We posted a form you could download to use when informing the school you are REFUSING the Common Core Standardized tests.
We liked this one from a parent so much, we decided to POST it incase you’d like to use it too.
Teacher and Principal,
Please accept this letter as notice that we are refusing to have our CHILD, participate in any standardized testing that has been designed and constructed by anyone outside of the SCHOOL District, including the MAP tests, NAEP, NWEA, STAR and any additional similar or replacement tests such as SMARTER BALANCED. We are asking that you provide STUDENT with alternative, useful, and meaningful learning experiences during testing periods so that she may continue to learn and grow while other students are engaged in taking these exams. If you are unable to provide an alternate activity, we request that STUDENT be allowed to read silently during testing time or use the time to do schoolwork. We can also keep STUDENT home as an excused absence during testing that will take longer periods of time.
Our primary objection to these tests is their negative impact on children. Students are being used as fodder in a system that takes their time and talents, and risks their self-esteem in a misguided and inappropriate effort to evaluate teachers. It is our belief that these tests can provide no more accurate and meaningful data on teacher effectiveness than that which you, as their supervisor, could and should provide.
Also, we question the construction and usefulness of these tests. We are of the opinion that a good teacher can evaluate a child better and more accurately than a standardized test. We believe that it is unethical for both teachers and students that the tests are correlated to teacher evaluations.
Finally, but no less significant, we want to make clear that our decision to refuse testing for STUDENT is not a condemnation of teachers or an act of aggression against SCHOOL. We hope our efforts will be understood in the context in which they are intended: to support the quality of instruction promoted by the school, and to advocate for what is best for all children. We believe that you can provide students with an excellent education without the “help” of corporations that are more interested in money than in the well-being of our children. It is our belief that those corporations will only go away if they are starved of resources in the form of student data. Our hope is that our refusal to have STUDENT participate in the use of their products will help return public education to the trust of valued professionals. As we said to you on the phone and by email, we miss the days when teachers had more time for instruction instead of being forced to spend so much time administering and preparing for tests.
We appreciate your understanding of our position regarding STUDENT’s participation in these tests.
Sincerely,
PARENTS/Guardians