Letter to the Editor: My Child Will Refuse to Take State Tests

To the editor:

I think everyone should take a minute or two to view the Long Island Opt Out Page on Facebook. I have to say that after doing some research of my own, I am gravely concerned over the Common Core, Race to the Top, No Child Left Behind initiatives.

To see the corporate involvement and money involved along with deals/contracts made with large publishing corporations has led to their defining and structuring our educational system seems to be improper and troubling. To read of the Attorney General's investigation into the relationships of theses organizations with state governors and lawmakers is unsettling. To read of Bill Gates' involvement in data mining into the records of our children and Pearson's grand ideas of all teaching/school work being done on iPads and the data collected determining the career choice and college potential of a child as young as 12 just appears to be communist in nature.  

Related: Parents Voice Frustration at Increased Testing in Schools

I am NOT a conspiracy theorist by any means but there just seems to be something quite unethical going on that goes against the grain of the American dream and the American constitution. The federal government seems to be involved so deeply with the states' responsibility over education that I am troubled.

My children will be refusing to take the state tests, not because they are stressed or feel they will not perform well, but in protest of why, how, and what these tests have come to represent. For me they represent a break from the philosophy of education, from the innovation and creativity of teachers and students, a break from the fundamental American dream that was possible when I was a child.

If ALL children are taught, tested and evaluated exactly the same way then where does individuality fit in, where does innovation come in to play, how do great out of the box thinkers that discover and invent emerge?

There has not been much media coverage into this issue, which is mind boggling since several districts on Long Island have already past resolution letters to be sent to Albany opposing the state tests for their contradiction to the ideals of education. There are similar "refusal/opt out" movements going on in states all across our country.

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Colleen Napoli
Wantagh