Defending the Early Years in partnership with United Opt Out
DEY has collaborated with United Opt Out to produce this important resource for parents of young children.
For more than a decade, federal education policies have expanded testing within our public schools, including in many preschools. Extensive testing is not appropriate for young children.
Young children need to spend their time actively engaging in play and learning through direct experiences with materials, activities, peers and teachers.
Rather than measuring school success by testing, the most reliable approach to assessing young children’s learning is through ongoing observations by skilled teachers and assessments of children’s work over time.
Testing in the early years contributes to behavior problems, retention and failure.
United Opt Out is a group of parents, educators, students and social activists who are dedicated to the elimination of high stakes testing in public education.
The guide we collaborated on is part of their “Back-to-School Protest Pack” and is specifically geared to parents of young children who are just entering the public school system.
The guide includes many ideas for what parents can do to advocate for their child in the midst of our current testing mania. Please share it far and wide!
