SPI Torlakson suggests districts assume role in some statewide testing
A white paper on the future of K-12 testing in California public schools, suggests some lower stakes assessments could be managed by local educational agencies instead of the state as a means of saving money.
A white paper on the future of K-12 testing in California public schools, suggests some lower stakes assessments could be managed by local educational agencies instead of the state as a means of saving money.
The report, issued late last week from state schools chief Tom Torlakson, proposed the efficiency in light of coming national assessments that will calibrate student performance year to year and that could also be administered using new computer systems – both ideas that will add significant cost to the state's current testing budget.
Although Torlakson is required to make recommendations to the Legislature on reauthorizing the statewide testing system by Nov. 1 this year – the testing report seeks only to frame the debate, raising a number of policy questions and while providing some answers, it stops short of mapping a clear path.
The report was released as part of an agenda item coming before the California State Board of Education next week, where the discussion is expected to inform and direct the coming recommendations to lawmakers.
There are a number of reasons that Torlakson and the Brown administration would want to take their time in considering the next steps in retooling the state's assessment program.
The current system was originally designed in the mid-1990s with an update in 2001 to accommodate adoption of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The centerpiece of the existing system, the Standardized Testing and Reporting