Change the Stakes



Sample Opt Out Letter from Change the Stakes for NYC DOE Schools 2016-2017

Student:   _________________________ School: ___________________________

Teacher:  _________________________ Grade: _______ Date: _______________

Dear _____________________________,

(the principal of your school)

I am/We are writing today to inform you of our decision to refuse to allow our child

________________________, to participate in all standardized tests and tasks that are used to evaluate the school or my child’s teachers, including the following:

the 2016/2017 ELA NYS assessment, Grades 3-8

the 2016/2017 Math NYS assessment, Grades 3-8

MOSL*: any standardized test or task used for the purpose of calculating teacher ratings on the state measure of Advance, the NYC teacher evaluation system, and any pre-post-, or benchmark assessments used for the purpose of calculating teacher ratings on the local measure (MOSL*) of Advance, administered in the fall, winter, and spring of the 2016/17 school year.

the 2017 grade 4 / grade 8 NYS science assessment

any standardized test given through the PARCC consortium

any stand-alone New York State field testing in the 2016/17 school year (grades 3-12)

I understand that the school is required to offer the state English and math exams to all the students in grades 3-8, but city and state officials have said that parents have the right to refuse to let our children take these tests (“opt out”) and if students do not take these tests they cannot be punished, forced to go to summer school or have a promotion portfolio, or be held back.

We trust our highly qualified and dedicated teachers and administrators, and believe that restoring educators’ autonomy is crucial to our children’s education. While we continue these actions we look forward to working with you to make the testing days educationally meaningful for the children who are not taking the tests.

Sincerely, _______________________________________________________________

*MOSL - "Measure of Student Learning," an unproven and controversial means of measuring student growth as a comparison to other students across NYC, used solely for the purpose of teacher ratings and evaluation.

For more information contact us at changethestakes@ or on Facebook at NYC Opt Out

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