California proposes minimal sanctions for low participation in state tests
In passing a new school accountability law — the Every Student Succeeds Act — Congress gave states more latitude to decide how to use federal education funding, particularly in improving schools serving low-income students and English learners. What hasn’t changed is the requirement for nearly all students to take annual standardized tests — and for states to see that schools and districts comply.
The minimum participation rate is 95 percent in math and reading tests, as under the No Child Left Behind Act, the previous law. Some states, in their compliance plans for the new law, are proposing to hit violating schools hard to bring them into line. California’s actions would be mild by comparison.
Connecticut is proposing that a school that otherwise would get the highest or second-highest rating on the state’s 100-point index of school performance would be knocked down one ranking, according to an Education Week summary of the 17 states that submitted their draft state plans to the U.S. Department of Education in March.
In Illinois, a school wouldn’t be eligible to receive a top score for academic proficiency if fewer than 95 percent of students took the test. In Louisiana, every student who didn’t take a test would get a score of zero, effectively lowering the overall results for a school or district.
In California, schools not meeting the 95 percent mandate would be singled out in the state’s accountability system. That system, the California School Dashboard, rates schools and districts on several performance measures. The dashboard would include an icon for those schools in which less than 95 percent of students took the test. Depending how far off the mark they are, that may be the only consequence.
At last week’s marathon discussion on the draft state plan, the State Board of California proposes minimal sanctions for low participation in state tests | EdSource: