How to opt-out of FL tests..VERY carefully. How some plan to do so.

[madfloridian]

Crossposted in General Discussion hoping for more visibility.

These are some tips from the Orlando Opt Out group, which is now up to 2000 members and growing.

It has to be carefully done as the state education leader says it's not possible. She warns of consequences if students try to opt out.

But opting out might still come with some consequences. A parent forwarded us a letter sent home from school about an upcoming field trip:
A letter sent home warning parents their student may not be able to attend a field trip if they miss the FCAT.

From the Orlando Sentinel this week.

Some students will opt out as new Florida tests debut

When Jenn Ashby's three children take Florida's new standardized tests next week, they plan to break the seal on a test booklet or log into a computer-based exam and then refuse, politely, to answer any questions.

The two youngest, ages 9 and 10, likely will carry notes they can share with a teacher. "I'm opting out," the notes will read. "Do not push me to take the test. Here's my mother's number."

The east Orange County family is part of a growing "opt-out" movement in Florida, fueled by parents upset by the high stakes attached to the state's standardized tests.

But leaders of the Orlando Opt Out group, which has grown to 2,000 members from 300 a year ago, said students who do what Ashby's children plan — starting tests but not answering any questions — are participating in the state testing system. They are just not providing enough information to earn a score.

These new tests are of particular concern as they were field-tested in Utah, a state that could not be more different than Florida. Utah has taken the test, did not like it, and is planning to do away with it.

Testing critics dislike that the FSA, like the FCAT before it, will be used to help make student-promotion and graduation decisions, evaluate teachers and grade schools A to F. They're also upset that Florida this year leased exam questions from Utah, noting that the failure rate there was high, with only 42 percent of Utah students scoring proficient in language arts.

I believe Florida paid Utah 5 million to use the test.

Found the info, FL paid Utah 5.4 million. Only 42% of students in Utah were able to pass it.

About Those Tests Florida Kids Take Next Week: Utah Republicans Want to Suspend and Replace Them

The exam has been controversial because fewer than half of Utah students cleared the test’s new standard of proficiency in last year’s assessment. SAGE is aligned with the Common Core Standards, which raised the bar for the state’s student performance.

According to this February update from Florida Stop Common Core Coalition, Florida’s commitment is more than most people realize:

In information found on the Utah legislative website, it turns out that Florida will not just be renting questions for the American Institute for Research (AIR) Common Core test from that state for one year for $5.4 million, but that it will be for three years. This will be at a cost of $16.2 million dollars on top of the $220 million over six years that Florida will spend on that test with AIR.

....With Floridians only two springs removed from an epic FCAT meltdown, kids are about to take another test which is being rejected by the state they bought the dang things from. Guys like Crisafulli can never admit that teachers were right and that the problem might just be that such tests – no matter who creates them – were never intended to be used like this.