measure “students based on a similar set of questions, are given under nearly identical testing conditions, and are graded by a machine or blind reviewer. They are intended to provide an accurate, unfiltered measure of what a student knows,” the institute states.
The institute says the tests offer officials the chance to compare student achievement at the classroom, school, local and statewide levels.
And finally, the Fordham Institute says, “like it or not, standardized exam data remain the best way to hold schools accountable for their academic performance.” The measures enable education officials to identify the schools that need intervention, extra help or even closure.
But opponents say the playing field is not level because students are not all the same.
According to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, which has 113,573 members who are superintendents principals teachers and education advocates from more than 129 countries, there are multiple reasons standardized tests are problematic.
“Standardized tests exist for administrative, political, and financial purposes, not for educational ones,” the ASCD website reads. “Test companies make billions. Politicians get elected by promising better test results. Administrators get funding and avoid harsh penalties by boosting test scores. Everyone benefits except the children. For them, standardized testing is worthless and worse.”
The association points out that “test companies (a multibillion-dollar a year industry) not only manufacture the tests, they also manufacture the courses and programs that can be taken to ‘prepare for the test.’” And, the association says, tests favor those who have socio- economic advantages because their parents can buy them books, computers and even tutors to help them.
“If you don’t have the money, and your school is in a low socio-economic area that gets less funding than rich suburban schools, then you’re not getting the same preparation for the test as those at the higher socio-economic levels do,” the association website reads.
The association added that standardized tests don’t value the diversity of students taking the tests, who have different cultural backgrounds, different levels of proficiency in the English language, different learning and thinking styles, different family backgrounds, and different past experiences.
The association says the tests cause unwarranted stress for students. And, because teachers know that test scores may affect their salaries and job security, they and their administrators have been caught on multiple occasions cheating.
In December 2008, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper investigation found suspect test scores at five Atlanta-area elementary schools. An investigation was launched and specially appointed state investigators cited multiple cheating violations, along with organized and systematic misconduct in Atlanta schools. The state investigators’ report named 178 teachers,principals and administrators at 44 Atlanta schools, with 80 educators confessing to cheating, according to the report. More than 20 pleaded guilty, while 11 were found guilty of felony charges.
Not all testing is bad
Sabin said that while she does not want her children to participate in something she views as ultimately unfair to everyone involved, she actually has no problem with teachers testing their students.
“There is a common misperception that those of us who support opting out are anti- assessment,” Sabin said. “It’s that assessment done by the professional educator that we rely on as to where (students) are and where they need to be. The teachers are constantly assessing what their students need to know The five question quizzes — those are the assessments that are valuable. The end of course exams do function differently…… It’s part of their course grade. They’re going to take a 30% hit to their grade, which is going to hurt their (grade point average). I don’t advocate opting out of EOC.”
She said, ultimately, FSA and tests like it are preparing students who want to go to college and graduate school, but not all students are headed in that direction.
“I don’t think we need to spend 10 years of a kid’s education to fill in a bubble in case they want to go to grad school,” she said.
As for Charlotte, without ever taking a standardized test, she is heading to Harrison School for the Arts next year — a high-performing public school with a highly competitive selection process.
Jennifer Sabin of Opt out Polk and daughter, Charlotte, 13
“I’m really surprised that I got in, myself,” Charlotte said. “I would say that I’m pretty good at creative writing. After college, one thing I plan to do is become a book editor because I can get paid to read books. And encourage (authors) to make their book better and grow as a person, as well.”
Ledger reporter Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802- 7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.
We’re not going to get into the difference between a paper-based test (PBT) and a computer-based test (CBT) here, except to say that if parents have made the decision to opt out, they should know that opting out of one is different from opting out of the other. You’ll need to know which your child will have so you can help your child to opt out successfully. It’s not complicated, but there is a difference.
This schedule will show if your child will have a PBT or a CBT.
Will my child have a Paper-Based Test or a Computer-Based Test?
To understand the difference in how to opt out of one or the other, it’s simple – GO TO THE OPT OUT GUIDE. It’s all there!
To see how to opt out of a computer-based test, watch with your kids how Sammy does it… fearlessly!
Test scores are in. And the letters are going out.
