Test Opt Out easy for some. The rest have to fight legal battles to do so.

This post was hosted at the Washington Post. It is by Alan Singer on why parents have chosen to opt out their children from these tests, albeit in different ways. Singer is social studies educator in the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership at Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, and the editor of Social Science Docket (a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for Social Studies). He taught at a number of secondary schools in New York City, including Franklin K. Lane High School and Edward R. Murrow High School. He is also the author of several books. A version of this originally appeared on his Huffington Post blog.

How the Obamas opted their children out of high-stakes standardized tests

By Alan Singer

It was easy for Barack and Michelle Obama to opt-out. They send Sasha and Malia to the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C. where tuition is about $35,000 a year and students do not take high-stakes Common Core-aligned tests. The Obamas chose this school in part because it offers children an enriched curriculum, not constant test prep. It was also easy for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to opt-out her children. According to her 2013 tax returns, her children, ages 12 and 7, attend the private Capitol Hill Day School, where they do not have to take high-stakes standardized tests either.

Wealthy celebrities are unwittingly part of the opt-out movement because their children attend or attended expensive private schools where they do not have to take high-stakes state-mandated standardized tests. They include Tom Cruise (daughter Suri, Avenues school in New York) and the children of the Jolie-Pitt clan (Lycée Français de New York).

Now you can opt out your children from high-stakes tests too. It’s not hard. NYS Allies for Public Education has a sample “refusal” letter and video instructions on its website. All parents have to do is fill out the letter and deliver it to the school principal, either in person or via email. They also recommend a follow-up call before the test dates to remind school personnel. Last year approximately 60,000 New York State students refused to take the tests. In New York State, high-stakes Common Core aligned math and reading tests will be administered in grades 3-8 from April 14 – 16 and April 22 – April 24.

....Carol Burris, award-winning principal at South Side High School in Rockville Center, New York is a leader in the opt-out movement.

"“The only remedy left to parents is to refuse to have their children take the tests. Testing is the rock on which the policies that are destroying our local public schools are built. If our politicians do not have the courage to reverse high-stakes testing, then those who care must step in.”

Florida is not making it easy for parents to opt out. Though the Opt Out groups are rapidly growing in numbers, threats from education leaders remain.

State Ed leader told FL Senate that opt out not permitted.

Florida students cannot legally opt out of the state's standardized exams, and their teachers and school districts could face trouble if they do -- or their parents do it for them, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart wrote today in a letter sent to key Florida state senators.

Stewart's letter -- written in response to a letter the senators sent her -- reiterated her position that state law (see section 1008.22 of the Florida statutes) "requires students to participate in the state assessment system, therefore there is no opt out clause or process for students to opt out or for parents to opt their children out."

....Opt out groups, including Opt Out Orlando, argue there are ways to legally refuse to take part in testing. Many opt-out advocates reacted angrily to Stewart's letter, sending emails and letters of their own to her office and to the Florida Legislature.

"I think you are under the impression we are asking permission. We are not," wrote one parent in an email shared with the Orlando Sentinel.

There are now two tiers of education forming now. There is one for those who can afford only public education for their children...and the tests are all-consuming. There is another level for those who want testing only for other people's children, and they send their own where they can get a well-rounded in depth education.