Spring break is over and kids are heading back to school.  Students, teachers, and parents that are in grades 3-8 in New York State will begin the high-stakes testing on Tuesday. Of course, my sixth grader will be refusing the tests for the third year in a row.

Quite simply, my son is more than a score and he deserves an authentic public school education that is not all test prep. If things do not change within the next year, I will refuse the tests for my younger son in 2016. Watching recent events unfold in New York has been especially difficult for me. This isn’t simply an attack on the education for my children, this is my career. While I may not be in a classroom right now, I am still a teacher. My colleagues and friends are in the trenches right now dealing this first hand. I want to be able to go back and teach one day, and with the current environment it will not be possible.

Here are two songs to lighten up the mood a bit.

If you have any questions about Refusing the tests in NYS, please feel free to email me Beth @ OptOutAlbany.com. I have many resources and will point you in the right directions to get answers if I do not have them. Remember, it is NOT too late to refuse the test. Please help children across NYS by refusing the powers that be the data they need to destroy and privatize public education.