To me it's a little suspect when the reason behind the delay is to remove items not aligned to common core. Weren't we supposed to be teaching the SPIs? Because those were what was to be tested, not the common core state standards. My scores were down quite a bit this year...is that the reason? 
I hate that so much hinges on this test. I have been sick since I found out how bad the scores were this year.- a middle school teacher from a small school district in West TN
 

A colleague of mine was a finalist for state-wide Teacher Of The Year a few years ago. While proctoring an EOC for a class which he didn't even teach, he happened to notice a test question while walking around. At lunch he made a comment about how terrible the question was. Later that week he was removed from consideration for TOTY, and he was ultimately suspended for the first three months of the following year. I genuinely believe all the secrecy is designed to keep people from seeing exactly how bad the tests are.- a teacher in a large high school near Nashville, TN  

Conversation in a private TN teacher's forum:

Question from a teacher in Lebanon, TN:  Cut scores seemed really high this year. Can anyone enlighten me on the process? When does the state announce the scores? Our district had been using the wrong cut scores for benchmarks and everyone was just shocked at the cut scores.

A:  That is the beauty of the whole scheme. IF the scores are better than anticipated they just raise them and still say that the schools are failing. Then after a few years, they will lower them and say that their reform is working great. That is why they don't release them until the tests are in and calculated.

Q:  So, basically it would be like giving the kids a test in my classroom but announcing the grade scale after I took them up and graded them?

A:  I am not sure about it personally but I do know that the passing score in Algebra (I think) was 83 for a proficient first semester but basic for second and that is only three months apart for those tests.

A:  Cut scores are high... our admins mentioned that when I said I was surprised at results of a few kids. Moving targets are a challenge to hit. Continual engineering of the data to make us look bad... 'ineffective.'

A:  That's because they changed them from the fall, so since we're on block schedule, the kids who took their EOCs in the fall have different cut scores than the kids who took them in the spring. I found the new Spring EOC cut scores posted by purely by accident.

A:  A high school principal told me the cut score was raised for second semester. Her data team figured it out without help from TDOE.

A:  My Reading/ELA scores were dramatically lower (as in 20% or more) than any other area. However, my end of the year reading benchmark testing (F&P running records) showed my class being 93% on or above grade level in reading. This is a HUGE discrepancy that showed up not only in my classroom but in those of my colleagues as well.

A:  Yes, my benchmarks indicated far better scores than my TCAPs. I guess the benchmark assessments can no longer be deemed reliable as indicators of TCAP results, huh? This whole situation is such a mess, so ridiculously inept.

A:  The testing cut scores are arbitrary. TN state dept of ed has no valid formula for determining appropriate cut scores. In NY state the cut scores have been manipulated for political reasons. Would you EVER suspect Huffman of manipulating scores? Seems like thousands of parents & teachers don't trust him: https://www.facebook.com/RemoveKevinHuffman 

BIG Q:  Why does Haslam unconditionally support an edu-commissioner with NO education background?

Big A:  That's the million-dollar question.

Q: *Do you think the media will pick up a story about it? I am so tired of all this manipulation and deceit and abuse! I am beyond defeated over the whole insane system.

*Hint, hint... to the reporters and journalists that read our emails (Welcome to the journalists and reporters who have subscribed in the past few months!).  We don't mind a bit if you use our stuff.  Please help us to get the word out to a larger audience.  You know this isn't right or fair for teachers and students.  We wish we could publish the names of these teachers without fear of them losing their jobs.  These teachers are sick over the top-down mandates, micromanaging, and turmoil in their profession.  They just want to teach and help students.  They may not have the freedom to speak up publicly, but we, as parents, sure do.  Tennessee parents will continue to speak the truth and fight these injustices until things get better.

Dear Gov. Haslam,

I am writing to let you know that my fourth-grader will not be taking the TCAP test. This is unfortunate for her school because she scores in the advanced range every time.
Auria is in fourth grade at Northfield elementary in Murfreesboro, TN. This is our fourth year at this school, and between her and her sister, I have fallen in love with numerous teachers there. Murfreesboro has the best school system in the state (according to Google), and I have been highly impressed with the people and their level of care for my children.