From a parent:
“I am so upset. Please can you help me? My daughter is going into 8th grade and has received Straight A’s in all her advanced classes for 2 years in a row and in 5th grade. She also takes high school courses with A’s. She got a 2 on Reading FSA and now they are telling me she has to take Reading which will remove one of her high school classes in 8th grade. I never want her to take this test again. How do I get her out of Intensive Reading so she can take her high school electives and her Honors Algebra?
I feel that I should have known about opting her out. She came home the first day of the Writing FSA an absolute wreck. I will never put her through this again. After the 3 hours of FSA testing, her classes gave work, reading assignments, projects and more tests. It was an awful week returning from Spring Break and it took a toll on her.“
Since test scores were released a few weeks ago, The Opt Out Florida Network has received many such messages from parents from all over the state, some far more egregious.
Remember, you are the parent and the final authority for your child’s education rests with YOU.
FSA scores were released on June 15, 2018 (here, here and here) and many parents are being informed that their child is being denied electives or class placement because he/she received a low FSA score. Some parents are being informed now. Others will learn of this at the beginning of the school year with surprise schedule changes. Students in Honors or AP classes, simultaneously placed in Intensive Reading, sacrificing electives (Art, Orchestra, foreign language or computers, etc.) based on FSA scores. Makes sense to you, right? Nope, me neither…
This is school or district policy, not state law and parents CAN challenge it. Be informed and take action.
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is clear (bold and underlined for emphasis):
“…the statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment is not the sole determiner of promotion and that additional evaluations, portfolio reviews, and assessments are available to the child to assist parents and the school district in knowing when a child is reading at or above grade level and ready for grade promotion.” (https://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-7208/dps-2014-128.pdf – Page 6)
There are many more moving parts to this issue of poor class placement. For one thing, IF there is a deficiency, the school is obligated to provide written notice to parents earlier in the school year. The school cannot simply remediate a child because of a single test score at the end of the year. There are other data that must be considered in that decision. If a child is actually deficient in reading, that deficiency must be identified and addressed. So parents should never just take anyone’s word that a test score says “your child must be remediated.”
There are only two scenarios:
1. The child DOES NOT have a reading deficiency, just a low test score.
The parent’s input must be considered. If the school recommends remediation, the
parent may decline.
2. The child DOES have a reading deficiency. The deficiency must be identified and
addressed with parents. There is a specific evaluation process that must happen.
Don’t let them off the hook.
When the school tells you that they have no choice because it’s the law, ask them POLITELY to provide it in writing – the law – the statute – or the district policy.
They will not. IT DOES NOT EXIST.
For those students with no FSA score because they opted out, there is no actual basis for these decisions, but that is no guarantee that districts and schools will not try to remediate these students – whether out of retaliation or because they are misinformed, it’s still wrong. Someone thinks this is what they are supposed to do. Children’s education is suffering because of this misinformation being passed down from school districts to schools. Without FSA scores, schools should rely on report cards and teacher recommendations for proper placement.
It’s summer and you can prepare now by becoming informed. Your child is relying on you to know your stuff. No one else is looking out for them. It’s up to YOU.
Informed parents do not need to be afraid or intimidated. Just persistent.
Here are some tools that have been proven to work – there is no magic here, just official district or state documents. In the Opt Out movement, these are our “power tools.” Use them to provide your child the education to which they are entitled.
Other districts have similar forms, but in case your district tells you they don’t have one, you can use this language from the Broward form in your own email. I can recall no instances where a parent has challenged class placement based on test scores and has not been successful. You may need to be persistent, but you can do it!
“I understand why the course recommendation was made; however, I wish to have my child placed in (desired elective) instead of Intensive Reading. I am willing to provide the academic and emotional support my child may need while participating in this course.
Thank you very much for your concern. Looking forward to a great school year!
Sincerely…..”
Or you can simply state:
“I wish to have my child placed in his chosen elective(s), (list them here) and I am willing to provide the academic and emotional support my child may need while participating in this course.”
Use the information in this post with your child’s school if you need to. Send them the links to the material from the DOE.
Remediation based on FSA scores has not been a state requirement since 2015 and it has been successfully CHALLENGED many times.
