Opting Out of NJ ASK or other standardized teacher testing?

[Captain Serious]

Is there anyone here who could tell me more about the ability to opt-out of state-wide testing designed to evaluate teachers? In NJ the test is the NJ ASK, and auntie brought it to my attention that we could opt-out of it.

Has anyone done this for their children? If so, how? Were there any repercussions?  Can anyone point me in the right direction for more information about how to go about this wisely, if we think it's the right decision for M?

I'm googling, but just coming up with what seem to be fringe sites and vague articles.

[sake]

I am 99% positive that opting out isn't an option in my state.

[dragonfly08]

I don't know about NJ, but here in VA, you can technically opt out. The law as written only requires the schools to *administer* the tests. There's nothing about students being required to *take* them. I don't know how you'd do it as there's no formal procedure in place...as it stands now, your child basically receives a score of zero same as if s/he had taken the test but answered every question incorrectly. You could still do it since the score does not impact grades, retention or, until 6th grade math, future placement (and even then, the kid moves on to 7th grade math, they just probably put him/her in the lowest level class available). Any impact - either due to earned scores or opting out - is to the school, not the student as long as that student is otherwise passing.

[hbear]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to opt out?

[sake]

If it comes down to it, please DON'T do what dragon fly suggested... As a teacher, we really need the scores to be accurate. Our salaries are based on the test scores of our students, and if one of our students were to opt out by basically just not answering any of the questions, it would severely detriment our earnings. That isn't to say that I think your child should be forced to take a test that you don't agree with, but it isn't really fair to the teacher to have a student score a 0% and then be docked pay because of it....

just my 2 cents.

[Captain Serious]

My son is a special needs student with an IEP. He cannot succeed on grade-level work. For more than the last month, they have done nothing but prep for this stupid test, which will be given in mid-May. Although he still has his accommodations in place, everything they've been doing is grade-level work. They even stopped doing routine stuff like weekly spelling words, so they can cram these kids ready for this test.

When taking the test, he will be limited in the accommodations he is allowed to use. He will be expected to read passage after passage of grade-appropriate reading comprehension questions and respond appropriately with no assistance. This is just not feasible, but it's the way the district insists the test be administered. All it's doing is ramping up his anxiety and his behavior is starting to show the strain.

I was okay with him taking the test, and even practicing all this time, so he gets a feel for what the work is like. But all it's doing is crushing his self esteem and making him feel stupid. He's come so far, and is going right back to thinking he has to act as a people-pleaser because he's stupid and people won't like him otherwise.

Sake, I'm not sure if salaries are directly based on scores here or not (are you in NJ?). What I've found on-line are parent blogs saying they wrote to the school to tell them they were opting-out, and then kept their kids home on the testing and make-up days. The last thing I want to do is harm M's teacher (she's awesome), but I also don't want to subject M to this if I don't have to. It's bad enough he has to deal with it in the form of class-work.

[sake]

May 3, 2013 13:49:05 GMT -5 Captain Serious said:

My son is a special needs student with an IEP. He cannot succeed on grade-level work. For more than the last month, they have done nothing but prep for this stupid test, which will be given in mid-May. Although he still has his accommodations in place, everything they've been doing is grade-level work. They even stopped doing routine stuff like weekly spelling words, so they can cram these kids ready for this test.

When taking the test, he will be limited in the accommodations he is allowed to use. He will be expected to read passage after passage of grade-appropriate reading comprehension questions and respond appropriately with no assistance. This is just not feasible, but it's the way the district insists the test be administered. All it's doing is ramping up his anxiety and his behavior is starting to show the strain.

I was okay with him taking the test, and even practicing all this time, so he gets a feel for what the work is like. But all it's doing is crushing his self esteem and making him feel stupid. He's come so far, and is going right back to thinking he has to act as a people-pleaser because he's stupid and people won't like him otherwise.

Sake, I'm not sure if salaries are directly based on scores here or not (are you in NJ?). What I've found on-line are parent blogs saying they wrote to the school to tell them they were opting-out, and then kept their kids home on the testing and make-up days. The last thing I want to do is harm M's teacher (she's awesome), but I also don't want to subject M to this if I don't have to. It's bad enough he has to deal with it in the form of class-work.

I'm in IN, and not all schools here tie $ to testing, but mine does. 
Also, if he has an IEP, he should receive accommodations including having the test read to him. I'm surprised that he doesn't have that in his IEP, but at your next case conference, you might mention it, b/c they do it for all students with IEP's in my school. Also, there is a different test called the ISTAR for students who are special ed that can not take the ISTEP test and perform well. I am not sure how they decide who can and can't take the ISTAR, b/c I know that all special ed students don't take the ISTAR. 
If I were you, I would contact your son's teacher, and the special ed teacher in his school as well as the principal to discuss the possible options. 

[Captain Serious]

I have been over this with his teacher, the child study team, and the Assistant Superabundant of Special Services in a special education parent advisory committee meeting. They all say the same thing: all students, except for the extremely disabled and physically incapable, must take the NJ ASK, and there are very few accommodations they can give while it's being administered.  We went over them at his meeting, and while some will help (taking it privately in a separate room, being able to dictate his answers, having questions read to him), they cannot help him read the comprehension passages.  There are a ton of them, and he will have to struggle through them on his own.  For most students, the test is only mornings, but I'm terrified that it will take him all day to get through, and he's going to be a wreck by the end of the first day.  It's pointless for everyone involved.