Tag Archives: Refusals

School Administrators in NH Bullying Parents and Children on Testing

Every year we read or hear from parents about how their school administrators are misleading parents who refuse to let their children take the annual standardized test. Some administrators even resort to bullying parents and children.

If you are concerned about the mental health of children, is it then appropriate for school administrators to mislead and bully parents and children into this testing scheme?

We’ve got a mess in New Hampshire and it comes directly from the removal of local control in education. Policies on testing and accountability (not to parents but to bureaucrats) have created a situation where parents have lost their voice. No longer can they opt their children out of harmful testing practices without school administrators coming after them because they are afraid they might lose some $$ money.

Go to your local school board and insist on a policy of NO BULLYING, MISLEADING and PRESSURING parents into harmful testing practices. No school district has lost any $$ money over test refusals. Even if they did withhold funding, is it worth the mental health of your children to participate?

STOP THE BULLYING!

This year Greenland administrators sent an e-mail to parents with misleading information on testing. Here is how a physician/ parent responded:
Letter to Editor:

May 18 — To the Editor:

The concern for Greenland students’ social-emotional well-being that prompted the elimination of seventh and eighth grade accelerated math in October has now taken a sharp decline in May (see Greenland Dumps Accelerated Math, 10/23/16).

In an email sent primarily to fathers of students on Wednesday, Principal Peter Smith expressed his frustration with “an inordinate amount of parent refusals for eighth grade Smarter Balanced (SBAC) Summative Assessment.” He indicated there would be an impact to school funding, stating, “If that 95 percent [of participation] is not met, federal dollars could be withheld from the state,” citing the NHDOE Assessment Administrator as the source of this information.

He went on to warn, “Under the law there is no option for an official opt out request,” hinting that GCS is honoring parental refusals out of good will.

The truth is that we still live in a country where parents are free to make choices that are in the best interests of their children. There may not be a state law providing an option for an official “opt out” request, but there is no state law prohibiting a “refusal.” And according to federal law under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), p.144-145:

″…PARENTS MAY REQUEST, and the local educational agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding any State or local educational agency policy regarding student participation in any assessments mandated by section 1111(b)(2) and by the State or local educational agency, which shall include a policy, procedure, or PARENTAL RIGHT to OPT the child OUT of such assessment, where applicable.”

The disapproval of opt outs is also evident at school on testing days, where children testing are given substantially more recess time, treats and rewards, while children opting out are assigned to sometimes noisy rooms for silent reading and not allowed to participate in the extra social activities.

It seems the emotional well-being of bureaucrats in Concord is superseding that of our children in Greenland. Parents are being asked to ignore what is best for their children, and children are expected to bear the burden of securing school funding by enduring almost 15 hours of testing – testing that was designed to compare districts, not improve their learning. The American Board of Emergency Medicine re-certification exam that assesses a physician’s ability to make life and death decisions is no more than 5 hours. The real problem lies in the bureaucracy that imposes this excessive, age-inappropriate testing, not the students and their parents.

The children opting out may be missing out on extra recess and doughnuts, but they are learning a valuable lesson – following your conscience about what is best for you is not always the easiest path, but it is usually the right one.

Aida Cerundolo

Greenland

Suggested Note to School Administrators: REFUSE TESTING

Below is a suggested note to send to school administrators when REFUSING the state assessments.

Suggestion: Send a copy to all of your school board members, State Representatives and State Senator
NOTE: Read more about how the NAEP is not collecting personal data here: http://edlibertywatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Final-Ltr-NAEP-legal-and-privacy-concerns-06272016.pdf

Dear __________________________________
(teacher, principal, admin, or even name of school)
This is to inform you that my child will not be participating in any of the testing I have indicated below. I thank you for respecting my right as apparent and appreciate your support as an employee of our community.

Grades 3-8
_______ My child will not participate in the Smarter Balanced OR PACE English Language Arts Assessment
_______ My child will not participate in the Smarter Balanced or PACE Mathematics Assessment
_______ My child will not participate in any field test assessment provided by the State Education Department

Grade 11
________My child will not participate in the (New Common Core aligned) SAT

_______ My child will not participate in the NAEP Assessment

Name of Student:____________________________________________
Grade:________
Parent/Guardian Signature___________________________________________
Date:________________

Why Refuse Common Core Tests? Here Are Your Answers, Parents

WHY REFUSE SMARTER BALANCED TESTING?

