DENVER – Durango schools Superintendent Dan Snowberger traveled to Denver on Tuesday for a news conference with the governor supporting legislation that would ease school testing standards in Colorado.
As reported by The Durango Herald on Friday, Senate Bill 215 would not require any tests in 11th or 12th grades, other than the ACT, which is taken in 11th grade.
The bill also would streamline kindergarten assessments and the READ Act, a 2012 law that focuses on K-3 literacy and assessments, in order to lessen the number of tests students are taking.
The measure is already scheduled for a Thursday afternoon hearing in the Senate Education Committee.
Snowberger chaired a task force created by legislation in 2014 that made the recommendations, which guided the crafting of SB 215. He said he is pleased that lawmakers are interested in implementing the recommendations.
“It became clear at the end of our work that there was one major finding, and that was that we had hit a critical mass of over-assessment; that we had too many assessments in place that were burdensome not only on our teachers, but on our students,” Snowberger said.
Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said the bill strikes a balance by still requiring strong assessments so the state can track student and teacher progress, while also reducing testing burdens. He defended education reform already enacted by the state, including tying teacher evaluations to student achievement.
“We’re going to keep going forward, we’re not going to go back. You need a statewide assessment that has very high standards.” Hickenlooper said. “But we’re also saying that we want to make sure that our kids and our teachers aren’t burdened with too much testing.”
The bill has bipartisan support, with both Republicans and Democrats attending the news conference on Tuesday.
But the issue remains steeped in politics, with liberals and conservatives concerned about testing overall, especially national Common Core standards. Some parents want the state to address Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) testing by ending Colorado’s participation.
Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said shortly before the news conference that SB 15 is only a first step in addressing some of the broader issues.
Bills have already been introduced or proposed concerning eliminating PARCC and other standardized testing, and weakening teacher-evaluation requirements.
“This is the beginning of the process. It’s not the end. It’s not even close to the end,” Cadman said. “We’re just glad that we’re at step one together.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
