Common Core Parents Meeting in Howard
March 11, 2014
HOWARD, NY – On Monday night at the Howard Fire Station, Common Core opponent Shelly Stevens talked to parents about how they can get their children out of Common Core tests, which Stevens says are coming up in April of this year.
Stevens handed out forms to those present (fill-in-the-blank forms) that parents can submit to the school system, for children in grades 3-8, to get the student out of the testing. The form began with an explanation: “We are writing today to formally inform the _________ school district of our decision to refuse to allow our child ____________ to participate in any local assessments tied to APPR for the 2013-2014 school year. My child will be scored as a refusal with a final score of 999, and a standard achieved code of 96, on all State testing including ELA, Math and Science as described in the NYS Student Information Repository System (SIRS) manual on page 63.”
Stevens repeated that it is important that parents do not have their children “opt out”, but “refuse” the Common Core testing. She also stated that if parents keep the child home from school on the days of the Common Core tests, the students would have to make up the test, when the student returns to school.
So what happens if do not allow their children to take the Common Core testing? Shelly Stevens told those present that it varies from school to school. “That really depends on the school district, as far as the entire process, however, it is a parent’s constitutional right to refuse the test, not opt-out, refuse the test. From there, depending on the school, there will be reasonable accommodations for the child, during on the time-frame.”
Stevens also noted that some school systems will be making students who don’t take the tests, to sit and stare at the wall, though she did not specify what schools, if any, will be doing this locally. A google search did turn up results about how a school in Long Island, NY, had been criticized for a “sit and stare” policy. Click here to read more.
Common Core Parents Meeting – Shelly Stevens, March 11, 2014 Video
