Barville: Opting out of SBAC testing

Normally, I’m a compliant complainer. I’ll follow the rules, however asinine, while rolling my eyes and making sarcastic jokes in the back of the room.

This month is different. I’m joining some rebels with a cause. Sort of. I’m opting my 11th-grader out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test. I’d probably opt out my middle school student too, but I haven’t done enough research and suspect his score might impact math placement next year.

So, he’s stuck with standardization for now, with a promise to research and revisit the controversial topic. His brother, meanwhile, is excused to go to class so he can learn something instead of prove, once again, that he’s learned something.

As a Running Start student at Eastern Washington University he’d miss four days of college classes in order to take a test that’s supposedly designed to “accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness,” as stated in a letter from our school district.

We already know he’s ready for college-level work. He’s in college classes. Read more . Jill Barville, SR