Opponents Of Standardized Test Say State Is Bullying School Districts
(CBS) --Mark your calendars. There is a new standardized test coming to Illinois schools on March 9, but some parents don't want their kids to take it. Now, they accuse state education officials of using bullying tactics to get them to do it.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.
The message was delivered a dozen floors below the Illinois State Board of Education, at the James R. Thompson Center.
The parents, from Chicago and at least a half a dozen suburbs, are angry about what they say is the board's threatening edict requiring that every school district must give a new standardized test called PARCC and to make every student take it.
"We need districts to step up and we need ISBE to be truthful with parents," Brenda Delgado-Als says.
The PARCC test controversy has been brewing for months, with parents and educators complaining that the computer-based exam is confusing and full of technical glitches.
The Chicago Public Schools CEO even asked for a waiver. Then, last month, the state board���s superintendent sent out a letter stating that all districts must administer the PARCC assessment; if they don't, the board will withhold state funds.
State board of education spokesperson Mary Fergus says districts have been aware the PARCC test was coming for the past five years. She says it's a better test, in line with new education standards and is federally required.
Fergus says loss of funding could be as much as $1.4 billion.
Opponents also criticize the fact there is no clear "opt out" policy and are fighting to pass a law to adopt one.
State education officials say for now, parents should talk to their individual districts if they don't want their children taking this test.
