STATEWIDE COALITION NEWS
Opting Out and Other Relevant Topics and Events
DOWNTOWN Denver, CO—A broad coalition of experienced advocates met on Saturday, February 7 for an initial meeting to begin the work of building infrastructure for the purpose of coordinating actions and initiatives, with the end goal of improving outcomes for students, families and teachers across the State of Colorado.
Additionally in this issue:
– United OPT OUT informational meetings schedule
– March 7th at 10 am, Student Rally at the capitol
– Sample Opt Out letters in English and Spanish
– Concerns about High-stakes testing
Download the COLORADO OPT OUT Informational Meetings(PDF) schedule.
Wednesday, Feb. 25th
Dougco
TIME: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
LOCATION: The Recreation Center at Westridge
9650 Foothills Canyon Blvd.
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
HOSTS: Carla Farris and Teresa Smith
Wednesday, Feb. 25th
Dougco
TIME: 7:15 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
LOCATION: Castle Rock Library
100 S. Wilcox Castle Rock, Colorado 80104
HOSTS: Carole Clark and Brian White
Thursday, Feb. 26th
Denver
TIME: 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m.
LOCATION: Sam Gary Branch Library
2961 Roslyn St. 80238
HOSTS: Eve Cohen and Susan Johnson
Saturday, Feb. 28th
Colorado Springs
TIME: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Council of Neighbors and Organizations
309 S. Cascade Ave 80903 (across from the juror parking
lot)…can park on the street or in the juror parking lot
HOSTS: Judith Casey and Stefanie Fuhr
March 2nd PARCC/CMAS: Round One: Testing Window Opens
March 7th Rally At The Capitol 10-12:00
Sponsored by Students from Ft. Collins
http://theanti-test.weebly.com
We want educational reform with regards to standardized testing in Colorado, and we want your help in bringing about this change. There will be a protest on March 7th on the West Steps of the Capitol building in Denver; we are calling for a three year moratorium on standardized testing, so that time and energy may be focused upon lasting educational reform. We have a website, a Facebook page, an email, t-shirts, business cards, and a lot of support from students who have seen and experienced the same fundamental flaws that we have. There is plenty of room for your help, and plenty of space for your voice to be heard; if you’d like to help, you can contact us, and we will gladly welcome your input and support!
Opt Out letters in English and Spanish
Consider using the following to refuse administration of standardized tests for your child.
Please consider including your state and federal legislators, as policy around testing is under scrutiny and our leaders are looking to families and students to understand how the testing environment affects our public education systems and our student achievement.
[Date]______________________
My child, __________________________________, will not be taking the [CMAS, PARCC] test in [science, social studies, English Language Arts/Writing, English Language Arts/Reading, math] during the 2014-15 school year. My child should not be asked about my refusal to allow participation, should not be pressured to participate, and should not be asked to make up the test—even though he/she attends school within the testing window.
[Elaborate and personalize your letter if desired. If you have confidence in your school’s teachers, please state that. See below for common reasons that families refuse tests on children’s behalf and include them if desired.]
I believe in public education as one of the cornerstones of our democracy. I also understand my right to direct my children’s education and thank you for respecting it.
Sincerely,
______________________________________ [consider including contact information]
___________________________
Considere el uso de la siguiente para rechazar la administración de pruebas estandarizadas a su hijo.
Por favor considere la inclusión de sus legisladores estatales y federales, como la política en torno a las pruebas está bajo escrutinio y nuestros líderes quieren saber de las familias y a los estudiantes para entender cómo el ambiente de pruebas los afecta a nuestros sistemas de educación pública y nuestro rendimiento de los estudiantes.
[Fecha] ______________________
Mi hijo, __________________________________, no tomará la prueba [CMAS, PARCC] en [ciencias, estudios sociales, Inglés Artes del Lenguaje / Escritura, Inglés Artes del Lenguaje / Lectura, matemáticas] durante el año escolar 2014-15. Mi/Nuestro niño no debe ser preguntado acerca de mi decisión a que no la tome, ni debe ser presionado a participar, y no debe ser invitado a reponer la prueba aunque él/ella asista a la escuela dentro de la ventana de pruebas.
[Elabore y personalice su carta como desea. Si usted tiene confianza en los maestros de su escuela, indique eso. Vea a continuación las razones más comunes por cuales las familias se niegan pruebas por parte de los niños. Inclúyelas si se desea.]
Creo que la educación pública es una fundación de nuestra democracia. También entiendo mi derecho de dirigir la educación de mis hijos y les agradezco por respetarlo.
Atentamente,
___________________________________ [considere la inclusión de información de contacto]
Common Concerns Many Families Have About High Stakes Standardized Tests
- Are developmentally inappropriate
- Do not guarantee protection of children’s data and privacy
- Reduce important instructional time
- Corrupt good teaching practice
- Are not informative to students or their teachers
- Widen the achievement gap and replace opportunities with punishment
- Are detrimental to English Language Learners (ELLs), who must take ACCESS tests in addition to PARCC/CMAS and will lose even more instructional time than other students
- Are detrimental to students with disabilities.
- Cost taxpayers millions of dollars
- Are invalid and unreliable
- Emphasize competition and undermine cooperation
- Misdiagnose a learning gap for what is a technology gap
- Erode educational choice and diversity of learning
- Undermine inspired teaching and engaging classrooms that promote love of learning and creativity
- Substitute testing for teaching
- Violate the relationship between student and teacher
- Unfairly profile low-income children and non-English-speaking students
- Contaminate school culture, create unnecessary stress and burdens our children
Preocupaciones comunes con las pruebas estandarizadas High Stakes
- Son inapropiadas para el desarrollo del niño
- No garantizan la protección de datos y la privacidad de los niños
- Reducen el tiempo importante para la instrucción
- Corrompen la buena práctica de enseñanza
- No son informativos para los estudiantes ni para los maestros
- Muestran un ensanchamiento de la brecha en el rendimiento y reemplacen las oportunidades con los castigos
- Son perjudiciales para estudiantes del idioma inglés (ELLs), a quienes les requieren tomar los exámenes de ACCESS además de PARCC/CMAS y perderán aún más tiempo instructivo que otros estudiantes
- Son perjudiciales para los estudiantes con discapacidades.
- Los cuestan a los contribuyentes millones de dólares anuales
- No son ni válidos ni fiables
- Mal diagnostican una brecha de aprendizaje por lo que es una brecha tecnológica
- Erosionan la elección y la diversidad de aprendizaje educativo
- Debilitan la enseñanza inspirada que promueve el deseo al aprendizaje y a la creatividad
- Reemplacen las Pruebas por la enseñanza
- Violan la relación entre el estudiante y el maestro
- Injustamente perfilan a los niños de bajos ingresos y los estudiantes que no hablan inglés
- Contaminan la cultura escolar, generan estrés no necesario y hacen daño a nuestros hijos