California Should Suspend Some Tests for 2013-14, Tom Torlakson Says
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has proposed suspending several non-No Child Left Behind tests for the 2013-14 school, as part of a proposed overhaul of the state testing system to prepare for the Common Core State Standards.On Jan. 8, Torlakson released his recommendations for changing California's testing regimen. Suspending those tests, which are part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, for the next academic year is among the more prominent ideas—many of the tests that wouldn't be administered next year are end-of-course exams in high school, as well as some 2nd grade tests in English and math. However, federally mandated tests like those in English/language arts and math for students in grades 3-8 would remain to satisfy NCLB requirements. (The U. S. Department of Education recently denied California's request for a waiver from NCLB, as my colleague Michele McNeil at Politics K-12 reported last week.)
The Academic Performance Index, which measures the performance of public high schools in the state, will also have to be adjusted to reflect the suspension of these tests. The precursor to this adjustment, and Torlakson's recommendations, was in September, when Gov. Jerry