Opting Out

“I am pleased to endorse this very important and informative book about the origins, the goals, and the accomplishments of the parent-led Opt Out Movement in New York. The public needs to know why parents like Jeanette Deutermann and Lisa Rudley devoted their time to fighting the testing regime. It needs to know how pointless the tests are. It needs to understand how a small group of parents, without financial support, were able to persuade the parents of about 200,000 students to join them in refusing to submit their children to tests that lasted for hours and had no diagnostic value whatever for the students. They and the other leaders of this movement are heroes of our age.”

Diane Ravitch, Research Professor of Education, New York University Founder and President of the Network for Public Education (NPE)

“Opting Out documents one of the most important movements in education today. It helps us answer a crucial question: Can communities act back against the standardized testing regimes that dominate our schools? By centering the voices of community members who are actively engaged in acting back against these policies and practices, Opting Out provides us with a sense of real possibilities.”

Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin, Madison, author of The Struggle for Democracy in Education

“The Opt-Out movement has achieved unimaginable success given the pressure many schools place on parents to submit their child for testing. This parent led grass-roots movement is driven by dissatisfaction with educational reforms that rely on test-based accountability, and with the increased role of ‘edu-businesses’ and corporations in schools. This powerful book highlights the power of moms organizing with educators to push back against the state to take back our schools and re-establish the purpose of schools for democracy.”

Sheila Macrine, Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

“Faced with a truly awful testing regime in schools, and with policy makers not listening, New York State’s fledging Opt Out organisations seemed to have little chance. This book recounts, often drawing on the authors’ personal experiences, how they mobilised and turned the tide. Crucially, Opt Out not only resisted but also sought to articulate progressive alternatives. We need such accounts of contesting neo-liberal educational reforms more than ever. A really inspiring and informative book for all who fight for public education around the globe.”

Martin Thrupp, Professor of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand

“…the authors have crafted a compelling activist’s handbook that parents, teachers, and other educational stakeholders will find useful as they set out on similar activist journeys. Importantly, it can offer hope in the face of resistance… I agree with the authors that “the opt-out movement can provide a model for how to work politically to develop more democratic, humane and equitable educational institutions and society” (p. 22). Anyone interested in seeking that future will find Opting Out helpful, inspiring, and informative.”

Review excerpt by Stephanie Schroeder for Teachers College Record, ID No.: 23839, 9-10-21

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Amy Stuart Wells

Chapter One: Becoming Activists

Chapter Two: The Rise of High-Stakes Testing and the Opt-Out Movement: A Brief History

Chapter Three: Organizing to Resist the Common Core State Tests

Chapter Four: Technology: Promise or Peril?

Chapter Five: Beyond the Opt-Out Movement: Current Challenges and the Future

Resources

About the Authors

Index

David Hursh

David Hursh began fighting for democratic schools when he was a university undergraduate, much of which is described in High-stakes Testing: The Decline of Teaching and Learning. He has written over 100 journal articles and book chapters on topic including social studies, teaching about environmental health, action research, and higher education.

Jeanette Deutermann

Jeanette Deutermann is the founder of Long Island Opt Out and co-founder of NYS Allies for Public Education. She has been named on the Long Island Press top 50 Power List in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and has received “Woman of Distinction,” “Woman Trailblazer,” and Bellmore/Merrick Central HS “Friend of Education” awards.

Lisa Rudley

Lisa Rudley is a founding member and volunteer executive director of NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE). She currently lives in Briarcliff Manor, New York, with her family. She serves as the President of the Ossining School District board and is a Senior Account Executive at Passport for Good. Lisa holds an MBA from Fordham University.

Zhe Chen

Zhe Chen is an international student from China pursuing doctoral studies in Teaching & Curriculum at the University of Rochester. She holds two master’s degrees, one in International Education from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the other in Education Policy from University of Rochester.

Sarah McGinnis

Sarah McGinnis earned her bachelor’s degree in Education from Houghton College and completed her Masters in Teaching and Curriculum at the University of Rochester. She has worked to gather (research/ stories/data) around the opt-out movement in New York State.