California Education Board Chooses Common Core Over Academic Performance Index
The California Board of Education has voted to suspend its school accountability system to pave way for the new Common Core standards. The board’s move is meant to give students and teachers ample time to adjust to the new standardized tests, which are aligned with the Common Core.
California's Education Board voted Wednesday at a meeting in Sacramento to suspend its Academic Performance Index for school year 2014-15. The decision, Christine Armario of The Huffington Post wrote, is meant to give students and teachers more time to adjust to the new standardized tests that are aligned with the Common Core.
The API used student test scores to rate schools and identify which of them require improvement. However, Board President Michael Kirst said it is important to ensure that student growth is also considered, and not just baseline performance, on the new tests.
The Common Core education standards are benchmarks developed by a group of states nationwide to help students become prepared for college and careers. The new standards have become controversial in recent years, criticized largely by conservatives who see them as the federal government's way to control local schools. To encourage states to adopt the federal academic standards, the U.S Education Department offered incentives like the Race to the Top.
In California, the new standards have been widely embraced by parents, unions, and district leaders. Kirst said that while the new test scores are not used on the state index, the results would still be reported at the state, district, and school level.
"They'll be held accountable to the public," said Kirst.
Many districts, such as the Los Angeles Unified, requested to exclude this year's results in the accountability process. They argued that students lack time to adjust to the new testing, and questioned the devices' reliability.
"We need that next year to look at this issue of growth," said LAUSD External Affairs Chief Edgar Zarzueta.
The Smarter Balanced tests are taken using a tablet or computer. The LAUSD has encountered several California Education Board Chooses Common Core Over Academic Performance Index : Columns : ISchoolGuide:
