Tag: state tests

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As students opt out of state tests, authorities threaten to withhold funds

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DECEMBER 24, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The U.S. Department of Education, which has warned that it could cut, withhold or redirect federal funds where large numbers of students refuse to take standardized tests, has outlined steps to do just that in a letter sent to states this week.

Under federal law, states are required to test at least 95 percent of students, yet thousands of families refused to let their children participate in testing last spring in multiple states, including New Jersey, amid complaints that the tests were confusing, difficult and a drain on time and resources.

States that didn’t meet the mark both last year and this year could face one or more of three possible sanctions, according to the letter from Ann Whalen, acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education.

The federal government could withhold administrative funds for a Title I program, used mainly to help low-income schools; could put a specific Title I grant on “high-risk status”; or could withhold or redirect funds from the testing portion of a program called Title VI.

In New Jersey, education officials have long warned about potential federal cuts if too many students refuse to take state tests. David Saenz, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the most recent federal communication about testing did not state anything new.

“This letter further reiterates what they have said all along and now that they have data, there are actions they plan on taking,” he said.

Some educators and test opponents, however, have dismissed the warnings as empty threats.

The letter “is intended to coerce states into bullying parents and students into compliance,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a volunteer with Save Our Schools NJ.

The education department, she noted, did not take action when New York had opt-out rates of up to 20 percent last spring. She also said that the administrative funds are a “tiny percentage” of total federal funds.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/feds-detail-penalties-for-test-refusals-1.1479704

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N.J. releases figures on opt-out rates for new state tests

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N.J. releases figures on opt-out rates for new state tests

APRIL 15, 2015, 7:17 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015, 7:43 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

TRENTON  — The state education commissioner is urging students to sit down for the second round of new state tests, which starts in two weeks in many schools, even if they were among the thousands who opted out in the first round of testing.

Refusal rates for the tests ranged from 4 percent to 15 percent, depending on grade level, according to preliminary figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Education. The numbers were part of a snapshot of testing that Commissioner David Hespe provided Wednesday.

“We are encouraging school leaders to reach back out to parents and students and the school community and continue the message of how important participation is and how valuable those school reports are going to be,” Hespe said in an interview with The Record.

Hespe described the first round of tests known as PARCC as “successful,” despite refusals and protests from parents and teachers who argue that they take up too much time and resources and are too difficult. The commissioner noted that 98 percent of students took the test by computer – the highest rate of the 11 states that gave the tests – and that there were few, mostly minor problems with technology.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-releases-figures-on-opt-out-rates-for-new-state-tests-1.1309668

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PARCC Refuseniks : Mounting refusals to take state tests could hurt N.J.’s federal aid

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PARCC  Refuseniks :  Mounting refusals to take state tests could hurt N.J.’s federal aid

MARCH 27, 2015, 10:53 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015, 10:56 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

A tally kept by the state’s largest teachers union shows that the number of students refusing to take new state tests may top 46,000 — meaning too few students are taking the exam to meet a federal mandate, which officials say could put education funding to the state in jeopardy.

Refusals grew from week to week as tests were conducted in March, numbering hundreds in some North Jersey school districts, including 1,100 in Ridgewood alone, or one-fourth of all eligible students.

The union, one of the leading opponents of the tests, has collected numbers from teachers, media reports and parents. Although the numbers are unconfirmed, the union’s tallies from local districts are similar to figures The Record has received by talking to a limited number of school superintendents.

Steve Wollmer, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, said that the 46,000 figure represents 5 percent of all students in the state. “We know at least that many opted out and that [list] doesn’t even include every district in the state,” he said.

State education officials declined on Friday to say how many have refused the test known as PARCC, or whether the participation rate was below 95 percent. A spokesman said results won’t be known until after testing ends on Thursday.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/mounting-refusals-to-take-state-tests-could-hurt-n-j-s-federal-aid-1.1297847