Opt-Out of MSAs Petition Started by Anne Arundel County Parents

In Anne Arundel County several middle schools eliminated all ability groupings this year—without parents' knowledge and consent—and heterogeneously grouped all students in what they claim are all “advanced” classes. Superintendent Kevin Maxwell refuses to even answer our letters of concern and the Anne Arundel Board of Education refuses to get involved. So we are organizing county-wide MSA opt-outs. We hope to present the initial list of signatures at this Wednesday’s Anne Arundel Board of Education meeting. We believe that every child deserves an opportunity to achieve his/her academic potential and that advanced students are currently being denied this opportunity. 

Why not go state wide with this effort? Here’s the email we are using to gather support.

Petitioners and Friends:

This coming Wednesday, November 16, at 7 p.m., Anne Arundel Board of Education, 2644 Riva Rd., Annapolis, we will present Superintendent Kevin Maxwell and the Board of Education with a group letter of intent that will include the names of parents who do not want the Maryland Student Assessments (MSAs) administered to their children next March. If you would like to join us in having your name listed in this letter, please reply to this email and let me know by this Wednesday morning, November 16. Be sure to indicate which school your child attends, as this is a county-wide effort. I will email the letter to those listed at noon on Wednesday for final review before it is distributed that evening.
Here is how the letter will read:

The undersigned hereby notify Dr. Kevin Maxwell, Superintendent, Anne Arundel County Schools, and the Anne Arundel County Board of Education that their children shall not be administered the Maryland Student Assessments (MSAs) for the 2011–2012 school year.  We take this position for the following reasons:  (a) Without any input from or dialogue with parents, this school administration instituted heterogeneous groupings at various schools throughout the county, thereby eliminating the necessity of placement testing at these schools; (b) Neither the school administration nor the Board of Education has indicated any willingness to reconsider its position despite countywide concerns expressed by parents and research that clearly support those concerns; (c) There is literally no benefit to the students from undergoing the rigors of the MSAs in light of heterogeneous grouping.

I know that many of you have been pushing for this action for awhile. We have gone through the proper channels to make our concerns known and we have been ignored. I hope you will join me in sending a strong message to Dr. Maxwell and the Board of Education in a language they will no doubt understand.

Karen Colburn
kcolburn  @  colburnhouse.com