What if students just refuse to take the tests?

[Greaseball]

I remember in 8th grade being filed into the auditorium with the rest of the school, grades 7-12, for "testing." I don't think the tests were like the ones we have now; these were anonymous and used to determine our state's "place" in the U.S. and the U.S.'s place worldwide in education.

But my friend got so sick of being there all day that he just decided to walk out. The testing guys figured out what was going on, because he started giggling, so five men in suits strode over to his desk and stood around it in a circle with their arms folded, glaring at him. But my friend just rapidly filled in a bunch of random bubbles and ran off. One of the guys called after him, "You expect us to believe you really completed it that fast?"

So, if a student refused to take the test, what could the school do? They could expel the student, I suppose, although that is against the protocol for most schools, and doesn't that cause a school to lose money as well? They could refuse to allow the student to go on to the next grade, in which case the student may not return to school.

I think if enough students just refused to do it, it might change something. My experience is that student-organized, mass protests really do work, although school admin will tell them it doesn't.

[Clarity]

there have been standardized test walkouts, and parents who decline to send thier kids to school on those days. It all depends on the test...for some, the school loses money, some it means nothing. There are a few states, like mine, that require one set of tests in order to graduate - that's state law. But most tests? They're for the school, not the child. I have been hearing of more and more test-resistors.

[3boysmom]

Standardized test boycotts ( at the elementary level) are fairly common here. Parents are just tired of over-stressed kids al for the sake of these stupid tests!

[LiamnEmma]

As a parent, all you have to do is waive your child out of it. Schools by law are not allowed to discuss this with parents (at least where I live), but a parent has the right to refuse the testing on behalf of the student. I know many parents who do so.

[teachma]

Yeah, what LiamnEmma said. I teach in CA, and a parent has the right to waive the testing requirement without any penalty to you or your child. However (and this is not a problem for the parent) if a school gets a certain percentage of parents who sign a waiver, the school could lose funding from the government or could be subject to a visit from state officials to question about why there are so many kids not taking the tests. In some "low performing" districts in the past, administrators encouraged large numbers of parents to sign the waivers so their kids wouldn't take the tests and screw up their rankings- thus the strict state policy on number of waivers permitted by school. FWIW I will absolutely exempt my son from taking these time-wasting exams when he is older.

[bestjob]

We are in Ontario, Canada, and I am facing this for my dd this year. She is in Grade 3 and there is a two-week standardized testing period coming up. The test is used to evaluate "the system" and the children don't get their personal results for almost a year. Is this the role of eight year olds in our society? Not in my opinion. The information I have received is that the test is "required" for all public and separate school children. What can they do, though, if I keep her home? The usual punishment for missing extensive periods of school is that the child is suspended for 2 or 3 days. Kinda like giving some kids candy because they refuse to eat their boiled spinach, if you ask me. For my daughter it is harder, though. She likes school and she will be upset about my (political) decision. We'll be doing something that really is educational, though.

[Greaseball]

I feel much better! I can just say it's against my nonexistent religion, and they'll have to go along with it! This is great!

[mommy22]

I don't like standardized tests either, but my children do take them. Not only MUST they take them in order to progress to the next grade, but eventually, in hs or college, these tests will be required to graduate. If I start now by not allowing my child to take these tests, what will it be like in hs when he must take the SAT? Talk about stress!

We are required to take one standardized test here in Florida. Some schools give more. Our school currently only administers the one required by the state.

My son LOVED taking the test. His teacher allowed the class to have small special 'treatments'. No homework that week and less work during the school day. The test was given over a 4 day period, no more than 90 minutes each day. At the end of the week when all testing was done, the teacher took all the kids accross the street for a special lunch.

The stress level the children feel is a direct outcome of the way the parents and the teacher treat the test.

