On Tuesday, while the Connecticut Education Association and the Connecticut Federation of teachers held a 500-person rally pushing their anti-accountability agenda, just next door students had a very different message for state legislators.

A group of urban students and parents organized by Youth Unleashed and the Connecticut Parents Union held a press conference in the state capitol, calling for the start of an “opt-in” movement.

Readers may be familiar with the anti-testing “opt-out” movement which has recently made headlines. The two dozen students and parents in attendance on Tuesday would like to see that trend reversed — and with good reason.

As New Haven High School student Jaz Sheppard put it to the Connecticut Mirror, “How are you supposed to hold schools accountable if you have the tests? Are we supposed to go on what the principal says?”

While some at the union rally have called the SBAC tests “pointless,” parents at the press conference argued that without testing data they would be unable to hold schools accountable.

“Educational testing, like other forms of auditing our public institutions is a way for the public to examine the actual data underlying an unequal society,” read the press release.

“For urban communities, accountability is the bottom line to ensure all schools are safe and every Connecticut student is receiving equitable access to high standards and expectations for learning.”

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