Why Refuse the Use of Standardized Testing this Year in Idaho?
Why Refuse the Use of Standardized Testing this Year in Idaho?
The Purposes for testing that relate directly to your child, as listed in Idaho Code, include:
– Measure and improve student achievement;
– Assist classroom teachers in designing lessons;
– Identify areas needing intervention and remediation, and acceleration;
– Inform parents and guardians of their child’s progress.
Based on these purposes, parents should consider asking their teachers these questions about Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) tests / ISAT 2 :
- When is the test given?
- What difference will this make in how you instruct my child this year?
- Will it provide information about my child that you don’t already know from the assessments you do in class?
- Are the results reported back in a form that will be useful to us?
If you feel these tests will not be beneficial to your child/children or you feel they will be potentially detrimental, both are reason enough to refuse to have your child subjected to needless testing.
If you disagree with the current curriculum and it is not working well for your child and therefore you have taken to “supplementing” their education to fill the gaps in what is being taught in school, you have valid reason to refuse testing that is being used to judge the effectiveness of the curriculum.
If your view on the current Idaho Core Standards (Common Core) curriculum and the SBAC/ISAT 2 tests has not been respected/sufficiently heard in light of the fact that we are a local control state, then you have reason to refuse to have those tests administered to your child.
If you feel it is morally and ethically wrong to be testing your child in the manner in which federal and state law has dictated, you have good reason to refuse SBAC/ISAT 2 testing.
If you object to the data collection practices connected to SBAC/ISAT 2 testing, the only way to limit the potential for abuse of information is to refuse its collection.
