As opposition to standardized tests continues to rise among parents, students, and especially teachers, some Pennsylvania parents exempted their kids from testing based on their religious objections.
But while state law allows faith-based opt-outs, the actual reasons given by parents seemed political, rather than religious.
“Funding is tied to the scores, so not only are the teachers penalized for poor grades, but really the children are expected to perform like trained seals to earn the money for their schools,” said Pennsylvania parent Jennifer Jablunovsky in a statement to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Other parents stressed that poor test performances resulted in funding losses for the school districts, and would exacerbate socioeconomic gaps — an affront to the religious concept of social justice.
Evidently, religious objections to the math and reading tests run stronger than objections to the science test. More parents opted their kids out of math and reading tests than science tests in most Pennsylvania school districts.
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires that students take the test at least once a year — and that an increasing percentage of students pass. In Pennsylvania, the statewide exam also accounts for 30 percent of each teacher’s job performance evaluation. The growing trend of tying teacher pay to objective measures like students’ test scores is vexing to teachers unions, which unilaterally oppose testing.
“We think it’s a healthy conversation to have — whether or not standardized tests are over emphasized in this country’s educational system,” said Pennsylvania teachers union president Wythe Keever.
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