Angela Engel: It’s time parents opt their students out of CMAS and standardized testing for good
Education advocate Angela Engel wrote an op-ed for the Pueblo Chieftain arguing that this is the year that Colorado parents should opt out of the state’s Big Standardized Test.
We’re in the midst of a deadly pandemic, students have faced countless learning disruptions. They’ve had to acclimate to new and inferior modes of online teaching. Over the past year they have been separated from their peer groups and isolated from their friends.
Socialization is critical in the early stages of human development and the most important variable for late adolescents and teens. Quarantine conditions require vigilant attention to the mental health of our children and saying “no” to high-stakes testing is one area where we can reduce the pressures student are already feeling.