Parents should be asking “why does the state want the children to take Common Core tests

Many New Hampshire children did not take the Smarter Balanced Math and ELA assessments last year.
Here are reasons why parents said they did not want their children participating:

The tests don’t count towards your child’s grades or promotional status.
The tests don’t count towards receiving or not receiving special services.
The tests are age and developmentally inappropriate.
The tests are too long.
The tests are developed by business men and corporations, not teachers.
The tests are just another form of data mining. Data is the name of the game.

For those who say, “My child does well on the tests”, what are they doing well on? They are doing well on following orders, filling in bubbles, and navigating an absurd myriad of age and content inappropriate test questions that do not measure what they are learning in class and have NO bearing on where they will be placed the following year.

All you see is a number (1-4), specific results are not given to school districts or to parents – so there is no information at all on what they’ve learned, where their strengths are, or where they need improvement. The tests do not have any bearing on whether or not your child will or will not receive additional services either.

Refusing the state tests does not mean your child will never have exposure to taking a test, nor does it mean you are teaching your child he or she doesn’t have to fulfill their academic responsibility. Refusing means you are aware that these tests mean nothing and you refuse to have your child be a guinea pig for the state and the test manufacturers.

School districts must make the tests available to all students, that does not mean they can force or “encourage” all students to take them. You have the option of refusing. Parents, you are the primary educator of your child, and you have first and final say. Parents rights supersede the rights of the school. Remember that. Always.

Your child provides free labor and research for the test manufacturers. Your schools have sold your child into indentured servitude in order to get grant money and the test manufacturers are cashing in.

The New Hampshire Dept. of Ed., school administrators and test manufacturers rely on your obedience to make your child take the tests, and they love to use threats to get you to do so. Don’t believe the threats you hear about losing funding or testing counting against your child’s teacher, these are scare tactics, and they work on people who don’t know the facts.

We are for tests that measure my child’s growth and progress. We are for tests that give teachers and parents a dashboard to look at and pin point what questions they are struggling with or excelling in. We are for tests that are staggered throughout their school years and do not last for days. We are for meaningful testing.

We want our children educated when they go to school. We don’t send our children to test taking school – we send them to school, just school. Please stop the rampant, abusive, useless testing, and lets get back to educating the whole child. That won’t happen unless we all REFUSE THESE TESTS.

This letter was adapted for Stop Common Core in NH from the original posted by:
Deborah Torres Henning
WCSD Parent and
Founder of NY Guardians”

REFUSE to COOPERATE: Where’s the Smarter Balanced Assessment Results?

We URGE you to refuse to cooperate in further testing days or testing time for SBAC tests UNTIL the SBAC sends back useful information to all parents, teachers and schools based on the 2015 assessment.

Then schools, teachers and parents will jointly decide if the information the SBAC sends back on individual students is pedagogically useful.

Bureaucrats at the NH Dept. of Ed said the results would be timely. The SBAC was needed so they could get the results back to schools quickly. They said the results would be released in July, then August and NOW NOVEMBER.

While schools continue more and more testing to prepare for the Smarter Balanced Assessment, this becomes and even bigger debacle by the day.

PARENTS in New Hampshire, REFUSING the Common Core Assessments UPDATE

We received a copy of this letter from a parent to her school administrators. She gave us permission to post this however we felt it was best to remove the names of the parents and their child.

The purpose of posting this is to give parents guidance on how to address the school administrators on Common Core assessment REFUSALS.

We thank parents for sharing this kind of information because it helps other parents in New Hampshire.

=======================================

From:
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2015 10:43 AM
To: Lois Costa; Kathleen Murphy
Subject: Academic year 2015-16 *****

Dear Lois,
We are sending this email early on to be certain that SAU90 and we, ***’s parents, are all on the same page regarding all SBAC, Next Generation and any other Common Core Aligned Standardized Testing and/or non-academic questionnaires.

*** will not be participating in any of the standardized tests or questionnaires. Additionally, she will not be participating in any of the preparatory work which is designed to prepare students for the testing.

It is our expectation that she will continue to be educated and treated equally by all SAU 90 employees and its representatives. While other students are participating in prep or testing around CC Aligned tests, SAU90 or we, her parents, will provide level appropriate academic work for her. At no time should her educational time be sacrificed while other students are preparing for testing. It is also our expectation that she will never be singled out so as to be subjected to rude and hurtful comments by her peers (i.e., last year in the lunchroom).

