Ga. Senate Approves Bill That Would Reduce Testing In Public Schools
Some students may dream of doing away with tests altogether. While that’s not likely to happen anytime soon, the Georgia Senate did pass a bill this week that would reduce the number of tests public school students are required to take.
In a unanimous vote, the Senate OK’d Senate Bill 367, which eliminates five required tests, shortens the length of tests for younger students and changes the testing window. Even if the bill becomes law, Georgia students will still take two more standardized tests than the federal government requires. They are high school social studies and an eighth-grade Georgia history assessment.
In addition to making some students happy, the move is likely to please parents and teachers, too. State Sen. P.K. Martin, a Republican from Lawrenceville, is the bill’s sponsor and chairs the Senate’s Education and Youth Committee. Martin told lawmakers the number one complaint his office receives is that schools give too many tests.
“This places too much pressure on our students, on our teachers surrounding these tests,” he said. “So, what we wanted to do was address this issue this session.”
The bill has the support of Gov. Brian Kemp and state schools Superintendent Richard Woods. In a press conference last month announcing the bill, Kemp said one of the top concerns he hears from students, parents, and teachers is that schools give too many high-stakes tests.
“For students, these tests may not accurately reflect their personal progress,” Kemp said. “For teachers, they’re substantial burdens on top of an already substantial workload. For parents, these assessments are not only stressful, they’re often repetitive, and if they’re not reflecting a child’s abilities, they’re increasingly and incredibly frustrating.”
The bill would also move the state’s testing window to the end of the school year, so students will have almost a full year of instruction under their belts before taking an assessment.
Woods said the legislation would also allow teachers to maximize instructional time.
“The foundation of this bill is a belief that the worth and work of our students and teachers is more than the sum of a high-stakes test score,” he said.
The bill still has to make it through the House before it can head to the governor’s desk for his signature.
Related
Top Stories
