The 2015 Testing Opt Out Movement in New Jersey

• In Event: 41.083 - Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: 41.083-2 - Educator Responses to Accountability Policies

Abstract

The swelling pressure of years of testing and accountability policies unexpectedly burst in the spring of 2015. While there had always been pockets of anti-testing sentiment, 2015 saw an unprecedented nationwide movement of parents deciding to opt their children out of state testing. This report analyzes the scope, factors, and context for the opt-out movement that occurred in New Jersey in the spring of 2015. It examines the magnitude of enrolled students not taking the spring PARCC test and the national, state, and local contexts that contributed to parental opt-out decisions. In this study, researchers employed mixed methods research to understand the nature of the opt-out movement in New Jersey from state, district, and individual perspectives.

Authors

• Bobbi Newman, University of Pennsylvania

• Jonathan A. Supovitz, University of Pennsylvania

• Patrick James McGuinn, Drew University

• Francine Stephens, Consortium for Policy Research in Education/University of Pennsylvania

• Julie Kubelka, University of Pennsylvania

• Hannah Ingersoll, Consortium for Policy Research in Education/University of Pennslyvania