We are refusing the test in North Carolina.

Anyone who has chatted with me for 40 seconds at a cocktail party or has seen my Twitter feed knows this about me – 1) I revere teachers, and 2) I loathe what standardized testing has done to education.

Our third grade son will refuse the test this spring.

Our older son wilted under the testing focus so much that he begged us to leave his school, and we finally acquiesced. Take, for instance, his fourth grade experience where “test taking as genre” was part of his curriculum. I hear an echo of “he’ll need to know this for the test” in my head. Note that this is no fault of teachers; they are dumped into the role of pawn and victim (as are our children). 

Our sons who once cherished school and thrived on stretching their imagination and curiosity have grown to dread school. It’s a 180 degree change that, as a parent, is disheartening at best, disastrous at worst, depending on how well we can seal the wound. Let me say that this is not about stress and coddling. My sons are bright by all measures. Their grades are great and they read well above grade level. Our goal as parents is to fuel a lifetime love of learning. Just because you can’t measure something empirically doesn’t make it worthless. The boys test well and are non plussed by the testing scenario that makes the school more prison than house of learning. Seriously, have you ever proctored an end-of-grade test? The classroom walls are bare, and student work is covered up. The halls are eerily quiet. Kids waffle between being bored and stressed. This is not what #2 pencils were made for.

We wrote to our principal, teacher, superintendent, and school board members about our decision for Deal to refuse the test. We never heard from the superintendent, but by all reports he is not supportive of our decision. However, many school board members applaud us and have shared our story. Our principal, due to the nature of her job, showed no signs of support or opposition. She did regard us with respect, which we appreciate. Everyone has marionette strings commandeered by Duncan and Obama. One elementary principal in our district sent this video to her staff, hoping, if not subliminally imploring, her parents and students to create similar videos to speak out against the abuse and overuse of standardized testing. A Mecklenberg County principal, who is openly supportive of parents’ opt out/refusal rights, stated that her first thought was how to deal with the situation in the best interest of the student. Wake County, where I live, has written a “sit and stare” policy, which most certainly does not take into account the best interest of the child. 

“My child does not want to take all of these tests. What will happen to her? Wake County is required to abide by the mandates established by the State Board of Education and by NCDPI. If your child chooses not to test, she will be placed in the classroom with a test and given every opportunity to test should she change her mind and choose to participate. Otherwise, your child is expected to sit quietly and not create a disturbance while other students are taking the test. In the case of standardized assessments (i.e. EOG, EOC, NC Final Exams, etc.) when the answer sheets and test materials are collected, your child’s answer sheet will be scanned along with everyone else’s. A blank answer sheet will receive the lowest score possible. The teacher will use that score to calculate your child’s final grade, if applicable. Depending on the circumstances, failure to complete a standardized assessment may impact academic placement and/or grade promotion.”

Check out this article from New York, where a similar punitive  policy exists. The article raises valid points as districts around the country work to create a test refusal policy that is first and foremost centered on the best interest of students. It seems to me that the very people at the helm who are in place to advocate for students are in fact the ones who are hurting kids. Who comes first, the kids or the feds? Well, we are fed up.

Meanwhile, in a school district in New York…

Allow me to share test refusal reactions and responses from around North Carolina:

We were just informed via our district superintendent that per the student code of conduct the principals have the authority to impose disciplinary action ranging from In School Suspension to Out of School Suspension for any child that refuses to complete or participate in assigned classroom work. 

I sent my refusal letter in November. I had received a convoluted response tied to the test determines whether a child is promoted. He’s been on the A/B honor roll the entire year. Regardless of the weekly tests, the boring curriculum, lack of gym, lack of social studies…he still has managed to rise to the occasion. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH. I emailed the superintendents of curriculum and academics twice with no response directly to me and now have lobbed in the calls. ENOUGH. You can’t ignore me and think I’m going away.

In a parent meeting about the 3rd grade EOG I was told that if my child does not score above a 3 he is not on track to go to college! Are you kidding me? He’s in third grade!

So, according to Mr. Edge “per federal and state law, any student who is present on a testing or makeup testing day MUST take the test.” He said “we will provide your student with a test booklet and answer sheet. Should they decide to put their head down and not complete the test (as some students have in the past) their answer sheet will be collected and scanned. The student will receive the lowest grade possible, even though they did not actually take the test.” I stated to him that I was very frustrated with the current mentality in public education–that is high stakes testing that encourages the narrowing of curriculum, increases teacher and student stress, among other problems. I then said it was very frustrating to have a student earn A’s and B’s, with a C in math, all year long and then because she doesn’t test well, she fails or scores very low on EOGs. I then explained it was even more frustrating that this student–who reads at a college level and only struggles with math–would/could be withheld from accelerated classes because of ONE test at the end of the year. His reply: “WELL, SHE MIGHT NOT EVEN GET INTO COLLEGE.”

“Here is the bottom line. There is no objective science by which we can predict future college readiness using grades 3-8 test scores. You can, at best make assumptions, based on correlations, with score thresholds that are capricious. To make college readiness predictions for 8-year-olds is absurd and unkind.” Read the whole article here. 

Here’s the thing, our leaders are so focused on punitive measures, verging on bullying parents, that they lose sight of the children. I have yet to hear one single teacher, principal, parent, leader, educator of any kind, tell me the benefits of all this standardized testing. All I hear is the Charlie Brown grown up blah blah blahing about what my kid is mandated to do, spoken and written in jargon not fit for consumer consumption. There are REAMS of researching supporting my position on standardized testing. Where’s the counterpoint?

A few of us met with June Atkinson, our state superintendent, last week. She is smart, gracious, thoughtful, and candid. Her perspective on standardized testing is not all that different from mine. She understands the value of relevant, timely assessments versus this current paradigm of test overuse we are treading in now. We told June Atkinson that one of our goals regarding test refusal is that refusals be handled with the best interests of the children in mind. She concurred. We asked that NCDPI send a letter to superintendents to clarify what the department sees as necessary for a school to fulfill the legal requirement to “administer” the tests to every child.

Here is some possible language to consider:

“While NCDPI does not approve of test refusal, we believe it is important for educators to focus on the well-being of the children involved, and to handle the situation in a child-centered manner.”

“If a child’s parents or guardians have submitted a formal refusal letter, NCDPI will consider a test administered if it has been signed by the child in the presence of school personnel [or other appropriate technical action]. We do not consider it necessary or desirable for children to sit in the testing room during the testing period, or to stay at home during the testing window.”

I leave you with this:

• Teachers have stopped me in public and written to me applauding our test refusal.
• One local high school teacher told me his peers have been talking about our News & Observer oped and wish all parents in Wake County followed our lead.
• Some teachers told me they want to opt out their own children but have been threatened with professional recourse and gag orders.
• One teacher said she wished she could opt out her whole class.

If we listen to the voices of test makers, politicians, and corporate profiteers over students, parents, and teachers, we have lost our way and should be ashamed.

For the record, I don’t think testing and Common Core are synonymous. Test abuse has been around since before North Carolina adopted new state standards. The video above is mis-titled in my estimation, but the message rings true.

Thanks to Ms. Robinson, Dr. Larrick, Mr. Brodie, Mdm. Pealer, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Harrison for recognizing and nurturing the promise they saw in me. I learned to love language through your enthusiasm in and out of the classroom. Thank you for believing in me and teaching me to turn the gears of thoughts, ideas, and words into actions.