In order to avoid serving two masters – the old state academic standards and the new multi-state Common Core standards – state leaders are now proposing to discontinue nearly all state standardized tests next spring, including English language arts and math. Instead, districts with technical capacity will be required to give a field or practice Common Core test to prepare for the test’s official introduction in spring 2015.
Deputy State Superintendent Deb Sigman explains plans for a Common Core field test to the State Board of Education on Wednesday.
The new plan significantly expands what Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson had proposed in Assembly Bill 484, a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, that would reduce the number of tests. The board’s plan will require approval of the Legislature and a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education, since the state would suspend tests – English language arts and math in grades 3 through 8 – required for federal accountability under the No Child Left Behind law.
The State Board of Education unanimously voted Wednesday to seek the waiver in concept, even though it didn’t have all the details – specifically amendments under AB 484 – before it. Deputy State Superintendent Deb Sigman acknowledged that federal officials haven’t indicated whether they’d give permission, since the state is asking for a broader waiver than U.S. Secretar
