TEST Act Introduced in Congress

For those of you in the Montessori community concerned with standardized testing of your students and the ever increasing numbers of those tests...

Rep. Steve Israel- D-NY introduced the Tackling Excessive Standardized Testing Act (TEST Act) on Thursday. The proposed bill is backed by the American Federal of Teachers.

Highlights include:

• Limiting testing to one per year for students in grades 3-8. English in grades 3, 5 and 7 and Math in grades 4, 6 and 8.
• Schools in the top 15% would move to a 4 year cycle of testing

This bill is likely to be a hard sell. Both Kline and Miller- top R and D on the House Education Committee support the current testing schedule in their re authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) bill. Tom Harkin- chair of Senate Education Committee also supports the current system of testing in his version of the ESEA.

Of interest, Arne Duncan, USDE, has begun discussing the "burden of over testing" and has suggested that his department be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Read more here:  http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2014/09/aft_backs_newest_proposal_to_r.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2