Third grade changed, though. My highly-intelligent, confident kid became a wreck - early in the year - over the pressure associated with the TCAP. I was confused, as I took the TCAP every year as a child and have nothing but fond memories of bubbling in the little circles. I started to notice the growing intensity leading up to the test, and I became a little disgusted. That was last year. This year it was worse. The teachers I have had the pleasure of working with are so wound up that I feel sorry for them. The teachers, the staff, the administration...everybody.

These are obviously brilliant and creative people, and this test has taken over like a life-sucking monster. Teaching isn't an exact science, just like parenting. Every child is different, and this terrible system is stifling all the joy and creativity that is required to really make an impact. 

Now, if I love this school and staff so much, and I know her test scores would attribute to an average boost ($$$), why would I pull her from this?  She wants to be a teacher when she grows up. These teachers are already being grossly underpaid for such an important role.
 "Pearson is America's largest corporate maker of standardized testing. It has a multiyear contract with our Department of Education: For creating and implementing the TCAP and the end-of-course tests for high schoolers, we pay more than $150 million.  (That's three times what it would have cost to give Tennessee teachers a 2 percent raise.)  The deepest cut of all? Teachers aren't able to preview the test. They are neither editor nor author of the single most influential test of the whole year. It's the educational equivalent of a slap in the face." 
- David Cook (Times Free Press)

Auria can already make better decisions than this.

My child's job is to learn. The teacher's job is to teach. But my role as her parent is more complicated. I also have to teach her when standing up for something is necessary. This system is stupid and unfair. She will be accepting a 0 as 15% of her grade for the year. But she will also be standing up for teachers and students all over the state. She will be taking steps toward bettering her future right now, and I think that's better than just a memory of all those bubbles.

Thank you for your time reviewing this matter,

Alicia Maynard
Murfreesboro, TN

The above letter has been shared on Facebook over 1,140 times in the past 48 hours.  Here are some of the many comments on it:

• Amen!
• As a teacher in metro, I love you!
• Wow! Seems I'm not alone about my TCAP feelings! Kuddos to this mom!!!
• The pressure for students, teachers, and parents is so unfair. It makes me so sad.
• This is so beautiful. It's a must read for all parents and students.
• Maybe more parents should jump on this bandwagon!!! I would love to shake her hand and meet her in person!
• Incredible parent and letter! Hope someone listens! Something to think about where we are heading for the future of education for the little ones. Lets put Common Sense back in Education and worry bout the little ones not which pocket is getting thicker!!!!
• How many letters like this will it take to change things?
• Simply the truth. I am forbidden by law from seeing, asking or being told what is on the test my kids take. Ever. We never see the old tests. We cannot challenge bad questions...and trust me, the practice tests have bad questions. Parents can also never see the tests. Just try and ask, even after it is given. I have yet to have a teacher's edition grammar book that did not have a wrong answer or horribly confusing practices. It happens, but now who is double checking? My kids will do well...they always do me proud in a pinch, but this is beyond ridiculous. Pearson controls education in Tennessee. Get over the outrage over the feds/Common Core (for now) and ask why in the Hell a private company gets to determine kids' grades and teachers' fates with ZERO oversight.
• May do this next year. Zac is flipped out about TCAP.
• This sums up my feelings on standardized testing word for word!!!!!!!
• I love how you just stand up for things that are unjust without ANY hesitation and I respect the heck out of that! TCAP tests and the like are the reasons why I did not complete my certification as a secondary educator. It's an unfair system that pigeon-holes children into measurable data. You, Alicia Maynard, are a beautiful soul and a wonderful mother. Thank you for standing up for teachers and for teaching your children to stand up for their generation of learners.
• I applaud this mother and think it would be awesome to boycott this stupid standardized testing

This issue is not going away.  This movement will to continue to grow in TN, as it has in other states as parents realize that their children are being needlessly and expensively over-tested.

Common Core and the inseparable requirements of the Race to the Top contract require even MORE testing, including benchmark tests and probably the PARCC (which is a much more difficult, time-consuming, and stressful test than TCAP is).


