There has been a great deal of controversy in the state of New York about the school tests tied to something called Common Core. It is more complicated than I wish to get into here, but I wrote about it a bit in my Times Union blog.
There was a statewide movement to get students in grades 3 to 8 to opt-out of the test, which was somewhat successful in many districts, including in my area.
The movement has been around a few years, but I had not paid a great deal of attention. The Daughter took the tests the last couple of years.
This year, however, the framework and the rhetoric changed, with Governor Andrew Cuomo specifically tying education money to teacher performance, based on these tests, and practically ignoring their classroom effectiveness, in the budget passed at the end of March 2015.
Here’s the thing, though: neither my wife or I want to have our daughter become a tool to our own sense of activism, ESPECIALLY when it affects her directly. Moreover, she’s generally a compliant child, eager to please others.
The Sunday before the tests began, on a Tuesday, we FINALLY broached the topic, quite gingerly. I said something like, “You know there are those tests coming up this week. Some people are opting out. Whether you take them or not is entirely up to you.”
She said, rather quickly, “I’m opting out. They’re using the test to grade the teachers, not us.” This is largely correct and astute.
We hadn’t specifically talked about this, certainly not directly to her, although we’ve been watching news reports. Most parents would say they chose their kids to opt-out, but The Daughter made her own decision. I happen to agree with it, but I’m more pleased that she’s become this separate, thinking person.
For the periods of the test, a total of 18 hours over a few weeks (!), she was assigned to help the kindergarten teacher read to the kids, and the like. She liked it.
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Here are some anecdotes about the English language test. There are many out there.
I think your daughter is very astute.
One down side: if all the smart kids opt out it will mess with the teacher’s scores. I don’t think that the people interpreting the results are statistically savvy enough to consider the variance of the means. š
One of the important things we can do to raise adults is to give our children choices and control over their own lives.
This testing is horrible, and I love the solution your daughter found. Reading to Kindergarteners – what could be better than reading aloud and sharing awesome stories!
You did well to leave it to your daughter whether to opt out or not, and you can be very proud of your daughter that she chose the right thing.
Have a great week!
Wil,ABCW Team
Yes, there is nothing to justify using the education system for partisan interests !!
Oh, there is so much wrong with Common Core testing! Your reasons only scratch the surface. I can only hope it’s jettisoned before Peanut gets to third grade. Brava to Lydia for her courageous stand.