Who Opts Out of Standardized Tests and Why? Findings From a National Survey of Activists

• In Event: 52.071 - Perceptions and Reactions: Political Responses to Education Policy

Abstract

Although the opt out movement, in which parents are refusing to have their children take federally mandated assessments, offers a serious challenge to current education reform efforts, we know little about its activists. This study examined the socio-demographic composition of the movement and motivations for activism. Data came from a web-based national survey (n=1,647). Results show that the typical activist is white, highly educated, and holds liberal views. Slightly more than two-fifths of respondents work in the education sector. Respondents oppose the use of student performance on standardized tests to evaluate teachers. They also are protesting the corporatization/privatization of education, the negative effects of tests, and the Common Core. We discuss these patterns and their implications for theory and practice.

Authors

• Nancy Green Saraisky, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Oren Pizmony Levy, Teachers College, Columbia University