Governor Malloy is mad and threatening to punish Connecticut School Superintendents and School districts if they do not comply with his edict that 95% of all children take his test.

He’s mad because too many parents are choosing, as is their right, to “opt out” their children from the computer adaptive SBAC standardized tests posing as mastery examinations.  To fix the problem, Malloy through Dianna Wentzell, the commissioner of the State Department of Education (SDE), is threating to punish Connecticut Superintendents and School districts with financial, rating, and oversight penalties if they do not bring to heel those parents who are opting out their children from the tests.

In the governor’s mind, it is the fault of School Superintendents, Administrators, Teachers, and local BOEs.  They who are at fault that parents are choosing to “opt out” their children.  It can’t possibly be that these parents are the most informed parents.  It can’t be they are thoughtfully opting out their children because it is their right to protect their children from the insidious and pernicious nature of these tests.  They recognize that the tests are experimental; not valid, not reliable, not mastery, not private.

What are the punishments if your school does not meet the mandated participation rate?  You will not be allowed to be scored a Category I school, or considered a School of Distinction.  Title I Federal funding will be withheld.  Across the state, the CSDE threats are at most directed at 68 school districts that did not achieve the 95% participation rate.  Locally punishment is in order for Mansfield, Woodstock, Chaplin, and Hampton.

Got that.  If some parents exercise their natural, God given right to protect their child by opting them out from a test, the Superintendent, the School District will be punished.  And you thought you lived in a free society.

Friends, you have the right to “opt out” your children.  It is that simple, and the school systems know this, and openly admit it amongst themselves.  However, their goal is to hide this truth from parents and they have proven they are willing to lie to achieve this goal.

Friends, do not let them bully you into doing something against your good judgment.  It is your choice, not the state’s.

ICYMI, Jonathan Pelto published a great piece on Malloy’s authoritarian and coercive attack on parents and our school systems.  A great summary of what is going on.  Jonathan correctly writes:

“In fact, not only does a parent have a Constitutionally guaranteed and inalienable right to refuse to have their child participate in the standardized testing frenzy, the decision to do so is a thoughtful, appropriate and understandable response after assessing the impact that the Common Core standardized testing mania is having on our students, teachers, public schools and taxpayers.”

Read the full article here:  http://jonathanpelto.com/2016/03/04/stop-malloywyman-punishing-students-parents-teachers-taxpayers-testing-opt/

Below are the SBAC test results of towns in the Quiet Corner.  Rank order based on ELA plus Math scores for Levels 3 & 4.  Yellow highlight shows those towns that did not achieve Malloy’s 95% participation mandate, and targeted for punishment.