WASHINGTON (AP) – Aiming to reduce test-taking in America’s classrooms, the Obama administration released final rules Wednesday to help states and school districts take a new approach to the standardized tests students must take each year.
It’s part of the new bipartisan education law, signed by President Barack Obama a year ago, that returned substantial control over education policy back to the states, including the role test scores play in evaluating schools, teachers and students.
“Our final regulations strike a balance by offering states flexibility to eliminate redundant testing and promote innovative assessments, while ensuring assessments continue to contribute to a well-rounded picture of how students and schools are doing,” said Education Secretary John B. King Jr. “Smarter assessments can make us all smarter.”
The idea is to focus more time on classroom learning and less on teaching-to-the test – something critics complained the administration had encouraged with grants and waivers that placed too much of a focus on standardized testing.
The education law passed last December still requires districts and schools to test students annually in reading and math in grades three to eight, and once in high school. It gives states greater flexibility in deciding what tests they could use to see how students are performing. For example, districts could use a nationally recognized high school assessment, the SAT or ACT, instead of the state tests in high school.