Pennsylvania Students Allowed To Opt Out Of Assessments

The AP (4/8) reports on the "rarely used opt-out provision" for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, noting that Kathy Newman, the mother of a nine-year-old, has "caused a buzz by encouraging others to follow her 'act of civil disobedience.' ... Opting out is extremely unusual in Pennsylvania: Only 260 out of about 932,000 students were excused from the math and reading PSSAs last year; an even lower number opted out of the science exam, according to the state Education Department."