Miguel Cardona’s confirmation hearing as President Biden’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education is scheduled for this morning at 10 AM in the U.S. Senate Education Committee. Assuming Cardona is confirmed by the committee and subsequently on the floor of the U.S. Senate, his first big test as Education Secretary will be his decision about what to do about federally mandated high-stakes student testing in this COVID-19 school year.
A groundswell of opposition to student testing continues to grow. On Saturday, the Washington Post‘s Valerie Strauss reported that educators across the states are asking Cardona “to give states permission not to give students federally mandated standardized tests this spring.” Last year Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos cancelled the testing right after schools shut down nationwide due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier last week, Strauss reported: “This is the second straight year that states are asking for waivers… This week, the U.S. Education Department sent a letter to chief state school officers saying the February 1 deadline for seeking a waiver was being extended though it didn’t set a new deadline. It promised states that it would soon provide details on CONTINUE READING: U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s First Big Test | janresseger