militarytesting@yahoo.com
The following letter may be used as a template for use in preparing a letter to your local school superintendent and your state school superintendent, with copies to your local school board and state school board. We can help you. Contact militarytesting@yahoo.com for more information.
Using posts on "My Space" and hastily drawn up flyers, two students at Pepperell HS in Lindale, Georgia organized classmates to resist mandatory ASVAB testing.
Although many school districts that require ASVAB testing do not notify parents, Lakeland High School in Deepwater, Missouri made it a point to tell parents of the testing. Although Lakewood routinely allows recruiters full access to test data, the letter to parents failed to mention the tie-in to the Pentagon or military recruiting services. Lakeland is not unique. This is the case in thousands of schools across the country.
This document contains questions to ask counselors and school officials regarding the administration of the ASVAB at your school. Students under 18 are encouraged to consult with parents before embarking on a campaign to protect the privacy of students who take the ASVAB.
Parent concerns in North Bend, Oregon result in the selection of Option 8 in that school district. Mandatory testing was also halted.
The Raleigh News & Observer reported in 2008 that Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough North Carolina required more than 300 Juniors to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). Although more than a thousand schools require Juniors to take the ASVAB, Cedar Ridge made the news because three students were disciplined for refusing to take the test. After a few weeks of struggle, the school system in Hillsborough stopped requiring the test and selected Option 8 for students who volunteer to take it.
A group of parents in Memphis, Tennessee organized opposition to mandatory ASVAB testing in the Memphis City Public Schools. Although the activists managed to eliminate forced testing of all Juniors, they were unsuccessful in convincing school board members to take steps to protect student privacy. “On the day the resolution was to be voted on, a group of soldiers dressed in combat fatigues marched into the hearing room. Board members, seeing America's might up close, backed down and no vote was taken. The resolution was never reintroduced.”
An update from Memphis TN shows a precipitous drop in the number of test takers in that city after school officials discontinued mandatory ASVAB testing.
A grandmother in Tennessee discovers her grandson has recently taken the ASVAB at a Tennessee public high school.
A guide to working with School Boards: