Say No to School Testing Madness Article

Dear friends, this is a great article about testing in our public schools that calls on parents, teachers and administrators to stop the testing madness. The Standardized Testing Industry is a Multi-Billion Dollar business that has not lost one cent during this recession, while we watch teachers lose their jobs, class sizes increase and supply budgets shrink. Please read the article, and if you are angry over the cuts to our schools, ask your superintendent, your school board and your school principal what they are doing about it? Then take a stand, and tell them that you will not support testing until you see that learning in the classroom is supported. Exercise your right as a parent and OPT OUT OF THE STATE TESTS!http://www.ajc.com/opinion/say-no-to-school-1017302.html

Say no to school testing madness | ajc.com

www.ajc.com

The Multi-Billion Dollar Testing Industry has done it again. The industry continues to usurp precious resources out of local schools when districts are forced to lay off teachers, discontinue programs for children and eliminate field trips.

Look at this link....No Child Left Behind Mandates

Take a look at this....even our federal government doesn't think it is possible to reach NCLB mandates of 100% students at grade level or higher in reading and math by 2013-2014! 
http://capitolbeatok.com/reports/schools-approach-no-child-left-behind-deadline-feds-say-nations-schools-cannot-meet-it

Call to Action!

Please don't forget to follow through with all the action steps! We need end results at a state-wide level and that means we need to get law-makers attention. The federal government, district, or school officials cannot discriminate against anyone who opts out of the state test in grades 2-11 per NCLB law. If they try, the ACLU has asked that you inform them and they will fight for you. We have this right of protest. There are other ways to fund education! Thank you all for your support! Keep checking back for updates!

What if They Gave a Test... and Nobody Came?

If you object to the constant cuts to school funding; increasing class sizes and your children being bombarded with tests while support for learning declines...
the time has come to make your voice heard - OPT OUT OF THE STATE TESTS! 

P arents K now Your R ights -
Many school districts fail to inform parents that the state tests for students in grades 2nd-11th grade are optional. Ed Code 60615 provides parents with the right to Opt out of state assessments stating that a parent or guardian may submit to the school a written request to excuse his or her child from any or all parts of any test and the school district MUST honor the request.
T eachers K now Your Rights -
Ed Code states that the school district and its employees shall not solicit or encourage parents to request a waiver on behalf of their child, however, teachers ARE allowed to inform parents that they have right to opt out of any state assessments as a matter of consideration. Notifying parents that they may opt out IS acceptable. Encouraging them to opt out is not.
S tudents K now Your Rights -
If you are a student in 2nd-11th grades, the state tests are optional. They do not determine if you pass on to the next grade, they do not determine whether you get into college or if you will get a good job after you graduate. Should you and your parents decide to boycott the tests NOTHING WILL HAPPEN! Teachers and administrators cannot make you take them. The only state test that is required for graduation is the California High School Exit Exam.
The S tateT estsAre Expensive-
The corporations that profit from standardized testing have not lost revenue in this recession. While teachers are laid off and funds for instructional programs, transportation and classroom supplies are cut, schools still test students and the cost of these tests are expensive! Some estimates put the cost to taxpayers at approximately $2.29 Billion Dollars a year! This is money that could be used to fund science, music and art education, field trips, tutoring programs, transportation and to keep qualified teachers working and our class sizes small.
Implications of Opting Out -
If less than 95% of 2nd-11th grade students are tested, the scores are considered invalid. The threat that a school will lose Title I funding if fewer than 95% of students take the State tests is FALSE. NO SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS EVER LOST TITLE I FUNDING DUE TO TEST SCORES OR PARENTS OPTING OUT OF THE TEST! Section 1905 of NCLB states that federal officials may not “mandate, direct, and control a state, local education agency, or a school’s’ specific instructional content, academic achievement standards and assessments, curriculum or program of instruction.” This includes removal of Funds if parents exercise their right to opt out of testing.
The Six Percent Rule -
NCLB requires that schools test 95% of their 2nd - 11th grade students for the test scores to be considered valid. If only 6% of parents decide to exercise their right to opt out of testing to protest the budget cuts, then the legislature would be forced to listen to parents and dialogue for real financial support of education could begin. 

Next Steps
Sign and share the petition.
Go to www.change.org and in the Browse Petitions Search Bar type in:
“T ell Governor Brown and the California L egislature to R estore Funding to California's Public Schools or
Parents Will Boycott A ll S tate T ests”
Then e-mail the link, post it on your FaceBook, Google Plus, LinkedIn and MySpace. Tweet It, talk about it with your friends and family, discuss it at PTA Meetings, soccer practice or Church - Shout it from the roof tops!

Write or call our state leaders.
Write or call Governor Brown and your state legislators and tell them to make education funding a priority by giving districts the funds to:
Rescind Teacher Lay-Offs and hire new teachers; Reduce class sizes; and Restore funding to provide safe transportation to and from schools. Tell them failure to do so will result in you boycotting the state assessments this year and EVERY year until they make education a funding priority.

Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-2841

Senator Bill Emmerson
37th Senate District
5225 Canyon Crest Drive
Riverside, CA 92507
(951) 680-6750

Assemblyman Paul Cook
65th Assembly District
34932 Yucaipa Boulevard
Yucaipa, CA 92399

(909) 790-4196 

To find your legislature go to: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Opt out in writing.
If you have children in grades 2nd-11th, inform your principal that unless school funding is restored, you will exercise your right to opt out of all state tests this spring. You can type your request on letter head, write it down on a napkin or copy the sample letter below. Administrators or teachers may not try to coerce you to make your child take the test.




Dear Mr. ________________________________,
                            (Principal’s Name)




Please accept this letter as my request to excuse my child, _____________________________________, from participation in all state testing. This is my right under §60615 of the California Education Code.


I understand that it is an educator’s professional duty to assess the learning of students and I fully support our teachers, our principal and our staff in doing so. This request is not intended to restrict professional assessment by the classroom teacher to which my child is assigned. I am exercising my right to opt out of the state assessments because the continued budget cuts to education demonstrate a lack of support for student learning in the classroom. This must change, children's learning must be supported with proper funding, safe transportation, adequate and updated materials and smaller class sizes. If it is not, I will not support state testing.




Sincerel y, 

Tell Governor Brown and the California Legislature to Restore Funding to California's Public Schools or Parents Will Boycott All State Tests

Go to Change.org link to show your support! 

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-governor-brown-and-the-california-legislature-to-restore-funding-to-california-s-public-schools-or-parents-will-boycott-all-state-tests

Why This Is Important

Our children need quality education, and our state needs to invest in its future by hiring more teachers, reducing class-size, and providing safe transportation to and from schools.

Administering and scoring standardized assessments in California costs tax payers approximately $2 Billion per year or $379 per student (grades 2nd-12th).

California Ed Code Section 60615 allows parents the right to opt out of the state tests. Parents can pressure our state legislators and school district leaders to provide our children with safe access to a quality education by exercising this right to opt out of state assessments.

We are in favor of educational accountability; however, if our children's learning is not supported, we will exercise our right to opt out of all state assessments. Children's learning must be supported. If it is not, we will not support state testing.

Here’s how to act:
1) Sign and share petition.
2) If you have children in school, inform your district administrators that unless school funding is restored you will exercise your right to opt out of all state assessments this spring.
3) Write or call Governor Brown and your state legislators and tell them to make education funding a priority in the following ways:
* Rescind Teacher Lay-Offs and hire new teachers;
* Reduce class sizes
* Restore funding to provide safe transportation to and from schools

PLEASE JOIN US IN DEMANDING THAT OUR LOCAL AND STATE LEADERS MAKE FUNDING PUBLIC EDUCATION A PRIORITY.