[TNS-list] State Testing

[Rachel Birdsall]

Spring is the season of the state tests, but it also seems to be the season of protest! 
As many of you know, TNS families have opted out of these tests in increasing numbers, joining families across New York State in the boycott. We strongly believe that the current system of New York State English language arts and math testing has been counterproductive and harmful, and our hope is that statewide enough parents will boycott the tests to force the state to get rid of them in their current form. We have reasons to be optimistic. Parent organizing led to more than 200,000 people refusing to take these tests for three years running, and the pressure has brought change. New York finally started to tweak its testing program and has made some important changes, including forbidding schools from holding children back solely or primarily for poor test performance, reducing testing hours, and holding off punishing teachers based on unreliable metrics. Refusing to participate in this shockingly bad standardized testing system benefits your family personally, but is also clearly effective in changing education policy.
As we listen to stories of students at other schools coming home, bags weighed down by test prep packets, their teachers miserable because they don’t have freedom in the classroom, we feel a responsibility to fight hard to maintain the special curriculum at TNS, but also to have solidarity with children at other schools who are overwhelmed by test prep. There is still a long way to go. The tests are still used to close schools against community wishes (in under-resourced communities of color). Pressure to do well on ill-designed standardized tests warps instruction in too many schools (again, mostly in under-resourced communities of color). Think about this when you decide whether or not your child should participate in this system.
The tests begin Wednesday, April 11th. Members of the Advocacy Committee will be in the lobby every morning this week with information and opt out forms. In order to opt out of the state tests you need to inform the school. You can do this with a simple form letter. We will provide and collect form letters which can be filled out in a few seconds. We encourage you to inform the school of your plans—whether your are opting out or taking the tests—as soon as possible as it will help teachers plan for the day of testing. We also encourage you to come to the Forum on Testing on the morning of Tuesday March 27th. Teachers and fellow parents will answer any questions you ask.
Opt Out NYC has produced two very short videos that sum up much of what is wrong with the tests, and why opting out of them is the most powerful form of protest. Please check them out and share if they inspire you https://www.optoutnyc.com/how-to-opt-out/ <https://www.optoutnyc.com/how-to-opt-out/> .
-The Advocacy Committee 
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