Students who opt out of standardized testing may no longer be treated differently from their testing classmates, under a new policy approved by the Board of Education.
The board voted unanimously Monday night to approve the Standardized Testing Opt Out Support Policy. It aims to “provide support for students when parents or guardians opt their child out of state-mandated standardized testing.”
The policy was developed by the board’s Governance Committee after Chair Tamiko Jackson-McArthur was told by New Haven Public School parents that their children were being “made to feel different” due to their testing opt-out decision.
Jackson-McArthur said parents told her their students were being marked absent on testing days and told to stay home by school staff.
“This policy is simply to support families who have chosen to opt out,” Jackson-McArthur said. “This district recognizes the need and the reason why they’re testing, and that this is not in any way going against that.”
“Students shall not be penalized for their participation or lack thereof in standardized testing,” the policy reads.
It adds that “appropriate instructional experience while students are testing” should be offered to those students that are opted out.
Read full policy here.
Little discussion ensued before board members voted 7 – 0 in support.
“Every moment that a child spends in school is very important. And if parents decide to opt out, their kids are still entitled to whatever education they can get out of that day,” BOE secretary Edward Joyner said.
The policy identifies three main goals:
• To maintain a fair and equitable environment for all students regardless of parents’ or guardians’ decision to test.
• To ensure that students whose parents or guardians opt out of testing receive instruction and supervision during designated testing times.
• To outline a process for managing and supporting students whose parents or guardians decide to opt out of standardized testing that can be instituted districtwide annually.