In 2015, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed, replacing NCLB and giving states and school districts more authority for standardized testing. Even with more control, most states spend close to $1.7 billion each year on standardized testing, despite the fact that mandated state testing has well documented disparities amongst low-income children and children of color, two groups that have also been greatly impacted by this pandemic. 

In February, the Biden Administration decided not to cancel this year's standardized testing, instead opting to give states the authority to give more briefer, remote, or postponed versions of the exams. Since then, only one state has received a waiver to change their state test format and educators and strategists are still debating if state test results will even be accurate enough to use for future planning. 

In compliance with WI Wis. Stats. 118.30(2)(b)3, DPI has already declared that students, schools, or school districts will not be disciplined for opting out of standardized testing and families do not need permission to opt out, unless their child is in 4th, 8th, or 9th-12th grade.

In 2015, the same year ESSA passed, the US Dept. of Ed declared that state tests plans should include "fewer and smarter" assessments that are "worth taking, high quality, time-limited, fair and supportive of fairness in equity in educational opportunity, fully transparent to students and parents, one of many testing measures, and tied to improved learning" (https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-testing-action-plan 

This petition was created to inform families of their rights and to encourage parents to opt-out of the 2021 WI Forward Exam if your testing window has not yet closed. And even if your child's WI Forward exam is completed for 2021, please still sign this petition if you feel standardized testing should have been waived in 2021.

While there may be some merits of standardized testing data, testing students during a pandemic when there is 8 weeks of instruction left is not necessary, especially knowing standardized testing is not holistic, nor does is accurately capture the intelligence and academic growth of all students in a fair and equitable way. Also, if enough families decide to opt-out, this can provide our state with an opportunity to gain insight on if standardized test scores should be weighed so heavily to begin with.

Thank for reading this petition. Please sign up and share! Also, thank you for always doing what's best for your child!