Q: Parents are starting a testing "opt out" movement in our district. Some are against Common Core. Others feel their kids are test-stressed. Don't we need measures to know what kids are really learning? Why can't those who mandate the tests explain this better?

A: Several issues fuel the opt-out movement; too many tests is one of them. Others include contradictory policy decisions, political posturing, misinformation about the Common Core (no, it's not a federal mandate), parents' fears that kids are being pushed too far and teachers' worries that over-testing drains the joy from school.

One Florida educator told me recently, "Testing and the prep that goes with it will eat up 80 out of 180 school days this year. That's just crazy."

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has acknowledged these concerns. He favors limits on testing, but told Florida civic leaders that when parents refuse to let their kids take statewide exams, "it robs educators of a means to measure progress and understanding of what our children know and don't know."

If your district has too many tests, it could choose well-designed ones that provide good data and use that information to improve teaching. Some states and districts are even starting to cut back. Palm Beach County, Florida, for instance, eliminated 55 tests this year.

Parents should push lawmakers and districts to take a good look at which tests matter and drop those that don't, says Bill Jackson, founder and president of GreatSchools, an organization that helps parents get a solid education for their children.

"Parents are smart," he says. "They know that test scores can't capture many of the qualities of a good school. But scores from a well-designed standardized test do tell you if the school is focused on the basics of reading and math. They offer a very simple, objective way of comparing two schools that may not have much else in common. If a parent finds that their school has a high percentage of students who are meeting state standards, that gives them something very valuable: peace of mind."

States also need to prepare parents if the test scores based on new assessments are likely to be lower than previous years, notes Jackson. The new tests "are a more accurate reflection of what students know and can do than past exams, and the results are more useful to classroom teachers."

Jackson applauds Kentucky, an early adopter of higher standards and new tests, for doing a good job of getting these messages out.

It's worth noting, says Jackson, that a "new report from the American Institutes for Research shows that students in Kentucky are making faster progress than students in states that haven't adopted the Common Core."

He advises parents to do their own homework. Start with the online resources below and those created by your state.

-- Common Core State Standards Initiative: corestandards.org/what-parents-should-know

-- Student Achievement Partners: achievethecore.org

-- Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers: parcconline.org

-- Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: smarterbalanced.org

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My daughter's fourth-grade teacher asked the class to bring in favorite poems to share. At the end of the month, parents are invited to help publish a poetry anthology for each kid to take home. I was like, really? With the big push on STEM subjects and Common Core math and nonfiction reading, they're doing poetry?

A: Please tell your son's teacher I'm a fan. Really! Kids love reading, reciting and writing poetry. It's good to hear that with all the test-prep stress, some teachers still pause to celebrate National Poetry Month in April.

And why not? Poetry lends itself to several English/language arts literacy standards for close reading and narrative writing. Research shows that poetry helps students develop an ear for the sounds and rhythms of words.

Teachers have long held that being exposed to poetry in the early years can foster a lasting appreciation of language. Literacy expert Mem Fox thinks that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they're 4 years old, they're usually among the best readers by the time they're 8.

Fox says, "Rhymers will be readers; it's that simple."

The study of poems has been an enduring staple in American textbooks, says New York-based education editor Nancy Hereford.

"The earliest McGuffey Readers contained poems, as well as essays and speeches," she says. "For decades, students were required to study and memorize certain poems chosen to enrich a sense of history, or to hone memory and oral language skills."

In addition, poetry is fun for kids. Pop culture is packed with poetry in song lyrics. Poems promote word play and painlessly introduce new vocabulary. They can inspire reluctant students to read and write. Poems can also illuminate great moments in history and help students think about topics in new ways.

Creative teachers are designing Common Core standards-aligned reading and writing lessons around poems from such a wide range of authors as Odgen Nash, Shel Silverstein, Walt Whitman and Maya Angelou. To find standards that invite the study of poetry, go to corestandards.org or achievethecore.org and search "poetry."

So find time for rhyme with your daughter. Libraries have great poetry collections for kids that are readily available this month. Two well-known authors of poetry for children, Lee Bennett Hopkins and Jack Prelutsky, have edited dozens of rich anthologies on a range of topics -- from pets and farm animals to American history, math, baseball, space travel, seasons and city streets. The series "Poetry for Young People" (Sterling Publishers) introduces kids to poets including Robert Frost, Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson.

Want to polish your math and reading skills? "Edgar Allan Poe's Pie" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), a collection of brainteaser poems by J. Patrick Lewis, reimagines classic poems with math puzzler twists.

Pore over these poetry collections with your daughter and you'll both be ready for "Poem in Your Pocket Day" on April 30. (For more information, go to poets.org/national-poetry-month.)

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I'm a parent organizer of our elementary school's Earth Day celebration. This year the event falls during testing, so schoolwide activities are difficult to schedule. I want to send home activities, so parents can increase kids' awareness of their obligation to our planet. Any suggestions?

A: When the late Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson launched the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, it was called an "environmental teach-in" to raise awareness of the need for cleaner air and water. While the media focused on the day itself, he was more interested in a sustained effort. He wanted local leaders to schedule events that worked for their own schools and communities. That spirit still guides the celebration.

If testing falls on Earth Day (April 22), the folks at the Green Education Foundation have suggested celebrating National Green Week anytime from Feb. 2 through May 2. They provide free learning materials created by top educators and subject-area experts in fields such as green architecture and sustainable energy.

These lessons, projects and activities can be used for whole-school events, individual classrooms, families or youth groups, covering green themes such as Sustainable Transportation, Energy, Gardening, Waste Reduction, Sustainable Water and Green Building. Accompanying each theme you'll find recommended reading suggestions, sustainability tips and a challenge for young learners. Go to greeneducationfoundation.org.

You could combine your Earth Day and Arbor Day (April 24) celebrations. "It's important for kids to learn the important role of trees in our daily lives -- how they provide shade and wind breaks, cool our climate and clean our air -- and what care trees need to thrive," says Iowa garden writer and arborist Luke Miller. "Planting a tree that is suitable for your region offers enduring lessons. Choose a site easily accessible, so kids can water the tree and observe and measure its growth over time."

The Arbor Day Foundation offers a free downloadable Nature Explore Families' Club Kit with field-tested resources designed to help you organize a Families' Club at your school or in your neighborhood. The kit helps connect families with the outdoors and introduces them to a variety of natural spaces in the community. Go to natureexplore.org/families/FamiliesClub.cfm.

Award-winning children's nonfiction author Sandra Markle wants families to know that by participating in these activities, "they are really part of a powerful global movement."

She cites the work of SavingSpecies, which she calls "a great organization with worldwide efforts to save habitat and thus wildlife."

Markle mentions one activity the group is working on: "School groups in Brazil are involved in raising native trees from seeds to saplings and helping with a reforestation project that will help save golden lion tamarins, an endangered monkey." (Follow her research on this project at sandra-markle.blogspot.com.)

In addition, families can add high-quality books with environmental themes to bedtime reading. Ask your librarian for suggestions, or look for titles on these lists: the Green Earth Book Awards (Nature Generation); Growing Good Kids Book Awards (American Horticultural Society); Outstanding Science Trade Books (National Science Teachers Association); Excellence in Science Books (American Association for the Advancement of Science); Green Reads (PBS Parents); and the Riverby Award List of Nature Books for Young Readers (John Burroughs Association).

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)