Middle school students poised to quit standardized tests in droves

So far, 90 parents have signed letters opting their children out of the tests, according to activists.

Heidey Contrera (left) with her daughter, Natalie Contrera.

Parents of 17 percent of all students at Feltonville School of Arts and Sciences have opted their children out of controversial standardized tests, according to a statement from teacher and parent activists. In recent years, tests like the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) have played an increasingly larger role in judging not only student academic achievement but also whether individual teachers and entire schools have made the grade — or are deemed failures.

"It makes the children very nervous and it doesn't assess their intellectual ability," says Heidey Contrera, the mother of 8th grader Natalie Contrera. Her daughter is still working to master the English language after moving from the Dominican Republic in 2011. "She is nervous and restless, and gets a little depressed studying for the exams. Because she thought she wasn't prepared."

In Philadelphia and throughout the country, parents and teachers have complained that standardized testing has dominated too much of the curriculum, squeezing out time for non-tested subjects like art, music and civics. The tests' high stakes have also led to high-profile cheating scandals, including in Philadelphia. But Amy Roat, a Feltonville teacher and Caucus of Working Educators leader, says that parents are not being informed of their options.

"It is important for parents in PA and Feltonville to know they have a RIGHT to Opt -Out their child from standardized tests," she writes in an email to City Paper. "This information is not well-disseminated. Opt-Out is an important action for parents to consider, especially if their child has an IEP [Individualized Education Program] or they are an ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] student."

Roat says that 90 parents at the middle school have signed letters affirming that "standardized testing is against our religious and/or philosophical beliefs" and that they "will be refusing all standardized testing" for their children, including the PSSAs and other assessments.

School District spokesperson Fernando Gallard says that Feltonville's principal has not yet received any letters, but he did relay information that a "staff member" may be circulating letters, particularly among ESOL and special education students, urging them to opt out. Gallard says that might be a problem though he is not sure if it would violate any district rules.

"If we have an activist teacher in the school trying to get parents to sign this, that's very troublesome," says Gallard. "On the face of it, it would just be highly unusual and, I would say, inappropriate. What's driving this teacher ... beside his or her own belief that testing is bad? I'd be concerned that she's targeting ESOL and special ed students, given that they are the most vulnerable of students."

Gallard emphasized that only by citing a religious rationale can parents choose to opt their children out of the testing. The district has not questioned the smaller number who have opted out in the past, and it is not clear whether it will do so in the future.

Roat, told of Gallard's comments, responded, "I'm not sure why it would be troubling for teachers and parents to work together for students. That is what good teachers do."