By Michelle Strater Gunderson.

“What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”      John Dewey

Last week the Local School Council at Nettelhorst Elementary School in Chicago voted unanimously to write a letter of opposition to the PARCC exam, and gave permission to the parent/teacher organization to distribute testing opt out information to all families.

This is a big deal.

Local School Councils are elected bodies of parent, community, and teacher representatives who are entrusted with governing schools in Chicago. The local school council at Nettelhorst is composed of thoughtful and wise people who gave this action much personal deliberation.

So, why would a Chicago public school that is rated one plus and compliant in almost every school district mandate take this action? Why would a school where most of the children are middle class, speak English at home, and do super great on standardized tests refuse a test? Because opposing the PARCC exam comes from wisdom and a desire for what is lovely in schooling.

This was not a position that was taken hastily and it comes from three distinct conclusions.

First, the test is written at a level far beyond where students are expected to read at each age group (read Russ Walsh’s analysis here). We disagree with the stance that frustration levels for children represents “productive struggle” – a concept promoted by many education reformers. Imagine you are 8 years old, and you are not able to process information on page after page on a test that will last hours. Wise parents do not want children to experience this failure and internalize it. During the deliberations at the local school council meeting one parent said, “The sense of failure will break my kid’s heart” – nothing a wise parent wishes for a child.

Second, the test takes too much time and will disrupt our whole school for a week just for the first session. Nettelhorst is a Fine and Performing Arts Magnet School where most of our teachers are progressive educators. Our students’ days are filled with creation, invention, and wonder. It is the type of school that any wise parent would want for a child. Many at the school believe that disrupting our school lives for the sake of a test we do not agree with is robbing our children of precious time that would otherwise be filled with the important and fulfilling learning we hold dear.

Third, most of the teachers and many of the parents at our school have a strong social justice framework in their approach to schooling and community life. We find the amount of time it will take for our students with disabilities and the lack of accommodations for our students who are beginning to speak English unjust. Insisting that all students take a grade level test no matter where their level of functioning, administering a test on computer to our students with learning disabilities instead of a paper and pencil exam with their clearly stated accommodations honored, and a participating in a test that is created to fail most of our students is indefensible.

In short, we are standing up to the harm and disruption the PARCC will cause as members of a community that cares deeply for the emotional and academic welfare of all of our children.

The parents, teachers, and students at Nettelhorst worked valiantly to reclaim our school into a space that is lovely in a system that gives very little support to its schools. Now, we want to reclaim the time our students are given in this space. It belongs to us.

What do you think? Is it time to opt out of these tests?

Michelle Strater Gunderson is a 28 year teaching veteran who teaches first grade in the Chicago Public Schools. She is a doctoral student at Loyola University in Curriculum and Instruction.

The featured image is by a Nettlehorst student. Michelle Gunderson says: “Nettelhorst School is a fine and performing arts school where music and art are interwoven into the students’ daily learning.”