Parents and Administrators Headed for Showdown on Opt-Out

BRADENTON – Parents of 3rd grade students in Manatee County whose children opted out of the Florida Standards Assessment, the state's standardized test that replaced the FCAT, received a letter from the Manatee School District last week, informing them that their student was scheduled to take the Stanford Achievement Test 10 (SAT10), a state-approved alternative. If the students don't take the test and pass, the district says they will have to repeat the third grade.

Parent backlash to both the efficacy of high-stakes standardized testing and the specific utility of the FSA has been severe. Opponents argue that the questions are confusing, pointing to the fact that multiple choice questions can have multiple correct answers with only the one the test-designers deign most correct counting for credit, and claim many of the questions are not even reflective of the grade level being assessed.

They also argue that a student who has achieved mastery of the subject matter, as demonstrated by their course work throughout the year, should not be so severely penalized if they fail to do well on a single, lengthy test that is often administered under immense pressure to do well. The reaction has created a movement known as Opt-Out, which has challenged the law prescribing the test by employing what amounts to a statutory loophole.

The Facebook group Opt-Out Manatee, one of many representing parents at districts throughout the state, has 865 members. There's also a group called the Opt Out Florida Network that provides information to parents on the movement.

The law requires that students participate in the test, without defining participation. Parents in the opt-out movement have often instructed their children to "minimally participate" by merely breaking the test booklet seal and signing their names to the test, without attempting any of the questions.

To make matters worse, the office of Education Commissioner Pam Stewart has refused to specify what it considers the threshold for participation. When the Tampa Bay Times asked in March, a DOE spokesperson said, "I feel like answering the type of question provides more information that could be construed as encouraging students or parents not to take the test. That's just something we don't want to do."

When asked to simply define the concept of participation, the spokesperson referred to the statute, which of course, does not clearly define it either. Parents in Opt-Out Manatee argue that by having their child show up, sign their test booklet and sit for the test without answering questions, they have, to some minimal degree, participated, as opposed to students who were absent that day, who did not.

Stacey Cline, who is one of the parents who received the letter for her 3rd grader, said that it cherry-picks lines from the law under a title that applies to children with a reading deficiency. As her child demonstrated an ability to score at or above grade level on the reading portion of the district's iReady software on the first day of 3rd grade, she questions how that could apply. Cline's child, who has been in gifted classes since the first grade and received all A's this school year, hardly seems like a student the district should be considering holding back for an additional year of (taxpayer funded) public education.

The district says that the law is clear and its hands are tied, but Cline thinks there's another motivation to the rigidity of their position: money. "The districts and state are using the tests to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers and base their pay off of it," said Cline. "The FSA is being used to rate schools and provide bonuses to principals whose school attains a certain percentage of students with a passing score. In the end, these tests have a huge money trail behind them."

Why do parents opt out of FSA? Many reasons, but the most common one seems to be the belief that the test is not only ineffective, but that no actual effort is made to evaluate the child's progress in a meaningful way. "No one ever sees the test besides the student and the person scoring the test," said Cline. "The child's teacher cannot use the test to see where the student needs help."

So, what does Cline think of the district's position?

"The district is using the statutes to scare and bully parents," said Cline. "Nowhere in the state statutes does it say a passing SAT10 is required to promote to 4th grade. Manatee County Schools has a section in their Student Progression Plan that lists "Good Cause Criteria for Grade 3." It is found on pages 20-21. Number 3 does list the SAT10 to be good cause criteria. But look at number 4 (see below):

"I requested a portfolio at my parent/teacher conference in Oct. 2015,“ said Cline, "so I know his teacher has this, and it is acceptable work. My son has demonstrated this criteria, so why do they need the score from the SAT10? Not to mention, the SAT10 costs the district more money, and to retain a child will cost the district $12,000 per child. Retaining him would be wasting the taxpayers money, when there is no valid reason to do so."

Last year, more than 100 Florida schools did not receive school letter grades because they did not have at least 95 percent of eligible students participate on the spring FSA. This year, schools seem intent to raise that number and receive that grade.

 

Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Hillsborough, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Putnam, Duval and Broward Counties are all currently using the teacher portfolio option to promote students without a reading deficiency who minimally participated in the FSA. Manatee County maintains that those districts are not adhering to the law. Last week, Manatee Schools Superintendent Diana Greene emailed the state for guidance.

"Can a 3rd grade student be promoted if the student does not have a documented reading deficiency, has not taken the FSA, has not taken a state approved alternative standardized assessment, has not engaged in a Portfolio assessment, and does not qualify for other Good Cause exemptions?" asked Greene.

The FDOE responded that students must either receive a passing score on the FSA or SAT-10, demonstrate an acceptable level of performance on an alternative standardized reading or English Language Arts assessment approved by the State Board of Education, or get a good cause exemption by participating in reading camp and then "be promoted through evidence in a portfolio developed during reading camp or a defined score on an alternate assessment."

Heather Scanlan, who also has a 3rd grader who "minimally participated" in this fashion, says that when seeking clarification from the state, Dr. Greene did not correctly phrase the question in asking whether students that did not take the FSA could be promoted because it doesn't address minimal participation. Scanlan emailed the Florida Department of Education to get clarification on her child's FSA code "NR8–Invalidated."

In an email, the FDOE responded that "NR8 data would not reflect students who did not take the assessment." She argues that when the state gave its guidance to the district, it was referring to students who were absent and therefore had no code. She's asked that they ask the state specifically whether a student who minimally participated and has an NR8 code but is performing at or above grade level and therefore has no "deficiency" can qualify for a good cause promotion.

Scanlan echoed the idea that the district's letter is misapplying statute, noting that "a student must score a Level 2 or higher on the statewide, standardized English Language Arts assessment required under s. 1008.22 for grade 3," is under the subsection for "Reading Deficiency and Parental Notification" in the statute and would therefore not apply to students who have proven themselves to be performing at grade level through other means.

Scanlan says that the statute, as written, allows the district to promote a student for good cause using the portfolio option that is referenced both in the statute, as well as Manatee County’s Student Progression Plan. "The SAT10 is a good cause exemption option," said Scanlon. "It is not a required replacement for the FSA."

Candice Vice is another parent whose 3rd grader is in the same boat. She too says the district is misapplying the statute and has the power to promote her son without a standardized test score if it chooses.

 

"He has had plenty of tests all year long, plenty of quizzes and projects and a dedicated teacher that all support the fact that our son is more than ready for 4th grade," said Vice. "We have done enough research to know the hazards of high stakes testing on the youngest in our system. The fact that there are so many strings attached to this one test, should be enough of a reason to pause before allowing our kids to take it. At no other time in history has there been a test for elementary aged children where teachers/ principals and district officials are awarded bonuses based on high scores."

Vice says that the 180 days her son spent in a teacher's classroom provides more than enough evidence that he's ready to be promoted to the 4th grade.

"Since when did we lose the respect and voice of our 3rd grade teachers, so that it all boils down to a test?" asked Vice. "Since when did we disregard all the work of our students and use one test to trump it all? This is nuts! Anyone can see how crazy that is? Give our 3rd grade teachers the respect that all the other teachers receive. Give them the authority to teach and do what’s in the best interest their students."

As the SAT10 deadline looms, neither side seems prepared to budge.

"I have decided my son will not be participating in the June 1 SAT10 provided by his school," said Cline. "His schoolwork, the all A's on his report card, and his iReady scores already show reading proficiency in the Florida State Standards has been mastered."

Click here to view the school's letter to parents. Click here to view Chapter 1008 of the state statutes in its entirety.