Governor Signs School Testing Reduction Bill Into Law
DENVER (CBS4)- Students in Colorado will spend less time taking standardized tests thanks to a bill signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday morning.
The debate over the effectiveness of student testing has erupted in Colorado this past year. There have been several protests at the state Capitol over the amount of time students spend taking tests and preparing for the tests.
People packed the Lakewood Heritage Center Wednesday morning as Hickenlooper prepared to sign House Bill 15-1323.
The new law, which will apply to the upcoming school year will:
· Eliminate all state-mandated tests in 12th grade
· Eliminate state-mandated tests in 11th grade except for the ACT college entrance exam. Students will also have the option to take the writing section of the ACT, which many colleges require
· Replace PARCC testing in 10th grade with an ACT prep test to help students better prepare for college
· Maintain English Language Arts and math tests in grades 3-9 to measure student growth and help parents make informed decisions about which school is right for their child
· Ensure that schools and districts don't impose negative consequences, like barring participation in extracurricular activities, on students whose parents decide to excuse them from a statewide test
· Allow districts to participate in a phased pilot program to implement alternative assessments that could replace statewide testing after approval from the Department of Education, State Board of Education and the General Assembly
· Allow local education providers to combine parts of the READ Act and school readiness testing to reduce testing in kindergarten
· Allow districts to provide a paper-and-pencil option for all tests
· Provide more information directly to parents about federal, state and local assessments and the amount of time their child spends testing
· Clarify that English Language Learners are not required to take ELA assessment during their first 12 months in US schools and that their scores through the second year do not count towards teacher, school or district performance
Lawmakers say the bill involved about a year of work and research. Passing the bill ultimately required compromises.
Just before signing the bill into law, Hickenlooper said this time, Colorado got it right. He said this legislation was probably one of the most important this session.
"This is something that if we hadn't gotten it done it probably would have been worth calling a late session just because it's that important. Parents, teachers, communities... everybody cared about it," said Hickenlooper.
LINKS: House Bill 1323 | House Bill 56
