Opt Out Philly will be a part of the National Parent’s Strike. It’s not just a day it’s a national movement for parents to take back public education one test score at a time!

On Thursday, September 17, Opt Out Philly is participating in the National Parents Strike by asking parents, teachers and community members to do the following:

• Wear Red
• Submit your Refusal letters to your child’s school
• Change your profile pic to that of your children or an Opt Out image
• Use the following hashtags when you Tweet or share on social media: #optoutphilly #phillyparentstrike #welovephillyteachers #weloveourteachers #weloveourchildren and #nationalparentstrike

A press conference will be held in front of the School District of Philadelphia at 440 North Broad Street between 4:45 pm and 5:30 pm.

Last year, parents opted out at nearly twenty schools in the Philadelphia School District, in suburban districts like Quakertown, Lower Merion, Abington, and Lower Moreland, and in several of the state’s cyber charter schools.

"There is a strong correlation between standardized test scores and household income. It is simply unethical for Pennsylvania to spend $58.3 million annually on high-stakes tests that punish students living in poverty, English Language Learners, and special needs students. We want joy and curiosity, not compliance and discipline." Alison McDowell, parent of a Philadelphia School District 8th grader.

Parents are especially alarmed by how these tests affect English Language Learners and children with IEPs. Further, parents are heeding the warning of educators and researchers that the obsession with standardized testing is simply being used to label kids, teachers, and schools as failures.

“I am opposed to these tests being used simply to sort and separate students, rather than help them learn,” said Robin Roberts, School District of Philadelphia parent. “My child is more than a score.”

Parent leader Tonya Bah who has children at Wagner Middle School and Widener Memorial School says, “We, as parents and students, deserve to know our rights. We are here to break the code of silence surrounding standardized testing in Philadelphia. Every parent has a right to opt their child out of the test. Every student has a right to refuse the test.”

For more information, please visit the Opt Out Philly Blog, Facebook, or call 267-283-8273 (Tamara Anderson).

Philadelphia parents talk about why they decided to opt their children out of the PSSA and Keystone tests.

Watch the video here

Testing is ruining public education.

You have the power to stop it.

Get all the information you need to opt out of the PSSA and Keystone tests in the Opt Out Organizing Toolkit

Like the Opt Out Philly facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OptOutPhilly

Parent activists call new PSSA and Keystone cut scores “loaded guns” that rob schools of resources and kick the school-to-prison pipeline into overdrive. Parents are intensifying organizing efforts to increase opt out rates during the 2015-2016 school year.

Philadelphia parents are urging students and families across the city to refuse PSSA and Keystone standardized tests by legally “opting out”. Families across PA are outraged by significant drops in PSSA scores and similar projections for yet-to-be-released Keystones scores. Administrators claim more ‘rigorous’ standards are the cause, but parents see it as setting the bar out of reach for the students who are most at risk.

“It is calculated and predetermined that kids who are raised in poverty, who have english-language differences or special education needs, don’t pass these tests,” explains Philadelphia public school parent Robin Roberts. “It’s orchestrated. It has nothing to do with the kids or the teachers.”

Parent Tonya Bah maintains, “The Keystone state exams are ‘loaded guns’ aimed at taking any shred of opportunity from our children and their future, while widening the gap between the haves and have not’s.” A new law requires students to pass the Keystone exams in order to graduate. The drop in scores will prevent students from graduating, increase drop-outs, and wreck havoc at schools. “If high school students do not pass the Literature, Biology, and Algebra exams they will be denied high school diplomas,” explains Bah, who was instrumental in getting 171 families to opt of out the PSSA’s at one of her children’s schools.

“Those tests determine the number of jail cells that are built. I don’t want my children or any other child to feel like there’s anything built for them but success,” says Shakeda Gaines, Philadelphia public school parent and Member at Large of the Philadelphia Home and School Association.

The pattern of introducing “more rigorous” tests, followed by a huge drop in performance and subsequent implementation of punitive measures against schools, students, and teachers is one that has played out in other states -- most recently New York and New Jersey. In both states, drops in test scores led to massive parent-led opt out mobilizations.

Opt Out Philly – a coalition of parents, teachers, and students formed last year to organize opt out campaigns at local schools across the city and suburbs – is intensifying outreach efforts targeting community events, street fairs, and back-to-school events to inform parents about their legal right to opt their children out of the test. Movement leaders expect opt out rates to soar during the 2015-2016 school year.

More information can be found at: http://www.workingeducators.org/opt_out_philly_hits_the_streets_in_2015_2016 

Opt Out Philly members include: the Caucus of Working Educators of the PFT, Action United, Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools, Parents United for Public Education, Asian Americans United, Philadelphia Student Union, Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign, and Teacher Action Group.

“They don’t have a counselor, they don’t have a nurse, they can’t go to the bathroom, but they gotta take this test."

-- Philadelphia public school parent

Watch the video here

Opt Out Philly parents, community members, & teachers hit the ground running this school year doing outreach at community meetings, block parties, and back-to-school events throughout the city.

Start recruiting parents and students today -- Opt Out for Justice!

