Brown gets rid of federal standardized test
By Sharon Noguchi, Bay Area News Group
SACRAMENTO — A bill ending the standardized tests that California public school students have taken in reading, math and social science since 1999 received Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature on Wednesday, despite a threat by the U.S. secretary of education to withhold federal funds if the state moved forward with the plan.
Assembly Bill 484 replaces the pencil-and-paper, multiple-choice STAR tests with new language and math tests taken on computers. The new assessments, called Measurement of Academic Progress and Performance, were designed with other states to follow a set of national curriculum standards known as Common Core.
“I’ve said from the beginning, California needs tests that measure how ready our students are for the challenges of a changing world,” said California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who championed the rapid shift away from the STAR tests. “… we have taken a huge step in that direction by creating an assessment system focused on improving teaching and learning and by sending a clear signal about our commitment to this urgent work.”