by Michael Fiscaletti, fact checker
United Opt Out is an educational reformation movement, which seeks to change the way testing is conducted across the US. Believing that they intrude upon the educational process and impede learning, some parents are simply withholding their children from attending/taking standardized tests. This act is known as “opting out,” and has been used in protest of the standardized testing process.
Many parents over recent years have developed a negative outlook on standardized testing, believing that the standardization is hurtful to their children’s ability to learn. “Last year, over half a million school-aged children did not participate in standardized testing. In New York state alone, nearly 1 out of every 5 students opted out,” according to US News.
Opting out is considered to be a form of civil disobedience. It is a deliberate act of refusing to follow a rule or law in order to express one’s personal political beliefs. Parents who don’t support the standardized test environment have deliberately removed their children from it, regardless of the potential consequences.
“My older son goes to a public school in Long Island; he has aspergers, and so he gets extended time. He suffers from anxiety as well. When it came time for him to take the standardized tests, I told him it was no pressure. So he took the test with extra time and his teacher said he got extremely aggravated. He scored a one on both of his exams, which was confusing because he’s been tested elsewhere on his reading skills and they were shown to be well above grade level. I decided this year to opt him out, and there wasn’t any trouble with the school- they were supportive… Most of his class did not take the test,” high school English teacher Mrs. Marks said.
United Opt Out offers a page of talking points for anyone interested in a brief explanation of why the movement exists. Among other things, the list addresses the potential for standardized tests to be biased against second language students, impoverished students, and students of color. They also provide a page where people may inquire about opt out letters to use when excusing their child(ren) from an exam.
“A one day test for a 3rd grade student is not an indicator of how much he knows,” Mrs. Marks concluded.
For anyone interested in the demands of United Opt Out specifically, they offer a point by point paper here.