Download the flyer here and the sample opt out letter here.

We're very excited to announce our first-ever meme competition! The focus: high-stakes standardized testing.

The annual cost of testing in PA is $58,291,000. But educators, parents, and communities know the costs to our students and schools are much greater. Help communicate the harms caused by high-stakes standardized tests and the privatization of our public schools: 

Meme creator link: http://memegenerator.net/We-Optout-Meme-Contest

1)Simply follow the link above, click the green "create" button, and add your text! Click "generate" to complete the meme.

Early last week, I stripped the walls of my classroom bare. I took down the flags students had created to represent themselves, I took down the project we’d been working on since February - a Literacy through Photography project that gives a complex vision of student identities - and that has inspired considerable pride and interest in my students. I took down the maps, the art, even my calendar. I moved the desks out of the large square we normally use, into sterile rows. It’s not the end of the year, though it may feel like it. For the second time this year, it’s Keystone season.

Classroom: Before and After

For six days spread over two weeks, our school is disrupted. From 8 to 11:30, we are in testing rooms. For the rest of the day, we run through 30-minute classes. The attitude from students is that these days don’t count - and the feeling around school is that the year is already over. It’s a shame, considering our last day of classes is June 18. It’s not an illusion for students - grades close June 9 and the Keystones aren’t fully finished until May 27 (including students being pulled for makeups).

The day before testing began, I had a circle with my students in order to give them space to express their feelings about testing. As an introductory activity, I gave each student 3 post-its, and had them write a thought or feeling about standardized testing in general and the Keystones specifically on each. Then, I had them stick their post-its on the wall on a scale of “Positive” to “Negative”. Below are the results from each of my classes.

Student thoughts on testing. (Left side = Strongly Positive, Right side = Strongly Negative)

As you can see, the results leaned strongly negative. The most common word was “hate”, followed by “stupid”, “boring”, and “pointless”. In addition to variations on these common words, there were also words like “stressful”, “anxious”, and “scared”. And I can hear the critique: Sure, but no kid is going to love or even like a test.

From my students, though, I see something different. Through the conversation that followed this brainstorming, I got the real sense that my students believe these tests to be harmful to them - and really not supportive of their best interests or their visions of the future.

If you look at our school results, you can see that as the case. No more than 20 percent of our students passed any exam, and under 10 percent passed Biology and Algebra. For our 10th graders, this is a graduation requirement. The “project” replacement requires staff our school doesn’t have. There is a disaster looming when this test becomes a graduation requirement in two years.

From: http://paschoolperformance.org/Profile/6830

I think it’s appropriate that we strip our walls during these days of testing (I was even told by a School District of Philadelphia observer that I needed to erase the date from the board during testing) - because testing forces me as a teacher to strip all value from my practice. I suddenly have to become more authoritarian, uncaring, robotic. These are things I try to push out of my teaching practice, but on these days I feel forced by the state to bring them back in.

Assessments, what we ask students to do, should have real value in this world. What is the value of sitting silently and filling in bubbles? I feel more like a prison guard these days - patrolling the room, unable to speak with or support kids, escorting students to the bathroom. The most meaningful words for nearly 3 hours of my day are “Be quiet”, “No talking”. Even though I’ve spent most of my time doing nothing, I feel drained.

It’s hard for me to continue to subject my students to something they hate - and not because it’s hard, but because they feel it is hurting them and not spending their time wisely. Keystone testing only deepens the disengagement of many of my students with the education system. It is certainly not a motivating factor. This morning, we have 129 students present in the building out of 479. That’s 27%.

There’s a far better way we can be spending our time - activities that empower students, enrich their lives, and make them come alive. We need to opt into opportunities for self-actualization, and opt out of this system of testing that is psychologically harmful, and isn’t preparing our students for success in their visions of their futures.

Out of fear for my job, I continue to proctor this exam. I keep quiet about my feelings on the tests in front of my students in the classroom. But, I’m not sure how much longer I can continue this way. After 6 days of testing, with my soul drained, I’ll hang the student work back on the wall, move my desks back into a square, and get back to real education.

Charlie McGeehan is an educator at Kensington CAPA High School, and a member of the Caucus of Working Educators. He can be found @cmcgeeiii on Twitter, and [email protected].

Great news! This Friday (4/10), a directive was sent to Philadelphia testing coordinators stating that any student with a letter from their parent will be able to opt out of the PSSA-- regardless of whether they've reviewed the test.

This means ANYONE can opt out of the test still*. Here's how:

Submit the following letter in writing (hand-written is fine), changing the names to suit your child and school.

Date: ______________________ 

To: _______________________ (principal's name)

From: _____________________ (parent/guardian's name)

Re: PSSA Test Refusal

As parent/guardian of _________________ (student's name) who is currently enrolled at ____________________ (school name) in the Philadelphia School District, I have serious concerns regarding the overuse and misuse of high-stakes standardized testing and its negative impact on the education my child is receiving. Therefore, my child ______________________ (student name) is under my directive as his/her parent NOT to take any PSSA assessment this school year.