We object to any and all non-academic questionnaires, unless we, as her parents, are given the opportunity to review them beforehand. Under no circumstance do we give permission for SAU90 or its representatives to administer non-academic, psychological, religious or sexual/transgender or bullying related questionnaires. Any and all non-academic content is to be reviewed by us before it is given to our daughter. *** is aware of our guidelines and she will politely and respectfully refuse to participate if she is put in the position, which she shouldn’t ever experience. We also expect to be given the opportunity to review the sexual education/puberty material a week in advance of it being presented.

Lastly, we understand that Google Chromebooks will be used in 5th grade for a number of subjects and or projects. Under no circumstance should ***’s fingerprints, iris scan or facial recognition be used as her login, nor should non-academic information be solicited by SAU90 or any of its or the State of NH DOE’s representatives.

We look forward to another wonderful academic and social year for ***. She loves Marston School and all of her teachers and friends. As ***’s parents, we are always available for open and honest communication regarding all aspects of our daughter’s experience at Marston School.

Thank you for your time and anticipated cooperation. We ask that this information be passed along to Mrs. Dowst, as we do not have her email address yet.

Regards,

================================================
UPDATE: The parents received the following letter confirming their directives would be followed:

2015-Hampton-School-District

Why NH Students Should REFUSE the Common Core Assessments

We’ve been hearing about this book for a while now and a few of us decided to read it. We would highly advise that ALL of you who are concerned with Common Core and the federal reforms, purchase the book ASAP. Yes, it’s that good.
the Long War Common Core

We will feature some excerpts from the book. However it’s important to read the book in its entirety to get a clear picture of how we ended up with Common Core in our classrooms.

The author goes through the history of reforming public education and what has led us to Common Core.

Here is an excerpt about the Common Core assessments. Make sure every parent knows this……

“Although the words assessments and tests are often used interchabgeably, it is important to realize that assessments measure behavioral changes moving from one point to another with a goal in mind, e.g., how much further was Johnny able to run in a minute from last year to this? Tests measure acquisition of knowledge with a right or wrong answer, e.g., what is the capital of the State of Kansas? Most activities called testing in schools are actually assessments. They do not determine how much or what someone knows. They measure how far Johnny has moved along a pedetermed set of behavioral outcomes.”

In other words, these assessments mean nothing to parents who want to know if their children are proficient in math, science, etc.

The best thing you can do as a parent is have your child take the CAT test. They’re $25.00 delivered to your door. They’re not cc aligned. Then you’ll know where your child is actually at and can make an informed decision unlike the state assessments and the curriculum which are convoluted.

Senator Stiles (R) and the Democrats in the Senate Vote Against Parents

NH Senator Stiles (R) and the other Democrat Senators in NH vote “YES” to KILL HB 603. This continues to show parents that Democrats in NH along with a handful of Republicans continue to work against them.

Remember to thank these Senators for supporting parental rights in NH.

Stiles

Is the Nashua Superintendent Purposely Misleading Parents?

We’ve posted information on REFUSING the Smarter Balanced Assessment for your children. There’s even a petition to stop the abusive practices by the NH Dept. of Education. Unfortunately we continue to see administrators not providing parents with ALL of the information on their rights to refuse the Smarter Balanced for their children.

This latest letter comes from a parent in Nashua who was upset that the Superintendent didn’t provide all of the information for parents on their right to “Refuse”.

This is why HB603 is needed. HB603 declares that a student exempted from taking the statewide assessment by the student’s parent or legal guardian shall not be penalized. The bill also requires a school district to provide an appropriate alternative educational activity for the time period during which the assessment is administered..

Please call Governor Hassan and ask her to sign HB603 and support parents.

Parents also need to hold their school administrators accountable for the lack of information they are providing to parents. Manchester chose to fully inform parents on their refusal rights. Why are other schools choosing to keep parents in the dark?

It’s time to march into the next school board meeting and let them know this is unacceptable.

May 15, 2015

Dear Parents:

The State of New Hampshire requires an annual statewide assessment for English Language Arts and Math for students in grades 3-8 and 11. RSA 193-C:6 states, “Each year, a statewide assessment shall be administered in all school districts in the state in grades 3-8 and one grade in high school. All public school students in the designated grades shall participate in the assessment…”

To meet this requirement in English Language Arts and Math the State has chosen the Smarter Balanced assessment. To meet a similar requirement in science, for many years the State has participated in the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP), which is administered to students in grades 4, 8 and 11.

All public school students in the designated grade levels are required to participate in the Smarter Balanced and Science NECAP assessments, with only limited exemptions approved by the NH Department of Education for such circumstances as a serious illness or a death in the family. There is no opt-out provision in state statute based on parental choice. However, based on a recent Board of Education motion, if you keep your child out of school on the day of the assessment, the school will consider this an excused absence.

