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Despite deep concerns over elevating student stress just as children are returning to school, standardized testing will take place this spring for
about
million California students.
With limited options, the state Board of Education voted against pursuing a blanket waiver from the federal government to suspend mandated standardized testing after the Biden administration released guidance this week that encouraged states to move forward with testing but come up with ways to ease the process.
The decision Wednesday came after educators and parents pleaded with board members to cancel testing while others stressed the importance of capturing the extent of learning loss during pandemic-forced campus closures.
The State Board of Education in California voted unanimously to prepare to apply for more flexible standardized testing options this year as nearly 80% of students across the state continue with distance learning.
States are required to conduct standardized tests every year in math, English language arts and science, according to both state laws and the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. When schools shut their buildings in March last year due to the pandemic, however, state officials said districts did not have to administer the tests, pending getting a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education under then-Secretary Betsy DeVos. The department quickly granted waivers to all states relieving them of their testing obligations.
SACRAMENTO California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Monday the release of grading guidelines that address assessing student progress and the ongoing issue of equity in distance and hybrid learning environments.
Resources that support local control are included in the new guidance, allowing schools to make the best decisions for their respective student populations.
“As the majority of California’s public schools continue to respond to distance learning needs, we should reflect on how student progress is measured and consider how to shift to more equitable grading systems and policies, whether the instructional setting is in-person, virtual, or hybrid,” Thurmond said. “This is an opportunity to make a significant change.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced the release of guidelines that address grading student progress and the ongoing issue of equity in distance and hybrid learning environments.