Outsourcing school tests to non-public entity would cost more, state official says
Draft legislative report takes aim at annual contract with KU
FILE PHOTO/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
A report said that outsourcing school tests would be more costly.
Scrapping Kansas’ state tests, which are produced by The University of Kansas, in favor of a private vendor would likely cost the state more, a state education official said Tuesday.
On Monday, an interim legislative panel dedicated to scrutinizing school finance released a draft of its recommendations for Kansas public schools. Among those was a proposal to reconsider “the wisdom of continued funding” of Kansas’ state testing contract with KU.
KU’s Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation has authored and administered Kansas’ state tests in math, reading and other subjects for more than 30 years.
“The spending for the development of the test and the IT requirements to implement it has shown little value,” the draft report said, recommending the state seek a test provider without ties to federal or state government and that it pay for all students to take the ACT.
Deputy education commissioner Brad Neuenswander said Tuesday schools would appreciate the state paying for high-schoolers to take the ACT, because it would ensure no student who wants to take the college entrance exam is prevented by poverty.
“I’d hate for a kid not to take it because of cost,” he said.
Some school districts already foot the bill for students to take the ACT in high school, such as Kansas City, Kan., Unified School District 500.
But Neuenswander said if legislators want to throw out KU’s tests and make the ACT college entrance exam and related ACT tests for younger students Kansas’ official state tests, this would cost “much more” than the university charges.
According to the Kansas State Department of Education, Kansas has the second-cheapest state tests in the nation, with a price tag of about $6 for one student taking one test. The average nationwide is about Outsourcing school tests to non-public entity would cost more, state official says | CJOnline.com: