Looking for Help with Certification Assignment on "Opt-Out" Movement

[LostOne4Ever]

Hello!

I am currently enrolled in a certification program and was looking for some help with an assignment. This assignment is ungraded but I wanted to attempt it anyway so that I could be as ready as I possibly could for Teaching this fall. The assignment is on Standarized Testing and the "Opt-Out" movement.

Now for the assignment, I am supposed to research my State's use of Standardized testing and the "Opt-Out" movement and then after writing the pros and cons state whether I support or oppose the movement. What I would appreciate help with on this assignment is deciding if I want to support this movement or not. From my initial research I have found that it is against standardized testing and is trying to have parents opt out of them to force reform. It looks to be supported by many teacher unions which I generally agree with.

HOWEVER, it is opposed by many civil rights groups including NAACP...who I also greatly support. Apparently, it is mainly made up of upper middle class white people and what it advocates disproportionally hurts poor communities. Especially poor communities made of primarily of minority students.

I am currently set up to start working at a school in a part of Texas that is (while not impoverished) lower on the economic scale than the state average and is made up primarily of Latino students. This makes me worry that the movement could hurt many of the students at my school. Further, I, myself, am both White and middle class. As such, I am aware that I often have blinders of priviledge when it comes to these type of issues. That said, the movement seems like something I would generally support.

I was hoping that some kinda and experienced fellow DU Educators would mind sharing with me their thoughts on the movement. In particular, I would like to hear from Educators with experience teaching in poorer minority schools.

Thank you for any replies!