Legislators:  Parents need a law that gives us the legal option to protect our children by Opting-Out of standardized tests.  Other states have this law.  Tennessee needs it, too.  Parents should be able to decide what is best for our children.  Private school and home-school students don't have to take these tests, so why are our public school children forced to do them?

School Board members & Superintendents:  Some districts in TN (like Metro Nashville) allow parents to refuse standardized tests for their children without penalizing the child, teacher, or school.  Even though TN does not yet have an Opt-Out law, the state, at this time, allows districts to decide without penalty (See this document and see how the Metro Nashville School District handles parents who wish to refuse testing for their children).  Locally elected school boards have the authority to set policies regarding testing and the rights of parents to refuse these tests for their children.  Please, listen to the parents.  

Parents know what is best for their children.  We know better than the Pearson corporation, better than the government, and better than any standardized test ever created.  We trust our children's teachers to fairly assess our children's progress.  

Click HERE to read the secret report from the Governor's puppets
 
You'll clearly see:  The State Board of Education will get the incredible power to decide the Standards for our children.  Yes, the same State Board of Education that voted, through a telephone conference call with dogs barking in the background, to revoke the licenses of teachers over test scores.  The same State Board of Education that is APPOINTED and serves at the whim of the current administration.  Tennessee citizens did not elect this board.  This board does not answer to us.  In fact, they won't return our messages.  Two of them even unsubscribed from our emails.  They don't want to hear from parents.  They know who they serve and obey:  Governor Haslam.

As it seems right now, we are ALL being played right into the Governor's hands... parents, local school boards, Superintendents, legislators, and worst of all... our children.  
 
Legislators: when you go home tonight, exhausted after this Legislative session... will you be able to sleep soundly at night knowing you have sold out our children to corporate interests? 

A couple of weeks ago, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey met with a dozen pastors from Tennessee.  These pastors represented many different denominations and despite their theological differences, they all felt called to speak against Common Core.  They could not remain silent any longer when our children's futures are at stake.  They decided to do something about it.  

They met with Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey.  

These spiritual leaders read aloud to him some of the Common Core suggested exemplar text for high school students.  

(Legislators, remember when TN Parents tried to send you the some snippets from The Bluest Eyeby Toni Morrison, but the government email filters wouldn't even allow it to get to you because it was so profane?  We had to add all sorts of **** to get it through to your inboxes.   But it is a perfect example for high school juniors to read???  The same people that wrote the Common Core standards think so).

Anyway, Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey turned red in embarrassment and finally said, "Stop! I don't want to hear that cr*p!"  

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey then pledged his word, as a man of INTEGRITY, that he would not only get Common Core and PARCC out of our public schools in TN, but as "a man of INTEGRITY," he told those 12 Ordained Ministers that he would go even further than the House bill that had just overwhelmingly been amended to delay it 2 years.  He would do even better than that.  He said multiple times that "I am a man of my word.  I am a man of integrity."

Those men of God believed and trusted Ron Ramsey.  So did Rep. Womick who was told that the Conference Committee was including the delay of Common Core & PARCC and including strict wording to protect our children.

Integrity?

or a deliberate move by the Governor's puppets to force them to keep quiet?

until the last day of Legislative session.  Today.

TN Parents won't keep quiet.  We'll broadcast loud & clear which liars need to be voted out of office.  They have lost our trust.  We'll broadcast which politicians voted against our children.
 
Legislators: when you go home, exhausted after this Legislative session... will you be able to sleep at night knowing you have sold out our children to corporate interests?  
 

TODAY is the last day of the Legislative Session but there are many BIG questions still unanswered...

The word on the street is that there is a SECRET Conference Committee report prepared by Commissioner Huffman (okay, actually, by his lawyer) that not only allows Common Core and PARCC, but locks Tennessee into it because of the deceptive wording and testing criteria.  

Not only that, this agreement would give Commissioner Huffman (who is ON the Executive Committee of PARCC) and the TNDOE the power to expand Common Core to include the Next Generation Common Core Science Standards, Social Studies Standards, and those Common Core Sexual Education standards that parents have been freaking out about. 

