California switches testing plans, but may still risk losing $3.5 billion in federal funds
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California, threatened with the loss of $3.5 billion in federal funds for suspending high-stakes testing next spring, has tweaked its exam plan.
But it's not certain that the change, which was not cleared first with U.S. officials, will ease the threat to take away funds.
Under the switch, next spring most public school students will test-drive a new generation of standardized tests in both English and math. Initially, the state planned to test students in one subject or the other.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, center, answers students' questions during a tour of Emerson Elementary in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 9, 2013. Duncan's back-to-school bus tour also includes stops in Texas, Arizona and California. (Susan Montoya Bryan / AP)
Federal law requires states to annually test students in English and math and publish results. The state still doesn't plan to release results, and it doesn't plan to give any student a comprehensive sample test.
