This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.
‘Tis the season for standardized testing at public schools across the country, as school districts gear up for statewide testing that provides a glimpse into how and what students are learning. The season is not typically met with happy anticipation by most students and teachers; in fact, the mood may better be described as anxiety and even trepidation. In a few areas of the nation, students and teachers are taking matters into their own hands, organizing boycotts of tests that some say are a waste of valuable instruction hours and an inaccurate gauge of how well schools are teaching and students are learning.
Portland Opts Out
With the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) examinations looming in Portland, some students decided that enough was enough when it came to the statewide testing process. Members of the Portland Student Union launched an opt-out campaign to protest the examinations with a district-wide boycott by students. According to reports at the time, members of the student union encouraged other students to boycott the examinations by opting out on test days.
In 2026, OAKS has been replaced by the Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS). The Oregon Department of Education provides current assessment administration information and opt-out forms for Oregon families.
This video reports the situation with Portland students protesting standardized tests.
The ideas of the boycott began to circulate when two different Portland Student Unions got together and realized they shared a common concern involving the state examinations. The students involved in the unions began educating themselves on the impact a boycott of the testing might have on the schools involved. The students also familiarized themselves with the opt-out process, in order to let other students know how to officially remove themselves from the standardized tests.
“We are choosing to opt-out of the OAKS tests as they are tests that directly waste class time, and are used as a form of evaluation of our schools,” the group organizing the opt-out was quoted as saying at the time. The group compared OAKS to other standardized testing that provided the same purpose for assessing student learning, but also provided benefits to students, such as college entrance examinations. The group stated, “These tests are beneficial to students in comparison to the OAKS test that literally has zero benefit to students.”
The debate over opting out has continued well beyond the original Portland protest. Public School Review's New York City Schools: High Opt-Outs For Standardized Tests examines similar concerns involving testing, student stress, and test refusal.
State Testing Requirements
At the time of the original article, Oregon mandated testing for students every year from third grade through eighth grade. The state also tested students in 11th grade, and scores from those exams were used to test student proficiency for graduation from high school. The only exemptions allowed for opt-outs at the time included religious or disability-related reasons. Opt-outs required a parent’s written authorization.
In 2026, Oregon public schools continue to test students in English language arts and mathematics in grades 3 through 8 and 11, as well as science in grades 5, 8 and 11. However, Oregon law now permits parents or guardians and adult students to annually opt out of statewide summative English language arts and mathematics assessments.
With standardized testing used in Oregon as a means of assessing student achievement, some students, parents, and teachers have expressed concern that a widespread boycott of the tests could impact schools and accountability measures. However, the student union asserted that there were many other ways for students to demonstrate proficiency in core subjects, including Advanced Placement examinations and college exams like the ACT and SAT. Because science was not a requirement for graduation in Oregon at the time, students would also not need standardized testing in this area to meet graduation proficiency.
Public School Review's Standardized Tests in 2025: What Parents & Educators Must Know provides additional context on how standardized testing policies and practices have evolved.
Portland Follows on Heels of Seattle Boycott
Portland schools were not the first to propose a boycott of standardized testing that year. Teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle announced they would not be administering Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) testing to their students. The boycott was voted on unanimously by teachers at the school, who claimed the tests were wasting valuable class time, as well as staffing resources and money.
Here is a report on the Seattle situation.
“We at Garfield are not against accountability or demonstrating student progress,” Garfield teacher Jesse Hagopian was quoted as saying at the time. “We do insist on a form of assessment relevant to what we’re teaching in the classroom. Some of my colleagues would propose replacing the MAP with a test that is aligned to our curriculum.”
MAP testing is done multiple times throughout the year, in order for teachers to gauge the academic progress of students. While these exams were not the state-mandated, high-stakes testing that was getting the attention in Portland, the teachers could face disciplinary action from the school district for their boycott. However, the teachers garnered extensive support from students, parents, and educators in Seattle and across the country.
In 2026, Washington students continue to participate in statewide assessments. The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction states that test refusals affect students, schools, and districts, and schools or districts falling below a 95 percent participation rate can jeopardize eligibility for certain state or federal awards or recognitions.
The Need for Testing
While many complain about the state of standardized testing today, others argue that while the system is far from perfect, it is better than no assessment of school and student performance whatsoever. Portland Public Schools posted a blog on their website titled, “Standardized Tests are a Key Learning Tool.” The article pointed out that the OAKS tests showed how well students had learned what they needed to in each core subject and how well Portland schools were addressing the needs of students.
The blog also made note of the importance of the OAKS exams because they were an effective way to objectively measure standards across multiple schools. The OAKS tests were just one tool teachers used to assess how well students were learning the subject material.
That basic principle remains part of the national testing system in 2026. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that NAEP administered state-level mathematics and reading assessments to students in grades 4 and 8 in winter 2026, with results expected in winter 2027.
Public School Review's How to Compare Public School Value Beyond Test Scores also examines why standardized test results can provide useful information while representing only one measure of student achievement and school quality.
In this video, John Oliver explains the issue of standardized tests.
The article also seemed to draw a line in the sand for students contemplating participation in the proposed boycott. The website warned that students were required by law to take the examinations unless they qualified for an exemption. It also reminded students that they must have parental permission to opt-out of examinations.
That provision has changed. Oregon's current opt-out process permits parents and guardians, as well as adult students age 18 and older, to opt out annually of statewide summative English language arts and mathematics tests. Students who are excused must be provided supervised study time while other students are testing.
With the battle lines drawn, it was anybody’s guess whether students would follow through with their boycott, and what schools would do if the boycott resulted in the impact students were hoping for. More than a decade later, the debate continues. Public School Review's Parents Refuse Common Core Testing documents how the opt-out movement subsequently expanded beyond the early Portland and Seattle protests.
