Will This Legislation End Statewide Assessment Tyranny? - Granite Grok

Will This Legislation End Statewide Assessment Tyranny?

Broken PencilStudent testing, statewide testing, has been an issue for years. Parents can opt their children out of these tests, and there is ample support for this right. But administrators obsessed with participation rates have no legal disincentives.

“…school districts and administrators are getting more aggressive with parents and children who do not participate in the statewide assessments. Examples of intimidation and harassment have been documented across the Granite State.”

One that was particularly egregious occurred in Alton. The parent is a former school board member and detailed several instances when her district tried to bully her and her two boys about her refusal in spring 2015. Not only was she threatened with truancy charges if her sons were not present on testing days, she was also told that they would be tested against her wishes if they were present on days the assessment was administered. Additionally, her youngest son was tested explicitly against his IEP agreement. Three additional families were harassed when the spring 2016 testing season began.

HB1744, which has already passed the NH House, also resolves other issues related to opting out like what the student can do instead while making it clear that there are no penalties to the school or district, not that there ever were.

Michelle Levell includes more details and links here and closes with this.

To summarize, the bill is consistent with existing NH DOE policies, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and US Supreme Court rulings. The federal ESSA law recognizes refusals if state law allows them; this bill will do exactly that. Even the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) acknowledges that parents may refuse their children’s participation in statewide assessments. Unions also oppose using them to evaluate teachers. There is demonstrated need for this bill for those handful of families who wish to refuse the statewide assessment in the best interests of their children. Accountability should be to parents, not politicians. This bill empowers parents to direct their children’s education within the public-school system. Also diminishing the hyper-testing mechanisms of Common Core will encourage educational options and variety.

Visit School Choice NH for contact info. The Senate hearing is tomorrow, April 3rd.

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