[en español abajo] The state is using standardized testing data against teachers, students, parents, and schools.  You can fight the takeover and the over-reliance on high stakes testing by withholding your child's data. Below is a letter you can send to your school's principal to opt out of the MAP assessments.

These assessments include the beginning of the year (BOY), middle of the year (MOY), and the end of the year (EOY) assessments as well as the STAAR assessment. The beginning of the year (BOY) assessments are this week.

Below is a letter you can send to your school's principal to opt out of the MAP assessments. You can also opt out of the "required" accelerated instruction tutorials and summer school and are legally allowed to do so. Read more at https://www.txedrights.net/hb-1416-opt-out-of-ai/. In addition, TEA has confirmed in writing that schools can accept parental refusal of STAAR (and MAP.)

While parents are not allowed to exempt their child from a test, they can opt out of an assessment. The legislature created specific but different, provisions relating to the rights of parental access to tests and assessment instruments. Compare Tex. Educ. Code §26.006 (access to tests) with Tex. Educ. Code §26.005 (access to assessment instruments). If an assessment instrument was the same thing as a test, there would be no need for § 26.005 to even exist as parental access is already guaranteed by §26.006. The STAAR instruments are not referred to in the Education Code as tests.  Rather, they are consistently referred to as “assessment instruments.”  See, e.g., Tex. Educ. Code ch. 39. 

In layman's terms, the reason STAAR is not a test is because the legislature says it is not. That is what Tex. Educ. Code 26.005 and 26.006 delineate. MAP clearly is not a test by that definition either.

This distinction applies to the STAAR and to the MAP (BOY, MOY and EOY) assessments as well. If you are in Houston ISD and need assistance, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we will connect you with a parent. You should send this letter to the teacher and the principal. 

Re: [Student Name]
Opt-Out Notice for MAP BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments

Dear [Administrator]:
Dear _____________,

I am emailing this morning to inform you that I have decided to remove _____________  from participation in the NWEA MAP Assessments BOY, MOY, and EOY in all subject areas (math, reading, science and any others) because his/her participation in the NWEA MAP Assessments conflicts with my moral beliefs. 

Exemption from Instruction per Texas Education Agency Code Sec. 26.010
(a) A parent is entitled to remove the parent's child temporarily from a class or other school activity that conflicts with the parent's religious or moral beliefs if the parent presents or delivers to the teacher of the parent's child a written statement authorizing the removal of the child from the class or other school activity. While a parent is not entitled to remove the parent's child from a class or other school activity to avoid a test, MOY or STAAR is not a test as indicated in Texas Education Agency Code Sec 26.005 and 26.006. 

And while I am under no obligation to define the nature of my moral beliefs, a couple of my moral objections are as follows:

It has come to my attention that the results of NWEA MAP will be used to evaluate principal and teacher effectiveness. Results found to be inadequate could result in negative teacher and principal evaluations and adverse employment actions. I refuse to allow my child to participate in an assessment that could potentially punish teachers based on how well a child as young as kindergarten does on an assessment.

An obscene amount of valuable educational time in our schools is wasted administering assessments. Texas Public Schools will spend one of every five days or nearly 20% of the school year conducting tests. According to the Texas Education Agency, Texas public schools will spend 34 out of the 185-day-long year conducting tests mandated by the state government. This does not include the regular testing in schools such as six-week tests, quizzes, and final exams. 

These reasons, among others, have led me to the conclusion not to permit my child to participate in the NWEA MAP assessment. I have provided my reasoning for our non-participation above so that it is documented in the event district administrators attempt to give school staff a hard time. The district should know that as a parent I have the right to opt out because I get to decide what is appropriate for my child and what is not. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. I am available via email or phone.

Sincerely,

[parent name and signature]

Email address or phone

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en español aqui

[Nombre de estudiante]
Notificación de No Participación en el NWEA MAP: BOY, MOY y EOY
Querido [Administrador]:
Buenos días/tardes, les envío este correo electrónico para informarles de que he
decidido retirar a nombre de hijo/a de la participación en las evaluaciones del NWEA
MAP: BOY, MOY e EOY. Esta notificación de no participar es para todas las materias
evaluadas por el MAP (matemáticas, lectura, ciencia, etcétera). La participación en las
evaluaciones del NWEA MAP está en conflicto con mis creencias morales. Y aunque no
tengo la obligación de definir la naturaleza de mis creencias morales, algunas de mis
objeciones morales son las siguientes:

Me he dado cuenta de que los resultados del NWEA MAP se utilizarán para evaluar la
eficacia de los directores y de los maestros. Si los resultados son considerados
inadecuados podrían resultar en evaluaciones negativas para los maestros y los
directores y también podrán cargar con ellos acciones negativas para su empleo. Me
niego a permitir que mi hijo participe en una evaluación que podría castigar a los
maestros basándose en los resultados de las evaluaciones de niños, niños tan
pequeños como del kinder hasta el 12o grado.

Nuestras escuelas desperdician una cantidad enorme de tiempo en la administración
de evaluaciones. Las escuelas públicas de Texas pasarán uno de cada cinco días o
casi el 20% del año escolar realizando pruebas. Según la Agencia de Educación de
Texas, las escuelas públicas de Texas desperdiciaran 34 de los 185 días del año
escolar realizando evaluaciones ordenadas por el gobierno estatal. Esto no incluye los
exámenes regulares administrados por las escuelas: exámenes del fin de seis
semanas, pruebas y exámenes finales.

Por estas razones, entre otras, eh llegado a la decisión de no permitir que mi hijo
participe en la evaluación del NWEA MAP. Les presento mi razonamiento de no
participar en las evaluaciones, para que estén documentadas por si los administradores
del distrito cuestionan a los empleados de la escuela. El distrito debería saber que
como padre tengo derecho a rechazar estas evaluaciones porque yo decido qué es
apropiado para mi hijo y qué no. Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor de comunicarse,
estoy disponible por correo electrónico o teléfono.

Sinceramente,
[Nombre y firma del padre]
[Correo electrónico o telefono]