Disgusted with standardized tests, group of parents shunning them | Seattle Times Newspaper

Danny Westneat | Disgusted with standardized tests, group of parents shunning them | Seattle Times Newspaper:

Disgusted with standardized tests, group of parents shunning them

A rebellion over standardized school testing in the Seattle Hill neighborhood southeast of Everett echoes a larger uprising around the country.

Danny Westneat

Seattle Times staff columnist

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What is wrong with this picture: "Kids take the tests in the spring, but nobody... (April 3, 2012, by gofishnw) MORE

Testing systems are controlled by private contractors who make a lot of money around... (April 3, 2012, by Marie H) MORE

Know what SPS kids are doing for the next 2 weeks. Test prep, pure and simple. What a... (April 3, 2012, by involved) MORE

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The folks in the sprawling suburban developments near Mill Creek and Snohomish insist they are usually rule-following types.

"We didn't go into this looking to start some big rebellion," says Michelle Purcell, a mom of three in the Seattle Hill neighborhood southeast of Everett.

But a rebellion it has become. One that echoes a larger uprising around the country.

The parents of 70 students (and counting) at one elementary school are refusing to have their kids take the standardized tests mandated by the feds under No Child Left Behind.

The no-test protest means that so far about 25