Information on House Bill 7069 May 18, 2015 – Slide 11
Information on House Bill 7069 May 18, 2015 – Slide 12
From the Orlando Sentinel on HB7069 (May 8 2015):
“HB 7069… ended the requirement for automatic “intensive” reading or math classes for students who scored below “satisfactory” on the tests, or less than a 3 on the 5-level exams. The Florida Department of Education in a memo today outlined the change for school superintendents. Schools, the memo said, must still provide help to students who struggle on the exams — and that could mean remedial classes.
But they can “make decisions that are in the best interest of each student regarding course enrollment and instructional support,” wrote Chancellor Hershel Lyons. Educators have long worried that the required remedial classes eliminated electives for many students, robbing them of a chance to take courses of interest or that might set them on a career path.”
You can read the entire article here.
Please read the memo in Resources below.
If a child is to be retained legitimately, much more is required of the school than for the child to simply “do it all over again.” In the rare instance that a student actually needs to be retained, it should be negotiated with the input of the child’s educational team of parents, teacher, guidance counselor and principal, and with parental consent – there are strict guidelines that must be adhered to and parents should be aware of those as well. This information is also contained in the same TAP, under SERVICES FOR STUDENTS RETAINED IN GRADE 3 – Pg 3 MID-YEAR PROMOTION OF RETAINED GRADE 3 STUDENTS – Pg 4
Within the Florida education statutes, each school district has some flexibility for how to implement the law. Class placements and student progression are ultimately regulated by your school district’s “Student Progression Plan”. This document is the road map to help you navigate district policy for your child throughout the school year.
To be your child’s best advocate, you should familiarize yourself with the information pertinent to your child before school starts back in the fall.
IMPORTANT – Remember to communicate with your school by e-mail. It is a written record, a timeline and documentation of your efforts to remedy the school’s mistake. Save it. It cannot be deleted by the school and they cannot say they didn’t receive your e-mail. If you use the information provided here and the school is still not cooperating with your request to correct class placement, forward your e-mail correspondence to your school board members and your superintendent and ask for help. CC your local education reporter. Not kidding.
One last note – Give the school staff the benefit of the doubt. Most schools are being given incorrect or insufficient information by the districts. Most will never have seen the information you are provided here. Yes, they should know better. Don’t waste your energy “being right.” Provide them the information so that they can do better for your child and move on.
Save your energy. We have bigger fights ahead.
This misuse of test data, especially when students have a clear record of performing well in school, should be a reminder to all parents that a low test score is always more harmful to children than no test score. All of this underscores just how invalid these tests are, giving no credit to teachers and students for a whole year of hard work teaching and learning.
For our public schools to return to common sense, and genuine teaching and learning, parents must stop feeding the testing machine and do the one thing we have the power to do. Deny the data used to harm our children, our teachers and our schools. Opt Out.
Please share this information. Someone you know needs it.
The FSA Writing test is being administered in grades 4-10 across Florida now and it’s not what one could easily mistake for “valid” or “reliable.”
Less than a week into this year’s FSA testing season (March 1 through May 18) and data-mining alarms are blaring. We should pace ourselves.
MIDDLE SCHOOL “My daughter opted out yesterday and told me the prompt was “Should Kids Take Online Classes” – it was an argumentative writing prompt. Just FYI.” __________ One middle school student revealed that one of the eighth grade writing prompts was on “Changing School Start Times.” The student said that the sources were 1) “science-based FOR later start times” – like this. 2) anecdotal – “just a parent’s opinion AGAINST later start times because it disrupted her schedule.”
It’s a hot topic with political consequences for every municipality (see here, here, here and here). Communities are divided. Understandably, some parents are conflicted about the start times and work schedules. School boards are balking at the cost of adding bus routes, drivers….
Others are saying at school board meetings,
“Stop! For once, just do what’s right for the kids. Make decisions based on the evidence. For once. Please.”
While we would agree with the actual evidence and arguments supporting later start times for adolescents, that’s not the issue here. If they want to force their high stakes onto our children, they need to do a better job of putting valid test questions together. The questions don’t seem to be balanced. The questions, as presented, steer children toward a particular outcome, complete with reward or punishment for thinking (arguing) one way over another. The thing is, the kids know it and they know how to game the system to produce the desired result – which is how the data-miners can sell their product: students’ data. Rigged much?
