U.S. Education Department threatens to sanction states over test opt-outs
Anyone who thought that the U.S. Education Department’s power over states in regard to standardized testing was over because of the new K-12 education law passed in December should think again.
The Every Student Succeeds Act was the result of a compromise among Republicans and Democrats who were intent on ending No Child Left Behind, the chief education initiative of former president George W. Bush, and the Obama administration’s micro-managing of education policymaking. It did send a good deal of education policymaking power back to the states but did not eliminate the federal role in education.
ESSA carries over the No Child Left Behind mandate of annual standardized testing from grades 3-8 and once in high school, and it has left enough room for the Education Department to threaten to sanction those states where too many students refused to take the state-mandated standardized “accountability” test.
In the last year, an “opt-out” movement has been growing around the country, with many parents refusing to allow their children to take tests that they believe are being used in an improper manner to evaluate students and teachers, and some educators refusing to administer exams they believe are poorly designed.
Under NCLB and now under ESSA, at least 95 percent of eligible students are required to take the state-chosen standardized test used to hold states and school districts “accountable.” Federal funding can be withheld by the Education Department to states that dip below the 95 percent threshold. Last year, some states did more than “dip.” In New York state, for example, 20 percent of eligible students refused to take the state’s accountability test.
Education policymakers — the same ones who support “school choice” — don’t like the idea of parents deciding that their students shouldn’t take a standardized test. So, on Dec. 2, the department sent a letter to states reminding them of the testing and 95 percent participation requirements, warning that failure to produce the mandated results could result in the withholding of federal funds about participation rates.
The letter also urges states to sanction local education agencies where participation rates are below 95 percent and offers suggestions for how to do that. A state could, for example, without funds, lower a local education agency U.S. Education Department threatens to sanction states over test opt-outs - The Washington Post:
