The McNeil article delves into the protestors opposed to high-stakes testing.\u00a0 She sees the majority of the people who are against these tests being teachers, students and parents.22<\/sup>\u00a0These groups are voicing their opinion about the test by refusing to take and distribute the tests, even if they are mandatory.22<\/sup>\u00a0For instance, during this year’s testing period, teachers in Seattle high schools decided collectively to not distribute the tests.22\u00a0<\/sup>Another protest involved a coalition of parents, teachers, students and organized groups joining together and dressing up as zombies as a way to protest the tests.22<\/sup>\u00a0The zombies were indicative of the death of the educational system and the impact that the tests have on the students who are being forced to take them as a measurement of their abilities.22<\/sup><\/p>\n The Reid article focuses on the strategy of opting out that organizations opposed to high-stakes testing are spreading to parents.\u00a0 Opting out is when parents refuse to allow their children to take the high-stakes tests. The point of this type of protest is to get a large number of people to follow along in order to draw the attention of policymakers to change the law surrounding these tests.23<\/sup>\u00a0Recently, the push toward opting out resulted in high-profile boycotts and the establishment of meetings in the large school districts of cities, such as Chicago.23\u00a0<\/sup>For instance, two teachers in Chicago refused to hand out the tests to their students and will be facing disciplinary action.23<\/sup>\u00a0Opting out has also resulted in problems, because only some states in the country have created guidelines pertaining to parents’ and children\u2019s rights to refuse to take the tests.23<\/sup>\u00a0For example, in California, parents have to opt their children out of the test, while in Illinois and New York, the children must decide to not take the test, as the parents do not have a say in the matter; however, to indicate they are against the test, some parents have their children wear signs on their shirts stating, \u201cI refuse.\u201d23<\/sup><\/p>\n In conclusion, both of these articles address the sheer number of people who are opposed to high stakes testing and strategies such as opting out of the test. \u00a0Despite the coalitions of parents, students, teachers and organizations working to stop high-stakes testing in public schools, there is a larger issue here, which is that, under the \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d (NCLB), policy, each school must have at least 95% of its students take the test, and any school that fails to meet this policy will be justification for academic intervention.22&23\u00a0<\/sup>If a school is under academic intervention and does not have Title one funds, their punishment is under state jurisdiction, however for the schools that rely on those funds, they could be required to inform the public, create an improvement plan or allow students to transfer.22&23<\/sup>\u00a0 Either way, the students, school and administration suffer.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/p>\n 32<\/sup><\/p>\n Rifts Deepen Over Direction of Education Policy in U.S.<\/a> by Michele McNeil22<\/sup><\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-2272-fall-2014-adrake\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2014\/12\/Screen-Shot-2014-12-08-at-12.28.27-PM-300x112.png\")
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