We used to be so concerned about product placement in tests, targeting children. Today’s testing companies are more sophisticated, less obvious, and more insidious than ever. They’re drilling deeper, gathering student data to more effectively target our children for profit. Face it, parents. Kids are commodities and schools are the meat market. To add insult to injury, who pays for it? We do! Such a bargain for our reformster ‘friends.’
Of course, with friends like that…
__________
HIGH SCHOOL – The Tenth grade ELA FSA
Two prompts: 1. Gun Control. One source was supportive – and two sources were opposed, one without solid evidence and one was more of an opinion piece. 2. Inventions that happen by chance – Sources for this one were more balanced.
Considering that Florida is rampant with student activism now, specifically about gun control, this is conspicuous and conveniently timely.
In a recent practice test with writing prompts about the Electoral College, two sources were opposed with “data-based sources”, while the one supporting the Electoral College was not well sourced.
It essentially forced students to write an essay, where the favored position was in opposition to the Electoral College – for a better test score. One student tried to write his essay FOR the Electoral College but became “super frustrated.” He stopped his essay and refocused it to write about how poor the sources were and why. We think he did the right thing.
It was also reported to us that the “electoral college” prompt was an actual prompt for this week’s test. Therefore, some students had a prompt that they may have had time to think about!
The FSA is created for the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). Parent and education activist, Deb Herbage has researched and written a great deal about AIR and the evolution of their relationship with the FLDOE. You can read more in her guest post for national education blogger, Mercedes Schneider:
So exactly WHO is writing the FSA questions?
What have you asked your kids about the FSA this week, and what have they told you?
We’d really like to know.
Teachers can’t tell us. They’re not allowed to know.
Is it possible that the tests are just poorly written? Sure. Anything is possible.
But so far, just one week into testing, Florida’s 2018 FSA duck is quacking like a student survey.
As long as the State of Florida continues to tie high stakes consequences to these poorly written tests, parents should know that they don’t have to buy whatever it is they’re selling – certainly not that these tests will improve education.
One of the most important things for parents to know is that they don’t have to offer up their children’s data to feed the high stakes testing machine and Florida’s false accountability that, every single day, diminishes and labels our students, teachers and schools.
Testing begins on March 1 and it is more important than ever to deny the data which fuel the attacks on public schools. Be informed. Be involved. Take action. And spread the word.
The past year has brought some of the most punitive mandates (HB 7069 – 2017) from the state of Florida, with increasingly blatant attacks on public education. This legislative session is well under way and the actions of Florida’s legislators (HB 7055) promise to further hack away at the ability of our public schools to provide the high quality education to our children, to which they are entitled by Florida law.
It is EACH parent’s duty to investigate and to weigh the harm being done to their child’s education by high stakes testing, computerized and dehumanized curriculum, and to understand that it is THEIR choice, whether or not to allow their child to test, and that doing so provides the data with which to rank, sort and label their children and teachers, harming public education for all.
This is the current Opt Out Guide for Florida for this year.
The information for opting out has not changed significantly from last year to this year. In order to ascertain that you have the most current information, the date of the last update will be indicated at the bottom of this post.
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
It’s hard to believe, but there are still parents out there who don’t know that they can opt out of the tests. Find your local group, connect with your opt out community and let’s keep growing this movement.
Knowledge is power. The more parents are informed, the more powerful we ALL can be! If you find this information helpful, remember that it is most POWERFUL when it’s shared!
If you are new to this movement, rest assured that you are not alone. Find and join your local opt out group (link below) for information and support, read up and ask questions. Talk to your children’s teachers and talk to other parents. Most of all, TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN – no matter how old or how young they may be – LISTEN to them.
And BELIEVE THEM.
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. There is a LOT of information in the links below. Please take the time to read through. You will find many answers to your questions within.
Thank you for joining us in this fight for kids and our public schools.
With state testing season beginning this week, FairTest is pleased to offer freshly updated, free fact sheets about opting out. Please circulate widely!
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!
At the last Seminole County School Board meeting, parents and teachers provided input about the Third Grade lawsuit, involving Seminole County students. After Jodi Parham read for Rhonda Nickerson (at 58:00), the board stated (at 1:01:35) that they would typically not accept public comments about pending litigation. The attorney for SCPS provided a brief update on the lawsuit to the board (at 1:02:05).
