The National Association of Secondary School Principals has taken a stand against state and district policies that permit parents to opt their children out of standardized tests.
A statement on its opposition was adopted by the NASSP’s board of directors. The group will solicit public comment on it before formal adoption planned for November.
The position paper says that despite a rise in opt-out activity, fueled by the view that students spend too much time taking tests, schools get a lot of valuable information from assessment results. Even a few students sitting out the test could alter those results, the statement cautions.