In its final hours Wednesday, the Colorado Legislature struck a deal that will lessen the state-imposed testing regimen for its K-12 students while still meeting the federally imposed requirements to assess youngsters on the educational standards that Colorado has adopted.
In passing House Bill 1323 after an exhaustive debate over many assessment-related measures, legislators have done the triple duty of responding to their constituents’ concerns, considering the input of a task force assigned to study the assessment issue and acknowledging the higher powers that set expectations that Colorado cannot change. While the solution is not perfect, it is progress.
The measure will eliminate the state-administered Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing in language arts and math for 10th and 11th graders – reducing students’ testing burden by about 35 hours in each of the grades. Contrary to some advocates, wishes, though, the measure did not dispense with 9th-grade language arts and math testing. Doing so would have put the state at odds with federal requirements that students be tested at least once during high school in these subjects. The 10th- and 11th-grade tests currently administered are done so at the state’s requests. HB 1323 lessens that burden.
It also sets the stage for a possible upheaval of PARCC – an interesting notion given the fact that this is the first official year that Colorado has employed the testing instrument. HB 1323 establishes a pilot program in which districts can create their own tests to ostensibly replace PARCC. While there are legitimate questions associated with any standardized testing mechanism, it is slightly premature to target PARCC for potential substitution. The provision may have been a symbolic nod to those who are critical of the Common Core standards for language arts and math – guidelines that Colorado and 42 other states have adopted. But changing PARCC will not do away with the Common Core standards, which were crafted with grassroots input from educators from across the country convened to determine what kids need to know to be prepared for college and careers.
HB 1323 will also clean up redundant testing at lower grade levels. State law currently requires kindergarteners through third-graders to demonstrate their reading proficiency three times a year, regardless of how proficient they are. Under the bill passed Wednesday, those students who are reading at or above grade level on the first test will not be subject to the following two assessments. Those who are still working to meet grade-level standards will still be tested up to three times. This will save students up to an hour of testing time each year. It is a sensible move that reflects the recommendations of the state’s task force on school assessments.
In all, HB 1323 reduces the state-dictated testing schema while leaving districts free to assess as often as they see fit – provided it is more frequently than the state requires. It also leaves open the question of what testing instrument Colorado will finally one day settle upon for gauging its students’ progress. In the spirit of such fraught topics, the measure reflects a true compromise – without compromising Colorado’s duty to its students.