My speech was cut short (Video from 1:04:15 to 1:06:58).
The next day, I sent my complete address, with references, to the board to be entered into the record:
Dear Drs. Calderone and Griffin,
Thank you for the opportunity to address you yesterday evening. Had I been permitted to complete my statement, this is what I would have shared with you. While I do understand that the district may not be able to comment publicly on pending litigation, I would put forth, respectfully, that the public certainly has the right to provide comment – of course, with no expectation that the board would respond publicly. I sincerely hope that you will give this serious consideration. Other districts have successfully worked with parents in the lawsuit.
I appreciate that this will be added to the record of yesterday’s meeting. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sandy Stenoff
_____________________
I’m here today, because of two proficient children from Seminole in the lawsuit, who are still officially retained in the third grade simply because they have no test score, against the Judge’s order and against Florida education statutes.
The parents requested early in the school year to have a portfolio compiled, as the law allows. The state statute as well as numerous publications from the DOE state:
“A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the school year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for the portfolio.”
They were denied.
I believe there must be a disconnect in the district’s understanding of what a portfolio is. State statute, FLDOE TAP reports and Just Read Florida state that “Portfolio Evidence is to include multiple choice items.”
Nowhere does it say that a portfolio must be made up exclusively of multiple choice test items. A real portfolio, which meets the state guidelines, as Sarina Nickerson’s portfolio does, is without question, a more through and rigorous measure of her teacher’s and this district’s accountability than any single test. It should be held up as an example for all. Instead, it is dismissed, as was this student’s educational rights.
Currently, Sarina must be homeschooled for her own protection from the actions of this district. Fortunately for her, her family is able to do this. Camryn Weaver is not so lucky. She is gifted, and reads above the 6th grade level. She is in 4th grade math, but 3rd grade for everything else. The law dictates strict parameters for how a retained student must be remediated. If that were happening for Camryn Weaver, she would not be repeating third grade work right now. That she is in 4th grade math tells me that the district has the authority to be flexible. It was also the district’s legal option to place her in a 4th grade class, pending a mid year promotion, but that is not happening either (See References – Attached is an e-mail excerpt from the FLDOE to Senator Darren Soto attesting that this is an acceptable course of action).
Her mother tells me that Camryn now says things like, “I’m just stupid.” (I did not state this at the meeting, as Camryn was in the audience, but it is what she now says, where she never did before.)What have we become when children need protection from public education?
I have watched every minute of the 9-hour evidentiary hearing and I have read Judge Gievers’ 53-page ruling numerous times. In a nutshell, the judge’s ruling overwhelmingly found for the plaintiffs – the main points being:
– That they had the right to request a teacher-compiled portfolio over one based on tests – Page 19 Item 32 *
– Promotion is not to be based solely on a test or tests. Page 13, Item 18 **
– Districts are ordered to stop refusing to allow a portfolio Page 14, Item 19 ***
And finally, regarding the automatic stay as a result of the district appealing the venue, from the Tampa Bay Times – Sept 13:
Judge Gievers:
“To the extent that the evidence and law warranted the provision of injunctive relief as to the State Education Defendants and the School Board of Hernando County, the automatic stay of the order as to the challenged injunctive relief *does not authorize the Defendants to ignore the mandatory provisions of the statutes in question*.”
Research consistently shows that students are better off being promoted and provided the intervention and support they need. The short term gains in improved test scores in the 4th grade, are outstripped by the long-term harm of retention. I ask you to consider this for each child as you go forward. By law, retention decisions are never supposed to be made on the sole basis of a test score, but that is exactly what has happened to these children. Parents are supposed to be included in these decisions. If the children are simply collateral damage, please ask yourselves, To what end?
I have met with some of you personally and I believe you when you say that, as a district, you put children and teachers first. You have said that your hands were tied because you were obligated to follow the law. The Judge’s court order has untied them now. Just a year and a half ago, when the law about minimal participation was unclear, you led the way with your courageous decisions to treat children ethically and with respect (here and here). Districts across the state followed your lead. The law is clear now. Courage is not required, only the will to do right by these children.