I am writing to state that you must respect my legal parental rights. Do not place my child into the testing environment and do not present him/her with an assessment. My child will be considered to have refused the assessment, and you shall code his/her test as "other" as specified on page 9 of the PSSA Testing Coordinator's Handbook.

If my child has begun the PSSA, it is my wish that they complete that initial section, and that my refusal apply to all remaining sections of the PSSA not yet started. All remaining sections of the assessment shall be marked "other" for my child.

Sincerely,

_______________________ (parental signature)

cc: Superintendent Hite ([email protected])

* Please note if your child has begun a section of the PSSA (for example reading, which is the first section), you are not able to opt them out of that section.  You are, however, able to opt them out of the next sections (for example math and science).

Here is the directive that was sent to all testing coordinators in the School District of Philadelphia on Friday afternoon:

Every student that has submitted a written opt-out request for religious OR non-religious reasons is excused from the test.If the parent put in a religious request for exemption and reviewed the test, testing coordinators have been instructed to mark the religious exemption bubble.

Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The question I have for you at this point of our journey together is, “What is your genius?”

(Above: Parent Tonya Bah educates families near Broad and Olney; Below: Parent Shakeda Gaines shows off her new Opt Out car decorations.)

Earlier this month, this official Opt Out protocol was provided to ALL principals in the Philadelphia School District by the Office of Curriculum and Assessment.

The Notebook has also covered the district's new distribution of Opt Out info.

If you encounter school administrators who are are NOT following this protocol, immediately send an email to [email protected], so that we can work to resolve the issue. No one should feel bullied or intimidated for exercising their legal right to review and opt out of these assessments on religious grounds.

(Want to see who else is opting out in your area? Over 350 families have already put themselves on the Opt Outs in PA Map!)

Parental Request to View the PSSA/Keystone Assessments – District Protocol

Online Testing Sites

Schools testing online ONLY, must call DRC (1-800-451-7849) to request a paper copy of the tests to be used ONLY for parental review, if necessary.

Paper & Pencil Testing Sites

1. If a parent contacts the school with a request to view the PSSA/Keystone test.

     b. Provide this opportunity at a mutually convenient date/time no earlier than two weeks prior to the start of the testing window.

          ii. PSSA review start: Wednesday, March 25

          iii. Keystone review start: Wednesday, April 29

     c. Also, notify the parent of the location inside the school where this will take place

2. Make a copy of the Parent Confidentiality Agreement (Appendix of F of the Assessment Handbook)

     d. The parent MUST sign this before viewing the test

     e. Translations of this document also are available in the 8 dominant languages. Non-English speaking parents are allowed to bring an interpreter with them while viewing the test

     f. BOTH the parent and the interpreter MUST sign the Confidentiality Agreement prior to viewing the test/s

     g. The Test Coordinator or designee must collect all Confidentiality Agreements and keep them on file at the school.

3. The Test Coordinator or designee can break the shrink wrap and pull out any one formof the test booklet for the subject and provide it to the parent

4. The Test coordinator or designee MUST be present in the room throughout the time the parent is viewing the test booklet

     b. The test booklets should not be in the possession of the parent without the presence of a designated/responsible school staff

     a. Parents cannot take notes or communicate with others during the viewing and should not possess their cell phones during this time

     b. Test booklets for more than one subject can be viewed in one session. Many parents can view the test booklets in one viewing session

     c. The Test Coordinator or designee will collect the test booklet/s back from the parent/s after they have viewed it/them and lock the booklets back in the secure storage area

5. After viewing the test booklet/s, if a parent finds anything against his/her religious beliefs in the test content and decides to opt his/her child out of testing, he/she must write a letter (or send an e-mail) to the superintendent ([email protected]) requesting that his/her child opt-out of the PSSA/Keystone testing. It is recommended that the principal be copied on the e-mail

6. On the day/s of testing, the school must provide alternative instructional activities for students who opted out

Download a PDF version of this Opt Out Protocol here.

Want to learn more about how to Opt Out in PA?: Check our our Guide to Opting Out in PA and Frequently Asked Questions for more info. 

If you'd like more information about how to opt out of the PSSA, or would like to see which schools in your area have families opting out already, take a look at our guide to Opting Out in PA.

1.  Do I need to explain my religious beliefs with specific questions from the PSSA test on my opt out letter?

3.  When can I schedule to review the PSSA?  My school district has offered limited hours which makes it difficult for me to schedule a time to review.  

4. For more information about the Opt-Out Protocol: Parental request to view the PSSA and Keystone Exams-District Protocol

This document describes the process of opting out of PSSAs and Keystone exams. It was provided to ALL principals in the Philadelphia School District by the Office of Curriculum and Assessment. If you encounter school administrators who are are NOT following this protocol, immediately send an email to [email protected], so that we can work to resolve the issue. No one should feel bullied or intimidated for exercising their legal right to review and opt out of these assessments on religious grounds. 

What other questions do you have about Opting Out? Let us know on facebook, twitter or at c[email protected]!  

Reposted from Opt Out Pennsylvania Blog.