Skipped PARCC tests could endanger federal school funding in Colorado.
Source: Skipped tests jeopardize Colorado school funding
The mainstream media gives us yet another misleading headline atop an article based on the boogeyman named Maybe. The article is predicated on verbiage in the No Child Left Behind legislation that requires a 95 per cent participation rate or districts risk “sanctions” and it postures that Poudre School District stands to lose funding because it failed to meet that benchmark. If a reader reaches the bottom of the article, she would find that even the PSD official doesn’t expect to lose funding. With a little history and context, we can understand why.
Legislators added the 95 per cent requirement to keep districts from bolstering achievement by excluding students who may not test well. When a parent opts a student out of standardized tests, he must provide a letter to his school. The filed letter protects the district from the appearance of manipulating test participation. Unlike district manipulation, parental opt-outs are protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. This protection is reinforced by Supreme Court decisions that strongly favor parental rights. One of these cases, Pierce vs. Society of Sisters, vehemently protects parental rights and reinforces school choice. The other, Meyer vs. Nebraska, supports States’ rights to determine curricula. Both of these precedents are in direct conflict with No Child Left Behind AND Race to the Top, which has given us Common Core, PARCC tests and the SBAC test.
This article goes on to expose a fallacy of the pro standardized testing crowd (please note that the pro-standardized testing crowd consists of people who stand to make a lot – A LOT of money off of these tests and of the people who feel threatened by those who stand to make a lot of money off the tests). They insist that states entered into the testing consortia VOLUNTARILY with no coercion at all. If that is true, then why does 9 News even have a story? If the Poudre School District has concerns about dismal test compliance, it feels like there may be an ultimatum.
But there really isn’t. Aside from a US Department of Education that has eaten mass amounts of Wheaties and is using that energy to make vague threats, there is no danger to funding. There is the protection of the 14th Amendment, there is the Supreme Court precedent, and there is burgeoning precedent from around the country. Washington State, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma have all failed to meet the 95 per cent participation rate and they have kept their funding. Even their Title 1 funding. They still have it all.
Parents need to remember that they are still in control of their children’s education. Right now, if parents want to protect their children from having their privacy invaded, emotional duress, lackluster lessons, and reduced classroom time, it’s time to be involved. Every day there is a new sensational story that we wish were unbelievable. These stories involve families whose lives are torn apart – even if temporarily – because of an over zealous state. If we are to avoid the sensation, it is time to be involved. Pay attention. Be vigilant. Remember your rights and protect those of your children.