Please restore our trust that this district puts children first.
It isn’t part of the educator’s creed to “First do no harm”, but it should be.
I will leave you with this quote from over 2,400 years ago by Aristotle: “What it lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.”
* Page 19, Item 32 The Plaintiff may pursue administrative proceedings regarding her preference for a teacher-compiled portfolio based on school work completed in the year to one based on standards assessment testing, if she wishes.
** Page 13, Item 18 The School Board and State Education Defendants had no right to ignore the legislatively adopted portfolio option. No statute limits promotion to grade 4 solely to tests; the Legislature has made clear that the portfolio option is an alternate option that is still available to all of Florida’s children. Section 1008.25(5}, Florida Statutes.
*** Page 14, Item 19 Accordingly, the Hernando County School Board is ORDERED to immediately refrain from further actions contrary to the availability of the portfolio option, and is ORDERED to immediately provide the portfolio option, at minimum, to any parent who has requested one or who requests one going forward. _________________
B-1. Why would a teacher use a student portfolio?
Section 1008.25(6)(b)4., F.S., states that a student who scores a Level 1 on the grade 3 statewide FSA-ELA may be promoted to fourth grade if the student demonstrates through a student portfolio that the student is performing at least at Level 2 on the statewide standardized assessment.
B-2. When should the teacher and students begin the third-grade student portfolio?
A parent of a student in grade 3 who is identified anytime during the school year as being at risk of retention may request that the school immediately begin collecting evidence for the portfolio.
B-3. Are there guidelines provided by the state for the third-grade student portfolio?
Yes. As provided in the updated Rule 6A-1.094221, F.A.C., to be accepted as meeting the portfolio option for demonstrating mastery of the required reading skills, the student portfolio must:
•Be selected by the student’s teacher;
•Be an accurate picture of the student’s ability and only include student work that has been independently produced in the classroom;
•Include evidence that the standards assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts assessment have been met. Evidence is to include multiple choice items and passages that are approximately 60 percent literary text and 40 percent information text that are between 100-700 words with an average of 500 words. Such evidence could include chapter or unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum that are aligned with the Language Arts Florida Standards or teacher-prepared assessments;
•Be an organized collection of evidence of the student’s mastery of the Language Arts Florida Standards that are assessed by the grade 3 statewide English Language Arts assessment. For each standard, there must be at least three examples of mastery as demonstrated by a grade of 70 percent or above on each example; and
•Be signed by the teacher and the principal as an accurate assessment of the required reading skills. Additionally, note that the Just Read, Florida! Office has begun creating an updated Third- Grade State Portfolio.
B-4. Do the same portfolio guidelines apply to ESE students? Yes. The state portfolio guidelines apply to all students, including ESE students.
B-5. Is the student portfolio the only tool used for good cause exemption and/or promoting a third-grade student to fourth grade in the middle of the year?
No. The student portfolio and an alternative assessment are the two state-approved options for good cause exemption and mid-year promotion. The student must be offered both options. However, the student must only demonstrate proficiency on one of the options in order to receive a good cause exemption or be promoted midyear.
B-6. If a teacher is monitoring the progress of a student, is a portfolio needed? Yes. A portfolio provides ongoing information on how a student is performing on tested benchmarks. There are specific requirements of necessary elements that must be included in a portfolio used for promotion (please refer to question B-3 of this document for the requirements). If a teacher chooses to follow the rigor of the state portfolio requirements, a portfolio may be used for progress monitoring as well as promotion.
___________________
Excerpt of e-mail from Suzan Shaw at FLDOE to Senator Darren Soto – July 12, 2016
asserting that 4th grade placement with mid-year promotion is an allowable option. ____________________
E-3. Can a third-grade student, potentially eligible for mid-year promotion, be placed in a fourth-grade classroom and then promoted after demonstrating proficiency on the portfolio or an alternative assessment?
Yes. Districts need to meet the individual needs of students. This can be achieved through implementing creative multi-age grouping or a transitional-classroom setting.
E-4. Why would a decision be made about a student’s placement during the first semester of the academic year? Students should be promoted midyear or as soon as possible so they receive essential fourth- grade instruction.For example, if a student has attended a Summer Reading Camp and demonstrated mastery of all benchmarks but one, the student could show proficiency in the deficit benchmark and then be promoted to fourth grade. Any student meeting specified state requirements may be promoted midyear.
