Refusing the Test: How Educational Leaders Negotiate the Political and Ethical Dilemmas of Opting Out

• In Event: 15.060 - MTCC Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: 15.060-1 - Activism and Resistance in Changing Political Contexts

Abstract

Through widespread “opt-out” efforts, activists have pressured districts, states, and the federal government to reconsider the role of state-mandated assessments. Such activism poses unique challenges for school and district leaders: how might they negotiate resistance to testing with state requirements, professional obligations, and concerns about equal opportunity? This study explores how educational leaders made sense of opting-out, and how they responded to the ethical dilemmas posed by this activism in their communities. In some cases, leaders convinced parents about the value of taking tests; in others, leaders advocated—with parents—against testing. Drawing on these challenges, we argue that opting-out represents an opportunity to invite stakeholders to “opt in” to deliberation about accountability, standards and assessments in public education.

Authors

• Terri S. Wilson, University of Colorado Boulder

• Wagma S. Mommandi, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Matthew Hastings, University of Colorado - Boulder