Questionnaire on Parental Opt-Out

 

 

Hello PTA Family,

As you know, Delaware PTA is a strong supporter of rigorous standards designed to prepare or children to succeed beyond K-12 education in whatever path they may choose.  We believe that all children can learn and rise to the occasion to meet academic expectations. We have been an active participant with other community stakeholders in discussions concerning the standards and new assessment. However, we realize that children do not learn at the same pace or in the same manner. Children are unique and have a variety of talents, skills and abilities that contribute to their overall academic success, but cannot be measured by an assessment.

A number of parents and educators have reached out to us to express frustration with Delaware’s assessments, both DCAS and the new Smarter Assessments.  Some parents are worried that students are being asked to take tests on material they have not mastered or been exposed to, or that the test preparation is taking away from other valuable classroom activities.  Some of you have expressed concerns regarding the lack of transparency in the test creation and scoring as well as test bias. Finally, parents and educators are telling us that they feel unsure that test results are a fair metric to use in teacher evaluations or that the tests provide an accurate measure of overall student performance.

At our recent Board of Managers meeting, our general membership voted for Delaware PTA to move forward and collect feedback on general opposition or support for the parental opt-out, with the intention of moving forward with public meetings to address the many questions surrounding this issue. Delaware PTA is committed to representing the voice of our members, so we hope that you will take a few minutes to answer a few brief questions.  All responses are anonymous.

Educators CLICK HERE                                                    Parents CLICK HERE

If you have any questions, you may contact us at de_office@pta.org