A CTA-sponsored measure that would reform California's student testing program is headed for a test of its own in mid-February.
AB 356 by Assembly Member Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) is set for a concurrence vote in the state Assembly as early as Feb. 18. A vote on technical amendments is pending in the Senate.
The Hancock bill, which would bring California's testing program in line with federal requirements, would eliminate STAR testing for second-graders. Teachers have denounced testing of second-graders as educationally unsound and overly stressful.
The change could save the state $3 million annually by eliminating the need to gather data that has both limited utility and validity. Without the need to prepare for the standardized test or spend time taking it, students would gain valuable classroom time for learning.
AB 356 would refocus measures of pupil achievement in Grade 2 on such items as classroom, school and district tests directly linked to improving student achievement, evaluating instructional strategies and fine-tuning school curriculum.
In addition, the measure would require the State Board of Education to propose more effective ways of assessing student competence for high school graduation. It would eliminate unnecessary and ineffective monetary awards for performance and replace them with non-monetary awards.