These assessments provide valuable information about your child’s progress, and the school’s progress, to parents, teachers and students. Should you have any further concerns I would invite you to contact Jennifer Seusing, our Assistant Superintendent for Accountability and Assessment, at 966-1069, or at SeusingJ@nashua.edu. She will be happy to meet with you to discuss your concerns.

Sincerely,

Mark Conrad
Superintendent of Schools

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: What to do when your school administrators mislead you

CALL or E-MAIL GOVERNOR HASSAN: Support Parental Rights

BIG NEWS: HB603 Passed the New Hampshire Senate today and is on the way to Governor Hassan’s desk.
Will she support parents on this important legislation, or will she veto HB603?
CONTACT GOVERNOR HASSAN
Office of the Governor
State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
(603)271-2121
(603)271-7640 (fax)

How did your New Hampshire Senators vote?
All of the NH Democrat Senators and one Republican (Senator Nancy Stiles) voted AGAINST PARENTS. The rest of the Republicans in the NH Senate voted in support of parents and HB603.
This bill declares that a student exempted from taking the statewide assessment by the student’s parent or legal guardian shall not be penalized. The bill also requires a school district to provide an appropriate alternative educational activity for the time period during which the assessment is administered..

We’ve brought parents information on how bad the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA) is. Parents who’ve made themselves aware and chose to refuse to let their child take the SBA, have always had the right to refuse the assessment for their children. However HB603 was needed because many administrators tied to mislead and bully parents into forcing their children to take it. We even heard from parents who had to hire an attorney to get their school administrators to acknowledge their parental rights.

We suspect the opponents of parental rights in NH still think there is a risk to federal funding IF NH Statute reflects a parent’s right to refuse. Unfortunately that sends a strong signal that $$ is more important than parental rights.

We also want everyone to be aware that we know of no state that’s lost federal dollars (OUR DOLLARS) because state laws acknowledges a parents right to refuse.

When you contact the Governor, let her know that there is NO excuse to deny a parent’s right to refuse. She doesn’t need to use $$ as an excuse to deny you of your rights.

Share this information with her: http://www.fairtest.org/why-you-can-boycott-testing-without-fear
As far as we know, no school or district anywhere in the country has ever been penalized for failing to test enough (95%) of its students. Further, seven states (Utah, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and California) have laws allowing opt out, and none have been sanctioned. Parents, students and teachers generally should not fear harmful consequences to their schools due to federal law if parents boycott standardized tests.

How the Reformers Destroyed Standardized Testing

A superintendent recently described standardized testing as a tool to compare schools with. He went on to say that only one test is needed so they can measure how they are doing compared to another school in the state.

No, that wasn’t the purpose of standardized testing. Standardized tests, when used properly, were a tool that parents could use to see how well their child was doing compared to other children who took the same test. Some schools would use the Stanford Achievement Test, the California Achievement Test or the Iowa Basic Skills Test. (Notice they are all achievement TESTS)

Students have been taking standardized tests in the past and it’s been a helpful tool. Parents could then address the school administrators if they felt there was room for improvement. It is a great way to engage parents in the education of their children.

Remember when the schools actually used achievement tests (tests of academic knowledge) versus the new psychometric assessments of your child’s values, attitudes and dispositions? Let’s face it, when did you ever hear of an uproar over a school using the Stanford Achievement Test?

The new testing scheme forces schools to use “assessments.” Assessments are very different from achievement tests. The new assessments measure things like values, attitudes and dispositions in a child. This information on your children will be needed as Obama’s dumbed down workforce training requires a large amount of data on each child. This is how the STATE will determine where your child goes in life.

Bureaucrats now want to know everything about your children versus give YOU, the parent, valuable information on how well your school is performing.

Parents are now turning on testing. They are refusing to let their kids take these psych assessments because they know that this no longer benefits them. Why let the government data-mine information on their children that can possibly be used against them someday in the same way they are using them against their schools and teachers?

Standardized Testing and how reformers destroyed it:

1) No Child Left Behind (NCLB) began to punish schools based on test results
2) NCLB and Common Core (CCSS) began collecting personal data on children
3) CCSS started punishing teachers with the test scores
4) NCLB and CCSS shifted the focus to giving info to bureaucrats versus informing parents
Achievement tests offer feedback to parents so they can engage the schools.
Reformers destroyed this practice when they decided psych assessments for their use was the primary purpose of standardized testing.