Thursday, January 08, 2015

Opting Out Grows in Garden State as Parents Descend on Trenton

Full blown rebellion is underway in the Garden State as parents finally take their heads out of the sand and join forces with teachers and activists to protect their children from the destructive consequences of PARCC and Common Core's excessive and abusive high stakes testing.

For many parents, right now the only way to protect their children from the anxiety, stress and despair caused by the upcoming PARCC exams,  is opting out. Yesterday, so many people showed up in Trenton for an open hearing that they had to find extra rooms for the overflow crowd.

Wearing a customized black shirt with “Opt-out” in yellow letters, Martinez told the state Board of Education on Wednesday she’s so worried about how students will respond the test that she won’t let her daughter take it.

“How else would a child feel besides dumb?” Martinez said.

While Governor Christie is busy kissing up to donors around the country and going to football games in Texas, Ed Commissioner Hespe  appears to be as delusional and out of touch with reality as his boss.  Hespe attributed the protests and criticism to parents' lack of education on the value of the PARCC exams.

In an interview before the open session, Education Commissioner David Hespe said schools must educate parents about the value of the PARCC exams, which should provide more robust information about student performance than prior exams.

The value of the exams is that they focus more on critical thinking and strategies rather than content, state board member Dorothy Strickland said.

Most of the parents who attended the hearing Wednesday are in fact quite educated about the value of PARCC testing Mr. Hespe and they are critically thinking about the waste of money being spent on the garbage curriculum and meaningless tests that have their children hating school once they reach third grade. 

Sorry Mr. Hespe, but New Jersey's moms and dads are no longer drinking the Kool-Aid and are standing up for their children and for their children's teachers. You're the one who needs to get educated.

From NJ.COM

TRENTON —When Colleen Martinez took a practice version of New Jersey’s new standardized math test for third-graders, she said she was stumped.Martinez, a Montclair parent, couldn’t determine the answers for all of the questions on the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers assessment. And for the ones she did figure out, she didn’t know how to properly enter her response on the computerized test.

Wearing a customized black shirt with “Opt-out” in yellow letters, Martinez told the state Board of Education on Wednesday she’s so worried about how students will respond the test that she won’t let her daughter take it.

“How else would a child feel besides dumb?” Martinez said.

Parents and teachers flooded Wednesday’s open public testimony session to complain about the new tests, which will be administered to all students in grades 3-11 in March and again in May. Some held “No PARCCING” signs. Others pulled their children out of class to have them testify.

Marie Corfield, a teacher in Flemington, said the combination of the new Common Core standards and the implementation of PARCC tests has teachers “overwhelmed, stressed to the breaking point.”
“I feel like I’m living in a bad dream and can’t wake up,” Corfield said.

Some schools have downsized or closed their libraries to make room for more computers that can be used for testing, said Arlen Kimmelman, president of the New Jersey Assocation of School Libraries.
While the addition of more technology may seem beneficial, students don’t know how to use it if the libraries aren’t open for them to meet with librarians, Kimmelman said.

“The testing shouldn’t be squeezing out school library sources that are need for students to be college and career ready,” Kimmelman said.

The state board holds open public testimony sessions a few times each year, giving teachers and parents an opportunity to speak on issues. Groups like the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, advertise the open sessions and encourage members to attend.

Michael Mannion, an English teacher at Central Regional High School in Bayville, suggested the state is transitioning too quickly to the PARCC tests.

Department meetings and in-service workshops previously devoted to discussing teaching techniques now focus more and more on assessments, he said.

“As a teacher, I advocate raising standards and exploring new approaches to the way we do things to education,” Mannion said. “But these rapid changes haven’t led to focusing on higher standards in my districts. They have led to anxiety and uncertainty.”

Jacob Hartmann, a freshman at Toms River High School South, said he doesn’t feel teachers are truthful about the importance of the tests, which are planned to eventually become a graduation requirement.

Some teachers have said PARCC tests aren’t important, but others have told students their performance will impact their future.

“I’m more than positive that if I do decide to attend Princeton, they will not be asking about my PARCC scores,” Hartmann said.

Skyler Alpert, a sixth-grader from Mt. Pleasant Middle School in Livingston, told the board she isn’t planning to take the exams. PARCC takes time away from classes that teach students to be creative, original, intelligent and brave, she said.

“Unfortunately testifying in front of the State School Board isn’t all fun and games, because I will now have go write up a report about my experience here today and present it to my social studies class,” Skyler said. “There are no standardized answers for this kind of education. "

In an interview before the open session, Education Commissioner David Hespe said schools must educate parents about the value of the PARCC exams, which should provide more robust information about student performance than prior exams.

The value of the exams is that they focus more on critical thinking and strategies rather than content, state board member Dorothy Strickland said.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClarkFind NJ.co

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