E-5. How many samples of proficiency are required for each benchmark in order for a student to be promoted midyear?
In any given school year, a student must have three examples of each benchmark successfully completed on the third-grade level, with a score of 70 percent or above on each example, in order to be promoted midyear. Rule 6A-1.094222, F.A.C.
Failing to implement a mid-year promotion, will the district adhere to the letter of the law here (below), as it pertains to students retained without any documented reading deficiency? And – Is this happening for ALL students who have been retained?
F.S. 1008.25(7)
(7) SUCCESSFUL PROGRESSION FOR RETAINED THIRD GRADE STUDENTS. —
(a) Students retained under the provisions of paragraph (5)(b) must be provided intensive interventions in reading to ameliorate the student’s specific reading deficiency, as identified by a valid and reliable diagnostic assessment. This intensive intervention must include effective instructional strategies, participation in the school district’s summer reading camp, and appropriate teaching methodologies necessary to assist those students in becoming successful readers, able to read at or above grade level, and ready for promotion to the next grade. (Camryn Weaver has no reading deficiency. Wekiva Elementary has already demonstarted that she reads at near 7th grade level)
(b) Each school district shall:
1. Provide third grade students who are retained under the provisions of paragraph (5)(b) with intensive instructional services and supports to remediate the identified areas of reading deficiency, including participation in the school district’s summer reading camp as required under paragraph (a) and a minimum of 90 minutes of daily, uninterrupted, scientifically research-based reading instruction which includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and other strategies prescribed by the school district, which may include, but are not limited to:
a. Integration of science and social studies content within the 90-minute block.
b. Small group instruction.
c. Reduced teacher-student ratios.
d. More frequent progress monitoring.
e. Tutoring or mentoring.
f. Transition classes containing 3rd and 4th grade students.
g. Extended school day, week, or year.
2. Provide written notification to the parent of a student who is retained under the provisions of paragraph (5)(b) that his or her child has not met the proficiency level required for promotion and the reasons the child is not eligible for a good cause exemption as provided in paragraph (6)(b). The notification must comply with the provisions of s. 1002.20(15) and must include a description of proposed interventions and supports that will be provided to the child to remediate the identified areas of reading deficiency.
3. Implement a policy for the midyear promotion of a student retained under the provisions of paragraph (5)(b) who can demonstrate that he or she is a successful and independent reader and performing at or above grade level in reading or, upon implementation of English Language Arts assessments, performing at or above grade level in English Language Arts. Tools that school districts may use in reevaluating a student retained may include subsequent assessments, alternative assessments, and portfolio reviews, in accordance with rules of the State Board of Education. Students promoted during the school year after November 1 must demonstrate proficiency levels in reading equivalent to the level necessary for the beginning of grade 4. The rules adopted by the State Board of Education must include standards that provide a reasonable expectation that the student’s progress is sufficient to master appropriate grade 4 level reading skills.
4. Provide students who are retained under the provisions of paragraph (5)(b) with a highly effective teacher as determined by the teacher’s performance evaluation under s. 1012.34.
5. Establish at each school, when applicable, an Intensive Acceleration Class for retained grade 3 students who subsequently score Level 1 on the required statewide, standardized assessment identified in s. 1008.22. The focus of the Intensive Acceleration Class shall be to increase a child’s reading and English Language Arts skill level at least two grade levels in 1 school year. (In order to be in compliance, the district would have to expect Camryn Weaver to achieve reading at the 8th grade level by year end.)
The Intensive Acceleration Class shall:
a. Be provided to a student in grade 3 who scores Level 1 on the statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment and who was retained in grade 3 the prior year because of scoring Level 1. b. Have a reduced teacher-student ratio. c. Provide uninterrupted reading instruction for the majority of student contact time each day and incorporate opportunities to master the grade 4 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards in other core subject areas. d. Use a reading program that is scientifically research-based and has proven resultsin accelerating student reading achievement within the same school year. e.Provide intensive language and vocabulary instruction using a scientifically research-based program, including use of a speech-language therapist.