Are the names of students who have opted out of standardized testing confidential?

Pre-College Topics High School Cafe
1

At my public high school, the teachers have been notified of the names of all students who have opted out of the SBAC test. My English teacher brought up this fact as she told her students today (solely juniors, the target group of the SBAC) that she was trying to get the entire English and math departments to refuse recommendation letters to the listed opt out students. Although I respectfully disagree with the stance, I don’t see any real problem with the whole refusal to write letters of rec part of the situation seeing as the letters are voluntary and it is a personal matter to accept or deny writing them, but I have concerns over why the teachers had received a list of names. I was under the impression that in my parents’ exercising their right to opt me out of the SBAC the action would remain a private matter. For the record, my school did not notify me or my family of the disclosure of the information.

So thus is my question: Was it legal for my school to send lists of opt out students’ names to teachers?

2

I have no real idea. But it’s possible that the lists were sent from a guidance standpoint-- that there are no ___ scores available for the following kids because they opted out. I can’t imagine why opting out of a test at school would be a private matter-- those test results go into your guidance folder.

To be honest, that’s why I opted IN for my youngest daughter (the only one of my 3 taking high stakes testing.) She receives services from the district. I was concerned that an administrator would decide that, in the absence of any particular score, I would have to fight harder for the services she receives. It simply wasn’t worth the gamble for me. I told her not to stress, but that there was no reason she couldn’t take the tests to ensure that her services continued uninterrupted.

I have no idea whether or not that would or could have happened, but in my book it simply wasn’t worth the gamble.

3

I have a problem with teachers using power to force families to do something they’re not legally required to do. NYS teachers reviews are tied to test scores, but families can opt out of testing. Refusing to write a letter to punish students for exercising their rights isn’t appropriate. Trying to get entire departments to boycott is over the top. If I were a parent in this district, I’d have a chat with the guidance counselor and superintendent.

4

I have a problem helping students who themselves are acting so selfishly they’re “opting out”.

5

Off the original topic, but I don’t really get the point of opting out anyway.

The time devoted to test prep will be devoted to it, regardless of what the individual student does.

The time set aside for testing will be set aside for it, regardless of what the individual student does.

So I’m not sure I understand why not just take the test.

6

A few high schools in California had very high opt-out rates, largely because they scheduled CCSS testing for the week before AP tests. These were schools where lots of kids take multiple AP classes.

I don’t know exactly how the tests were scheduled at those schools, but the Smarter Balanced tests take at least 8 hours and probably more. Our school has 10 class periods devoted to 11th grade testing this week and next. Ours are during English for English testing and history for Math testing, because those classes have all 11th graders in them. But, many schools just schedule them for the whole morning for 2-3 days, or odd schedules if they don’t have enough computers/tablets for all 11th graders.

If you were an 11th grader taking APs with kids from a mix of grades–say AP Chem–would you choose to take the state tests that don’t count for anything for you the week before AP tests? Or, would you opt out and stay in your Chemistry class for the last week of review? Or, if you were an APUSH teacher, how would you feel about losing a whole week of instruction time right before the AP testing?

7

Contact your local education reporter from your local newspaper, I’m sure they’d love to cover the teachers threat.

8

On the individual who claims students are selfish for opting out, how is exercising the parental right to guide learning selfish? Who does the test benefit besides companies which help in the creation and administration of said standardized tests?
A school should not be penalized because the parents of its students have exercised their rights.

Nevertheless, I do not wish to press my opinions about the test on others. In respecting the opinions of those against me, I ask for respect in what I and my family have decided to do. I do not appreciate being called selfish in my actions. This question was not designed to invoke discussion on the morality of opting out/in, if you wish to discuss that issue, please create a new subforum topic. This question was designed to discuss the legality of the disclosure of opt out students’ names by a public education institution.

9

Teachers are no more required to write a Rec than kids are to take the test…

They need you to take the test to get what they want…you need them to write a rec to get what you want. I guess both side probably think it’s not fair. I don’t think divulging the info WITHIN the school is illegal though.

10
11

Vctory, where did you get that info?

Either way, teachers you want to write a letter of rec would fall within “school officials with legitimate educational interest.”

If I’m going to write a letter for a kid, I get his/her academic info so I can write an informed letter.

12

I sympathize with those who want to opt-out of certain standardized tests, in contrast to @JustOneDad and @bkjmom. I have a dyslexic friend who loves english and wants to go into a field, however she struggles with math and test-taking in general. She doesn’t plan on graduating high school and spends more time improving her non-academic interests, as well as social life and the typical social media. I personally dislike them because of how commercialized it is, with a bias towards the affluent with money for counselors and test prep. Friends have gotten upset over amazing test scores that were not perfect. They have turned the number into a measure of self worth, and I would rather not take the test instead of stressing over a number that won’t even matter later on; it only shows on your transcript whether or not you passed.

I apologize if this comes off as rude. I’m just expressing my opinion here.

13

Why is it selfish?

14

@Iris Shadow ,
I’m not unsympathetic. As I said, my own daughter has auditory processing issues. She does horribly on any standardized test involving reading, (translation: ALL of them) though she works her tush off in class and gets good grades. . And over the past 35 years I’ve taught any number of kids who don’t perform well on standardized tests-- or on any tests for that matter.

I simply thought it was in her best interests to opt IN. And I’m not sure that opting out is all that productive, since the pressures will still be on the kids in the weeks and months leading up to the tests. And in places like NY, where teacher evaluations are tied into those test results, I can see how frustrating it is for those teachers when kids opt out, thereby having a direct result on whether or not those teachers will be rehired next year.

As to your friends who “turn test scores into measure of self worth”-- that’s NOT about the test. That’s about the friends. Anyone who defines their self worth by a number on a page is in for a rough time in high school and college and the working world-- all of those places involve constant evaluations, frequently broken down to numbers on pages. Likewise, the “bias towards the affluent with money for counselors and test prep” is a personal decision-- that’s not about the test, but rather about the choice.

At the end of the day, a test is simply a test. It doesn’t define you as a person, or your intelligence, or what kind of a person you are. It tells how you did on particular questions on particular topics on a particular day, and that’s all. They have no intrinsic value beyond the statistics they provide. Making them into something more than that is a separate, frequently more personal issue.

(And, yes, that’s what I tell my students about my own classroom tests as well. They’re important, but they’re not a measure of your worth.)

The OP questioned whether or not it was “legal” for teachers to have access to the names of the kids who have opted out. While I’m no expert in educational law, in my opinion, it’s legal. If I’m going to write a letter of recommendation for a kid, I need to have access to his educational records. And that includes his standardized test history.

Like most other decisions you make as an adult, it’s a double edged sword. For my own daughter, I felt it could potentially be a bad choice. So I opted her in.

15

Even if the parents were to go to the press, or the superintendent, to force the teachers to write the letters of recommendation, do the parents think this would end with a good result? I’m guessing the teachers would not be writing glowing letters, and may end up doing more harm to the child’s chance of getting in then if they didn’t write them at all.

16

I can’t see anyone doing that.

But if your actions put a teacher’s job in jeopardy, and then you ask a favor, I can see a 2 sentence letter that basically says "Susie was a student in my class. Her overall average was in the 90s.

What’s NOT said would speak volumes.