State Rep. Andy HoltNASHVILLE - A state legislator from West Tennessee has heard enough teachers complain about the state's new standardized tests that he decided to take one himself, alongside children in an elementary school classroom in his district Friday.
State Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, will join students at Hillcrest Elementary School in Troy, Tenn., as they take the online practice test for the new TNReady English language arts exam that they'll take for real in early 2016. State-mandated student assessments are in transition this year, with TNReady replacing the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program, or TCAP, in grades 3 through 11.
The state began TCAPs in 1988 and revised the tests in 2010 to reflect more rigorous standards enacted two years earlier as part of the Tennessee Diploma Project. In the years since, testing and academic standards have been mired in political controversy with the introduction of Common Core State Standards and the state Legislature's decision this year to replace Common Core with standards drafted in Tennessee.
Read more from our news partners at KnoxNews.com.