[bestjob]

For some parents the concern is the stress level their children have. For me it is the belief that my children are at school to learn, not to take tests that have no bearing on their own learning. Around here, the children and their parents don't get to see the marked test for a full year after it is written, and the marks aren't given out for 10 months. Some teachers spend a lot of time preparing their students for writing the types of questions on the tests and some teachers don't do that. The test is supposed to be strictly to determine how "the system" is working. At schools which have poor results, a teacher who teaches the children how to write the test can improve the overall test scores dramatically. Knowing that these things happen, I see no link between a child's education and standardized testing.

[Greaseball]

I never took the SAT's, ACT's, or any of that and it hasn't hurt my chances at getting into college.

If I wanted to go to an Ivy League school, then it might be an issue, but if I wanted to go to a school like that I would have established that desire sometime in high school.

Also, all the Ivy League schools accept homeschooled students who have not even graduated from a high school!

[Sneezykids]

standardized tests

Grease,
That is funny you started this thread because I have been thinking alot about how much I hate standardized testing!
I was wondering specifically, if it's 'mandatory' (in my state) then why is there a % of kids who don't take it, and I'm assuming there parents just keep them home. Ours is called the MEAP test and kids take it in 4th (reading), 5th (math, science), 7th (reading) and 8th (math and science again) grades!
When I researched this on Standard and Poors it will say the percentage of kids who were tested, they were mostly in the 80% range and higher but not near 100%.
Interesting. The worst part about our MEAP is that our schools teach the meap, so what are they really learning? Also, the general concensus I've gathered is most teachers hate the meap.
I know I'll be probably keeping my kids home that day. Also here are some sites you might like to check out. I got these from the article in the Nov/Dec issue of MOTHERING:

www.rethinkingschools.org
www.fairtest.org
www.NoMoreTests.com

~sneezykids mom

[applejuice]

I never took the SAT or any other test to get into college, and I have a B.A. and a credential and a M.A.

Later, I discovered that there are many courses that you can test out of in college if you pay for the class and can convince the deparment chairperson to let you. I wish I had done that as it would have saved me time and money.

My ds is fully hs'd and has never been tested. I know his weaknesses, and don't need a test to show me.

The problem is in college, there are prep classes given by people who are hired to go out and take the test, and they come back and tell everyone what is on the test. I took one for the RISA and the MSAT. There are others for the CBEST, the SAT, the ACT, the GRE, and so on.

What does the test really measure? The fact that you can afford to pay $360.00 for a prep course?

[applejuice]

There are scandals I have only read about in which wealthy people have arranged to have their children labeled learning disabled by doctors or certain "professionals", and this gets their children extra time on a standardized timed test.

Also: some people have kept their children (usually boys) back a year. This helps in sports and in the classroom.

[Greaseball]

Sometimes I wonder just how useful high school really is.

I never graduated from hs and I managed to get a credential that usually takes a BA to get (don't have that either). At one place I worked there were people with MA's who had jobs that required BA's, and then me with the same job.

Even jobs that say "hs diploma required" also say "or equivalent" and either way, it's not like they check to see if you really have it. They check on college degrees but not hs.

All of the Lvy League schools and almost all other colleges accept homeschooled students. These students must be getting into these colleges with GED's, or just by taking the SAT's later.

Not to say I'd encourage a kid to drop out of hs, but I sure don't worry when they do.

[Sneezykids]

re: standardized tests taken in grade school

re: the issue of the tests taken in grade school, I think one of the biggest drawback with them is if the teacher is teaching the test they are glazing over the subjects which is pretty superficial learning, and quickly forgotten as we all probably agree. They take away from real learning. The charter school my dd goes to is a public school and is very bent on increasing their MEAP scores, they got a huge financial grant for bringing them up so much this year. This makes me think as the kids get closer to the 4th grade they are teaching more and more to the MEAP :[
I checked the schools scores and there is a ten point discrepance between the boys and the girls scores, boys being all higher. I asked the director why this was and he had no answer for me.
It's sad how public education is become so standardized, our children so numbered, catagorized. If testing is supposed to help the schools it would have happened a long time ago! >:{

[Greaseball]

I read on one of those websites that the tests for grade-school kids are longer than the state bar exams!