Opting OUT OF CAASPP
On May 9, Principal Mitzi Cress released an email to students and parents detailing an incident that occurred a day earlier, in which Peninsula students found flyers on their car windshields encouraging them to opt out of the California Assessment of
Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Test. These flyers were also found on the cars of Palos Verdes High School students that same day.
“Do not be deceived by the opinions coming from those who are not professionally responsible for the daily education of your
sons and daughters,” Cress said in the email. “I can tell you they do not represent our school or school district and do not have your best interests in mind. I can assure you that the upcoming CAASPP testing affords several potential benefits to students and serves as an important metric of our efforts in working with them.”
The CAASPP is a test annually administered to juniors in California in order to assess the academic ability of the states’ student bodies. According to the California Department of Education, the STAR system’s focus was on academic prowess and knowledge while the CAASPP evaluates new standards that emphasize analytical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. However, California state law allows all students the opportunity to opt out of state mandated standardized testing.
Some students, such as junior Jonathan McGinn, have chosen this option. Although some parents considered opting their child out of the CAASPP, in the end only 24 students out of 637 juniors actually opted out (3.77%).
“I opted out of the CAASPP because I disagree with making the test harder if you get answers right or easier if you get answers wrong,” McGinn said. “It does not seem fair, and it keeps it from being a
standardized test.”
Students who wanted to defer from taking the CAASPP did so by having their parents send a letter to the principal asking for their child to be exempted from testing.
“I am happy to speak with [anyone] about the facts of CAASPP testing, which in this case, are not to be found on the windshield of a car,” Cress said.
