Potential Effects of Opting Out of/Refusing to Take
State and Local Academic Assessments
Information for School Administrators
State and Federal law require students to be assessed for a multitude of reasons. Parents may
elect to opt their students out of the various assessments; however, there are ramifications and
consequences for the student, school and district when those decisions are made. Parents
should be made aware of all possible ramifications when opting their child out of assessments.
For your assistance when visiting with parents, listed below are just some of these
consequences.
A. General
●The most significant consequence of opting a student out of the various assessments is the
negative effect it will have on a teacher’s ability to gauge where their students are at and how
instruction should be adapted to meet student needs.
● Each assessment serves a unique role in supporting your student’s growth throughout their
school years.
●In the majority of schools and districts statewide, there are eligibility requirements that must be
met in order to participate in supplemental programs. These supplemental programs can include
afterschool programming, summer school programming, or preschool programming. In many
cases, students are assessed and the results of those assessments determine whether or not
they are eligible to participate in these supplemental programs. Using assessment criteria is a
way to ensure that these extra services are first made available to those students who need them
the most. If opting out of testing, parents should determine if they may be limiting their child from
participation in quality supplemental programs that will help the child to succeed .
●We believe that it is in the best interest of all students to participate in each assessment, since
they carry academic and sometimes financial benefits.
B. North Dakota State Assessment
●Within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), one of the requirements is that
there will be a state assessment for all students grades 3-8 and 11. School districts are held
accountable to assess all students and report out on the achievement and participation
results. The State Education Agency creates an Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) report for
every school and district that highlights the results of the state assessment. In addition to
reporting the results in reading/language arts and mathematics, the report also indicates whether
the school or district had at least 95% of their students participate in the state assessment at the
composite and subgroup levels. This regulation was put into place to ensure that all students,
even those with a disability, those who have limited English proficiency, or those living in poverty
are assessed to hold schools accountable for their education of all children. Schools and districts
who are not able to demonstrate that 95% of their students participated in the state assessment
will consequently not make AYP as a school or district. Schools and districts that do not make
AYP are identified for program improvement and must meet a number of sanctions as identified
on the chart which can be accessed at www.dpi.state.nd.us/title1/progress/schoolconsqnce.pdf
●On February 27, 2015, the USDE provided states with flexibility to freeze AYP calculations for
one year due to the fact that states will be administering a new State Assessment in the spring of
2015. However, in order to hold schools and districts accountable for ensuring that all students
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participate in the state assessment, the freeze in AYP calculations does not apply to any school
or district that cannot demonstrate that 95% of their students were assessed.
●Non-participation in the NDSA reduces the ability of your student’s teachers and schools to
accurately measure his/her achievement of key learning goals and growth against commonly
understood benchmarks of success. Without the measures provided by the NDSA, schools lose
an important tool in monitoring your student’s progress in terms of these benchmarks of success
and in providing additional education supports, as required.
●The loss of your student’s results will also diminish your school’s ability to improve the quality of
instruction for all students within your school and school district.
●Your schools may be required to redirect the use of certain federal funding if a school’s
participation rate drops below 95%. A state, district or school does not lose funding for not having
95% of their students tested, but the funding they receive must be used for certain actions leaving
less local discretion.
●This restricted use of funding would affect certain support programs within schools. Every
student’s participation matters greatly.
C. Local Interim Assessments
●Non-participation in interim assessments removes an important measurement tool of actual
student classroom performance.
●Without the objective, reliable information that the interim assessment provides, teachers cannot
adequately determine the full extent of a student’s growth.
●This loss of information produces a blind spot for schools in adequately understanding whether
a student is accessing or understanding the grade-level material.
●Teachers lose an important means of measuring true student growth, for both advanced and
struggling learners.
●Teachers use this information to plan lessons and individualized instruction for each student.
D. ACT and WorkKeys Assessments
● ACT or WorkKeys scores are required for college admission. Non-participation in the State ACT
or the WorkKeys assessments would require a student to assume the full cost of either of these
assessments if the student were to later pursue college or career training admission.
● Non-participation would remove that student’s eligibility from receiving state-funded college or
career special scholarships, which require participation in these assessments for grant
consideration.
E. College and Scholarships
●North Dakota Century Code requires certain benchmarks be reached on certain state required
tests in order to be eligible for scholarships. Legislators have stood firm in their requirement that a
student receive a desired score on the assessments before they receive scholarship money.
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●The North Dakota University System (NDUS) has certain requirements for admission and
placement in our state colleges and universities. Those requirements are based in large part on
the assessment results of students. Other state’s college systems have these same admission
and placement requirements based on assessment scores.
●In order for students to participate in the State Scholarship program (NDCC 15.1-21), the
students must participate in certain assessments and obtain an eligible score. Students who are
not assessed are not eligible to apply for a scholarship.
●For any student that intends to go to college after high school, they must participate in certain
assessments that will be used to determine acceptance and/or placement into certain remedial
courses.
F. Title and Special Education Programs
●The Title I program is built to assist students who need extra help. It is determined that they
need extra help by securing hard, undisputable data verified through assessments. Schools must
continue assessing them to determine if the program is helping and is raising achievement.
Parents who elect to opt their child out of these assessments need to understand that their child
is then not eligible for Title I services because evidence won’t be available to either prove
eligibility or demonstrate improvement as required by law.
●In order for students to receive Title I and Special Education services, they must first be
assessed. The results of the multiple assessments will determine whether students meet the
criteria and are eligible for supplemental services within one or both of these federal programs.
● Each local school district must determine which multiple assessments they will use in their Title
I program to determine eligibility and to continue to monitor the progress of Title I students in
order to ensure all students are learning regardless of their challenges. Once those assessments
are selected, the district and school must use the same, uniform assessment for all
students. Uniform assessments must be used within the program to ensure equality and
consistency. (Public Law 107-110)
●In 1975, Congress passed Public Law 94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act), now
codified as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). States must develop and implement
policies that assure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities. The
state plans must be consistent with the federal statute, Title 20 United States Code Section 1400
et.seq. (20 USC 1400) http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-89/pdf/STATUTE-89-Pg773.pdf.
G. Finally
● The information received may impact your student’s academic course of study or career
choices for years to come. We encourage you to allow and, indeed, support your student’s full
and meaningful participation in each assessment, to ensure a well-rounded educational
experience.
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