Also very disturbing, things that were promised to be included, like protection for student data, have been so watered down, they are worthless.  FERPA is not the safe law everyone thinks it is.  FERPA doesn't protect our children against data sharing without parental consent, it just makes it legal for companies and organizations to do so, and there's nothing that parents can do to stop it.  This is sickening and scary for parents.

Politicians that vote for this will be just playing right in to their hands, and they know it.  This is a deliberate, underhanded move by the administration.

Remember just a few weeks ago?
82 Representatives bravely voted to delay Common Core
88 Representatives wisely voted to delay PARCC

Heads up:  They are also trying to SNEAK the VOUCHER bill through on another bill (again).

It is a shame that the leaders of the House & Senate are doing the bidding of Governor Haslam and corporate-interests instead of representing the people that elected them to serve.

Once we get this SECRET CONFERENCE REPORT, we'll send it out for everyone to read.

A Tennessee parent recently met with a TN legislator and tried to share with him what is happening in other states regarding Common Core and standardized testing.  This legislator, who we won’t name, replied, “I don’t care what other states are doing. I am only interested in what Tennessee is doing.”
 
That is scary. 
 
That close-mindedness can be dangerous.  That is like sweeping your own kitchen floors while the neighborhood around you is in flames.  Look up!  Pay attention!  Danger!!!  You could prevent your own house from going up in flames.  That legislator could prevent getting voted out of office, if only he would listen and respond to his constituents. 
 
 
Does it matter that other states are pulling out of Common Core and out of the PARCC agreement?  Absolutely!  Oklahoma, Georgia, Indiana, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Florida, & Kentucky have all withdrawn from the PARCC test.  Others, like TN, are in the process.
 
Does it matter that other states "rebranded" Common Core Standards by simply changing the toxic name?  Same pig, new lipstick.  Voters aren't fooled.  New legislators to be elected very soon in these states:

• Arizona (aka: "Arizona's College & Career Ready Standards")
• Iowa (aka: "The Iowa Core")
• Florida (aka: "Next Generation Sunshine State Standards")
• Indiana  

Does it matter that Indiana withdrew from Common Core, only to implement nearly identical standards to Common Core?
Whatever you call it, they are still developmentally inappropriate, not state-led, and are the same nation-wide standards written by and for testing companies.  These attempts to change the name of Common Core just make voters even more upset.  Voters sure don't like to be tricked or manipulated, and they remember that in the ballot box. 
 

Here are some very loud warning bells from New York:
New York is one step ahead of Tennessee with Common Core implementation.  Their students took the Common Core PARCC ELA exam produced by Pearson last week.  A wise leader should heed these warning sirens:

• 31,000 of NY students (which is 10% of their students) opted-out of the test.  Even more are expected to opt-out of the math tests in a few weeks.
  
  
• "I administered Grade 4 ELA. Completely inappropriate passages and even worse questions. Students are totally set up to fail to make teachers appear incompetent. A number of my students had sick stomachs due to stress. THIS IS CHILD ABUSE!!!!
  - A 4th grade teacher in New York
  
  
• ADVERTISING embedded in the test:  "Today's 5th grade test book had a passage instructing kids on "how to be a smart risk taker." One of the instructions was to, "Think about Nike (TM) and their slogan 'Just do it.'"   Another example of product placement was in 6th grade - "Barbie."  Product placement in 6th grade, day 1 (this one actually made me laugh out loud): iPod -registered trademark of Apple Corporation." 
  - A teacher in NY
  
  
• "Proctored the 4th grade exam and was horrified by the lack of literary flow in just about every passage, but only in moments when I wasn't pausing to reflect on questionable grammar. Reading it was painful and the accompanying questions were ridiculous." 
  - New York proctor
  
  
• "I have been a principal for 10 years, with the last 7 in a district in Nassau County. In all my time as an educator, I have never seen a more disgraceful state exam. The third grade ELA was particularly complex and even inappropriate. The State Education Department should be ashamed at how they treat teachers and children! I work with the most brilliant and capable teachers, but they were completely demoralized and even saddened by what they witnessed today. When will politicians and Albany put teachers and children FIRST!!??" 
  -Eric Nezowitz, Principal
  
