opt out

January 7 has been declared a National Opt Out day for standardized testing. FairTest has links and information on the activism around this issue. The factory schools say they are trying to change the manufacturing process to where every child is quality-engineered to meet corporate job specifications. Homeschoolers have opted out: they have pioneered a way out for millions of families, families whose needs and wants are completely ignored by a public school system that is not truly public and not a social service for families and children.

Opting Out | FairTest: 

Just Say No to the Test" 'Opting out' of testing is a potentially powerful way to resist No Child Left Behind and the way standardized testing distorts and corrupts K-12 classrooms. Growing numbers of parents and students are questioning the value of NCLB testing and saying they want to exercise the right to opt out. 

In recent months, a number of Facebook and wiki pages, as well as a web site, have been created to nurture a national campaign to opt out of NCLB and state testing. Below are the names and links to the sites along with descriptions of each site by their creators. Visit them and spread the word to fellow parents and students. 

In addition, FairTest has materials relevant to opt out efforts. These include an explanation of relevant federal policies, as well as fact sheets on tests, the consequences of high-stakes testing, and better ways to assess and evaluate students."

United Opt Out National | The movement to end punitive public school testing:

For the week of December 11th we are asking everyone to spread the word of January 7th, National Opt Out Day, by sharing it on Facebook. Last week we asked that the information be placed in your email signature – easy peasy way to spread the word without any legwork. This week, make it go viral on FB!! Here is the info to share: 

United Opt Out National has declared January 7th as National Opt Out Day. On this day we are encouraging Occupy movements everywhere to endorse this action. We are asking parents, students and community members to write letters/postcards to their school districts stating how they will OPT OUT. We have created a postcard that allows for multiple ways to opt out and it can be purchased in bulk to share. Of course, the slam dunk is opting out of the state test as this will shut down corporate education reform. If everyone opts out in mass they will have NO test data to punish students, teachers and communities. Our postcards can be found at http://www.zazzle.com/unitedoptout.

related articles

• Ending 99% Control of Schools by the 1% (schoolsmatter.info)
• Opting Out of Unnecessary Standardized Tests: United Opt Out National (seattleducation2010.wordpress.com)