DENVER – Colorado lawmakers Monday advanced a measure that would reduce student testing in Colorado after heavily amending the bill.
House Bill 1323 passed the House Education Committee and moved to the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 9-2.
It is one of several bills moving through the legislative process that aims to address an outcry from parents and teachers about testing burdens.
HB 1323 would implement many of the recommendations made earlier this year by a task force led by Durango schools Superintendent Dan Snowberger, including eliminating several tests in 11th and 12th grades, other than the ACT.
A vote on the bill was delayed last week because there was a lack of consensus on ninth-grade assessments. The bill was amended Monday to make tests in that grade mandatory, as opposed to the original proposal, which would have made them optional for school districts.
Several other amendments passed, including offering more time to districts and teachers before holding them accountable to evaluation standards.
Lawmakers also are discussing creating a pilot program to examine implementing alternative testing and assessments in the state.
But the committee blocked an effort to give districts control over what tests they administer, with concerns raised over statewide evaluations.
“I’m alarmed that this bill’s way forward is more complicated,” said Rep. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument. “There is a very different vision coming from the Senate. Whether the bills end up being ships that pass in the night, or we find some way to manage a way forward, is an open question.”
Another bill moving through the Legislature is Senate Bill 257, which also would eliminate several tests, while offering more control to local districts. That bill has made it through committee, but it faces an ongoing battle.
Neither HB 1323 nor SB 257 do anything to eliminate the controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC exam, which remains a sticking point for many stakeholders.
The measures are likely to face continued debate by both chambers, with several more amendments coming.
“There has been more input into this bill from my perspective than any other bill I have encountered in my time here,” said Rep. Jim Wilson, R-Salida, a co-sponsor of HB 1323. “No one is going to be doing a happy dance out the front door of the Capitol.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com
