Penalties for Opting Out of Standardized Tests

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The new school year has begun, and the preparation for the end-of-year standardized testing starts on day one at most schools. As a parent of a 7th grader, I find myself already thinking about whether or not to opt-out my child from the state standardized testing for this school year.

I have heard few arguments for and against my daughter taking the tests at the end of the year, but my question is, what is the penalty for her not taking it? I just needed to know, so I thought I would share my findings with others that might also be wondering!

When looking for these answers, I found that all states must have a standardized testing platform to track student achievement. In addition, each district must have a 95% Opt-in, but if they do not meet that 95%, the federal government can not take action against them like in the past. That being said, the state and district are still responsible for ensuring each student is ready for college and to join the workforce when they graduate.


Penalties for Districts:

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A district must meet the 95% participation rate. If they do not, a few things could happen to the district as a whole. If the district was in good standing academically in the past, they might be required to develop an “Improvement Plan” on raising Participation in the future. If the district has been considered a “Focus” or “Priority” school district, the penalty could worsen.

State aid can’t be affected by lack of Participation in standardized testing, but the district can be penalized in other ways if they are a Focus or Priority school district. Below are a few ways these districts are affected.

They can be placed on Registration Review by the Commissioner of Education, which would mean more state oversight for the district. Districts can regulate what they call “set-aside rules” when it comes to Title 1 funding. Unfortunately, this means that 5-15 % of their Title 1 funding could be re-allocated elsewhere!

NOTE: Schools that maintain the 95% rate of Participation are considered “Reward” schools.

Penalties for Students:

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Depending on the state, there is not much impact on the student. In the past, the standardized test scores could be used to determine remediation or placement, but recently this has been done away with for the most part in most states.

The guidelines for students who have opted out of state tests, the school does not need to provide alternative locations or activities for students who have opted out of the standardized testing. Some districts will allow the students to read; others use the “Sit and Stare” model.

Penalties for Teachers:

Opting your child out can throw off the teacher’s “Growth Score,” at least in New York. New York is still reporting the student data but has stated they are only using it for informational purposes. Both high achieving and low achieving students can affect the growth score of their teacher. If a high-performing student doesn’t do as well as their peers on the assessment, they can lower their teacher’s growth score. In contrast, if a low-performing student does better than their peers, they will raise the teacher’s Growth Score! This will vary from state to state throughout the country.

I found that teachers who publicly speak against the state standardized testing can potentially be brought up on charges of insubordination. Their rights to free speech are not protected if they say as an employee of the school district. The rules are different if they speak as a parent or concerned citizen, for example, writing a letter to the editor. This would not subject them to disciplinary action.

Opting out of standardized testing is a big decision on the part of the parent. Many different implications can affect not just your child but your child’s teacher and school district as a whole.

Back-to-School Reference:- http://www.nysut.org/~/media/files/nysut/resources/2016/factsheet_optout.pdf?la=en

Jeremy Brunton