  
• "No, it's not a mistake.  Yes, the test makers knew what they were doing. What were they doing? Creating a set-up for failure to use as more ammunition to prove that public education is failing." - An upset NY parent
  
  

• This was written by a Principal to parents:  "Our 3rd, 4th, and 5th  graders have just completed three days of the New York State English  Language Arts Exam.   Your children were wonderful and worked incredibly hard.  On the whole, we think that we were able to protect them from the worst stresses of the test, and most seemed fine during most of the exam.  However, the teachers and administration are truly devastated by what a terrible test it was and how little it will tell us about our students.  Because we are bound by test security, we cannot reveal details but we can tell you that we have never seen an ELA exam that does a worse job of testing reading comprehension.  There was inappropriate content, many highly ambiguous questions, and a focus on structure rather than meaning of passages.   Our teachers and administrators feel that this test is an insult to the profession of teaching and that students’ scores on it will not correlate with their reading ability.  Because of this, the staff has decided to hold a protest outside of school TOMORROW, FRIDAY, APRIL 4, FROM 8:15-8:35 to express their extreme dissatisfaction with the ELA exam.  Parents are invited to join the staff before going into classrooms for Family Friday." - Principal at PS321 in NY

 

Legislators: Tennessee Parents know the tricks played in other states of renaming and/or delaying Common Core but still implementing it.  We know our rights as parents, and we know who these tests are designed to profit.  We know our votes count in the ballot boxes across the state.  Parents know what is best for our children.  Our voices are loud.  We hope you heed these warnings. 

April used to be poetry month,
Where we’d learn about rhythm and rhyme,
But now that standardized tests have set in,
They tell us we just don’t have time.
 
There was ‘Poem in Your Pocket’ day,
Where you share your unique voice,
But now creativity’s gone away,
Now it’s nothing but multiple choice.
 
They say tests show how smart you are,
And teach you all you know,
But how does filling in circles,
Help anyone learn and grow?
 
In class, when we could be thinking,
Learning how we can go far,
We’re categorized by the grades we get,
Like those numbers are all we are.

 - Eliya Ahmad, age 12 (written on back of ELA testing booklet, April 2, 2014) 

I remember when my son pledged his college fraternity. Would he “make it”? More importantly, would he survive “it”? The rituals, the abuse, the antics….um, I’m thinking hazing is….illegal.

This ritual that we are putting our children through, mandated, promoted and endorsed by the state…should be illegal! Put 20 or more 8-10 year olds in a room (well-ventilated, of course) for 90 minutes plus 20 minutes of test directions (really now) and set-up and what do you get? A situation equivalent to hazing on college campuses.

Third graders have the honor of first year initiation rites. Is this the rite of passage we want our children to remember? To have to endure? Or do we want them to treasure reading, steeped in places with people far, far away from test-prep land?

Clearly, as educators, we value genuine and authentic assessment, though that is another issue altogether. Perhaps, if our governor, education commissioner, and other elected officials sat in any of our classrooms during “the test” they would see another perspective.

As a veteran teacher in a well-respected, high-achieving public school district, my colleagues and administrators strive to provide rigorous instruction and meaningful feedback. We meet constantly to share ideas, enhance instruction, incorporate technology, communicate effectively and provide an environment where children learn, grow and succeed on all levels. We are dedicated, professional and compassionate, to children and each other.

We know that “the test” goes against everything we stand for. We do not engage in hazing rituals or tolerating them. Yet, in the past 3 days (just this year) there have been episodes of crying, sobbing uncontrollably, panic attacks and more. Students used to producing highly organized and thorough writing were watching the clock, biting their nails and twiddling their hair incessantly while anxiously writing and hoping they would finish in time. Some were so exhausted that they needed inspiring references to the 2014 Olympic games to continue and cross the “finish line.” Where are their gold medals? Is this what we want for OUR children? Parents do not send their children to school to be initiated into this twisted turmoil.

