School Board Votes Against CLAS Tests in Antelope Valley : Education: District is the first in the state to boycott assessment exams. Trustees side with critics who object to secrecy and say some questions are anti-family.

Acting in apparent defiance of the state education code, the Antelope Valley Union High School District in Lancaster has voted not to administer the controversial CLAS tests of student performance, becoming the first school district in California to boycott the exams.

In a 3-2 vote, the district’s board of trustees sided Wednesday night with critics of the California Learning Assessment System, citing security rules that bar the test materials from being publicly reviewed. Board members also said the exams fail to adequately measure student abilities in the basics and inappropriately query students on personal beliefs.

The CLAS exams have come under fire recently from some parents and political groups who contend that the literature portions of the test contain passages that denigrate the family. Critics argue, for example, that in one test question students are asked to defy authority by writing about a school rule they disagree with.

The secrecy issue has also raised concerns. The state Department of Education argues that access to the tests must be limited to ensure its integrity while critics contend that the secrecy is to keep parents from knowing the true contents of the exam.

The Antelope Valley board’s action caught the state Department of Education by surprise.

Joseph R. Symkowick, general counsel for the department, said the education code is clear in requiring that the tests be given at public schools statewide. “We need to look at what that requirement means and what our options are,” he said Thursday.

The California Learning Assessment System was created by the state Legislature at the request of educational reformers in an effort to better gauge the performance of public school students. The exams in reading, writing and math measure student performance against tough statewide standards.

The tests were given for the first time last year, and results released in March portrayed California students as comparing poorly to the new standards, especially in math. The accuracy of the scores, however, has been called into questions by foul-ups involving the methods used by the state to grade the exams.

Under threat of legal action by the conservative United States Justice Foundation, a number of school districts, formally or informally, have given parents the opportunity to exempt students from the exam.

The 3,400-student Beaumont Unified School District in Riverside County agreed earlier this week to pursue legal action against the state. The district wants a definitive statement about its obligation to give the tests and whether the exams pry too far into students’ personal beliefs.

Supt. John Wood said the district will administer the test but is planning legal action because “we believe we’re caught in the middle.”

Trustees for the Santee School District suspended administration of the tests Tuesday, the same day students at three of the district’s 10 schools had started taking it.

James Waters, superintendent of the 8,000-student district in San Diego County, said the board will decide Monday whether to resume testing once members have a chance to read through the CLAS exams, something that the Department of Education recommends against in order to ensure the validity of the exam.

“I think they’re looking at both the content of the literature selections and the questions,” Waters said.

The 8,200-student West Covina Unified School District has also said it will not administer the CLAS test until it has been reviewed by the board of trustees.

“It does not seem reasonable to me to say that the staff of a school district can look at (the test) but the people who are responsible to the community can’t,” said Supt. John F. Costello.

Susie Lange, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said she was aware of about a dozen school districts that are allowing parents to decide if their children should be tested.

It was unclear whether the department will take action against districts that are allowing the exemptions. Symkowick said it will probably be several days before the Department of Education determines how to respond to the Antelope Valley district’s decision.

“There’s no provisions for exemptions, and school districts have a duty to administer the test,” Symkowick said. “We need to huddle on this one.”

The Antelope Valley board did not adopt a resolution stating their reasons for choosing not to give the test. Instead, board President Billy Pricer simply made a motion “not to administer the test,” despite the advice of district legal counsel.

After a long and sometimes raucous hearing Wednesday attended by about 200 people, Pricer’s motion was approved, with trustees Wilda Andrejcik and Bill Olenick dissenting.

Olenick urged the board to administer the test and allow parents to decide whether their children should take it. Andrejcik simply urged the board to “be obedient to the law.”

The decision of the Antelope Valley district pleased some parents but angered others. On Thursday, some parents and teachers were looking into the possibility of seeking an injunction to have the decision reversed, and others who were considering mounting a recall campaign against the board president.

“You represent all of us,’ Joanne Opdahl, the parent of a high school junior, told the board during the hearing. “not just the people in the back of the room.”

Gary Kreep, executive director of the United States Justice Foundation, said the exams violate state law by asking students questions about their personal beliefs without first notifying parents and seeking their written permission. State officials deny that any parental consent is required for the exams.

Two weeks ago Kreep appeared at an Antelope Valley board meeting with a chapter director from the Eagle Forum of California, part of a nationwide conservative women’s group headed by Phyllis Schlafly. He threatened to sue the 12,600-student district if it did not seek parental consent before administering the exam.

If the Department of Education sues the high school district, Kreep said the foundation will offer an attorney to assist in the defense.

The Justice Foundation has filed lawsuits against three districts in Riverside County and two in Santa Barbara County. In the coming days, Kreep said he will file suits against 10 San Diego County school districts and three in Los Angeles County.

On Thursday, another conservative group, the Rutherford Institute, sought a temporary restraining order to stop six San Bernardino County school districts from giving the test.

Brad Dacus, an attorney and western regional coordinator for the institute, said the test “is a violation of parents’ right to privacy and religious liberty.”