The school should notify you about your child’s test results within a reasonable amount of time after the school receives the scores.  Parents should carefully review their child’s results and make sure they understand the scores, keeping in mind that standardized tests have limitations and cannot tell the whole story of how a child is doing in school.

You have a right to see a copy of the test your child took and which questions she or he got wrong.  Contact your school district’s testing coordinator.  Your principal should have the contact information for this person.

Parents have the right to challenge test questions that they think are unclear, unfair or have more than one correct answer.

Your child’s school is required to develop an individual education plan for any student who is not performing on grade level.  This plan should specify what type of assistance the student needs to make improvement.

Students who score below grade level should be given other opportunities to retake the test.  The school should provide these students with additional instruction and help during or after the school day, on Saturdays, or in summer school.

If the student still scores below grade level on the second or third retest, teachers and parents can request a promotion from a review committee made up of teachers and a principal from another school.  The teacher should provide documentation—student work samples, test data and other information—to the committee.  The committee will make a recommendation for or against promotion to the principal, who will make the final decision.

If your child still does not perform at grade level and the teacher recommends retention, you can appeal the decision to a school review committee.  Parents and guardians have the right to be non-voting participants in the review process and may speak on behalf of their child.  The appeals process will end with a decision by the principal.