The examples cited above are just a few of those witnessed in the past few days. More specific details and examples (with quotes) won’t be cited, to protect the children we teach. I will mention, however, that the introduction to the first story in the fifth grade “essay booklet” might have captured the interest of a college level marine biology student. I wondered how the test-crafter who composed the “blurb” about an oceanographer thought this might grab his fifth grade audience. What a way to begin the day….I mean, Day 3 of “the test”.

By tomorrow the dust will have settled. Sick children will, once again, stay home. Real stories and books will be read. Thoughtful responses will be written. Informative Assessments will be given. Hazing, in the name of assessment will be halted.Everyday, we try to keep all of our children safe. Today we may have failed.

- A teacher who administered the PARCC in another state
 

My 4th grader was distraught over the PARCC interface and editing tools. She is an A student and a good writer. She complained about the test saying it was frustrating to express herself and be able to type as well as she could write on paper. “Why doesn’t this edit like Microsoft Word? That is how we are learning to type and edit. This is nothing like that. I could have written three times as much if I had paper and a pencil. Instead I gave up after only writing one paragraph. It was awful.”

- A TN parent whose child took the PARCC Writing Assessment


To see the above comments and many others made by parents, teachers, & administrators across the nation about the new Common Core testing, click HERE to visit www.testingtalk.org

Legislators: please vote to get rid of the Common Core PARCC test in TN.  Children deserve better than this.  Our scarce tax dollars should be spent in more meaningful ways to help students.

My 4th grade child is a typical 'A' student.  She's a confident writer and story teller. She's even won some poetry contests. Her teacher prepared her class for the PARCC test with assignments that mimicked the way the questions would be asked on PARCC. On the practice assignments using paper, my child felt she did very well comparing and contrasting two stories and writing about them. But when it came time to do the practice PARCC online, my child struggled.

The computer interface was a split screen and the editing tools were unfamiliar. My child came home crying. She was distraught that she only completed one paragraph because it took her too long to edit.

She was angry with the computer testing. "Why can't we just do this on paper so I can show them what I know?"

The anger and frustration at the tool is abusive.  Especially for little kids who are not prepared emotionally for the frustration.  What are we doing to our kids?

My kid is not your lab rat. 

- from a TN parent in Nashville, TN

A Mom in New York (who is actually PRO-Common Core) took a video of her child doing an easy PARCC math sample question on the PARCC website. The Mom wrote:

"The website has a link that allows you to, and I quote: “Try out sample test questions in their intended environment.”

So I did.

And I was frustrated.  Immensely frustrated.

But then I realized that no one is going to care about my descriptions of my frustration with “the sample test questions in their intended environment.”  But maybe someone will care about my daughter’s frustration.  After all, she’s 9.  She’s currently in third grade.  She will be taking these tests a year from now.  And she’s a good kid, she’s a strong student, and she is game to try new things.

So I asked her to try one of the sample questions.  A few minutes in, when I got a sense of how frustrating the process was for her, I asked her permission to video her attempts to get the interface to work.  

Click HERE to see the video of how it went for that Mom & child who had up-to-date technology and more patience than most.

This PARCC test is not rigorous, it is RIDICULOUS.
It is a ridiculous waste of our tax money.
It is a ridiculous waste of our children's time.

This does not show how much a child has learned, it shows how computer literate the child is to figure out this confusing, frustrating format.  Affluent children with a computers in their homes will have a clear advantage over children who do not.  This will widen the achievement gap even more than it already is.
 

Legislators:  If you vote against HB1129/SB1266 and its amendments to allow the TNDOE to give our children this expensive, ridiculous PARCC test, there will be a boatload of frustrated parents and teachers contacting you next year about getting rid of Common Core.  And even though you will try to tell them that Common Core "is just standards," they know better.  They won't believe you.  They will remember you allowed it to happen and they will campaign against you in your next election.  Education is a key issue to parents because our children mean more to us than anything else in this world.   
 

Some brave teachers, who are also Moms & Dads, have made the difficult choice to defy their district administration and the TN Department of Education.  These teachers have REFUSED testing for their OWN children.  Teachers are required by the state and district to administer the tests to students in their classes.  However, the state and district cannot trump their parental rights to do what is best for their own children.


Why did they do it?  One teacher tells why...
As a teacher, I made a decision for my own children, as their parent. I am most fortunate to be very involved in my children's education. I'm sure most parents feel the exact same way. Unless you are a teacher, you really aren't as involved as you think you are. I teach for the same system my children are educated in. I know things that I'm grateful to know, but at the same time the wind is often knocked clean out of me because of what I know. Because of what I know, I chose to opt my children out of unnecessary testing.

• I chose to opt my children out of computerized testing as a means of determining intervention needs.
• I opted my children out of tests that contain material they haven't been taught yet according to the curriculum maps teachers follow.
• I opted my children out of tests written for the sole purpose of assisting the developers of PARCC test which will replace TCAP next school year.
• I opted my children out of feelings of failure when material is placed in front of them that they haven't been exposed to yet, in the form of a test. I opted their teachers out of feelings of betrayal because that's how we feel when we do this to the children we teach.
• I opted my children out of the DEA, given three times per year as a predictive measure to determine how they might perform on TCAP. The DEA is also full of skills not introduced according to the curriculum maps. Test A - 18 of 32 skills not introduced yet. Test B - 19 of 32 skills not introduced yet.  
• I opted my children out of the CRA which is an assessment used for the sole purpose of assisting the developers of PARCC, and is written in a form that children are not capable of being successful on.
• I opted my children out the practice writing assessment for the practice writing assessment which I opted them out of too. Really? Practice for practice? Not to mention, it is computerized and children as young as 8 are expected to sit at a computer for two hours to analyze informational texts and write an essay through typing their responses. Our children do not know how to type.
• I opted my children out of IStation computerized testing to determine if they have a need for intervention.
• I opted my children out of all computerized programs designed to determine their needs. I chose to leave that up to their highly qualified teachers. 

As a teacher, I must endure the guilt and shame I feel each time I test my students on material they haven't been yet exposed. As a parent, I will not tolerate such with my children.
- A teacher and mother in Shelby County
 

How did they do it?
It is simple.  These brave parents simply sent letters and emails of refusal  to their sons' and daughters' teachers and principals stating that they will not allow their child to take the tests. (Note the wording says "refusal" and not "opt-out" since TN does not have an "opt-out" law, yet, and the attorney general seems to be forcing parents into testing their children against their wishes by saying it is not "legal" to "opt-out")

Some states have laws and policies that allow parents to opt their children out.  Tennessee does not.  Yet...  
There is currently a Bill in the Legislature that, if it passes, would allow parents to legally Opt-Out of testing for their children without penalties (HB 1841 / SB 2221) .  The Bill's sponsor, Rep. Gloria Johnson, is also a teacher.  (Unfortunately, a half a BILLION dollar fiscal note has been attached to the bill, and the bill has been rolled to the final calendar to prevent it from passing.  Contact Governor Haslam if you're not happy about that.  His phone # is 615-741-2001 and his email is: bill.haslam@tn.gov). 

What are the repercussions of REFUSING tests?
In TN, refusing or opting a child out of the TCAP test counts as a zero on the child's final report card (state mandated 15%-25%).  In some districts, this means that 10% of a child's final English grade will be a zero, and 10% of a child's final Math grade will be a zero.  (Check with your local school district to find out).  Despite the lower report card grades, having to keep their children at home on testing days, and having unexcused absences on their child's records, parents feel strongly enough that the tests are inappropriate for their children to REFUSE the tests for their children.  
(This could work: Parents in other states have gotten around the testing by un-enrolling their children from school to "homeschool" before the mandated test and then re-enrolling them after the testing window is completed.  This method works to avoid hurting the child's report card grade and attendance, but, gosh, it sure is a hassle!)
 

Links to Opt-Out testing websites & groups:
United Opt-Out website
United Opt-Out in Tennessee website
Stop TN Testing website
Stop TN Testing Madness facebook group
Stop TN Testing facebook page
Knox County Parents Against Testing facebook page
Williamson County Parents Concerned about Common Core & Testing facebook group

 
These brave teachers and parents are sending a clear message that they do not agree with the tests and that their child is more than a test score.