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Aurora Sentinel
Editorial
It's long overdue but welcome news for public schools in Aurora and across the state that state lawmakers are determined to take a long look Colorado's standardized-test program.
Colorado's new Department of Education Commissioner Dwight Jones said earlier this year that after implementing the controversial test program more than 10 years ago, it's time to assess its value and rethink what it should measure, and what those results mean. Several state lawmakers and Gov. Ritter agreed with that.
The Colorado Student Assessment Program has turned public schools across the state on their ear, forcing schools to make this annual test the focus of nearly every school and every teacher. After more than a decade, however, all the hubbub around this test has done precious little to increase student achievement. Those who point to increases refuse to cede that what's improved is test scores after drilling students on how to take the test.
In fact, critics of the testing system make a compelling argument that the CSAP system has done millions of students a grave injustice. Rather that spend money and time on ways to address the real problems, former state officials required schools to become preoccupied with an expensive, time-consuming battery of tests.
Current state legislators and education executives now have the chance to return control of schools to local communities and make the over-inflated CSAP system what it should have been in the first place: nothing more than one of many ways teachers gauge what students know.
The testing date needs to be moved to accommodate real life in the classroom, which doesn't teach all fourth-grade math students everything they need to learn before February.
The testing format needs to change, too. School and state officials are fooling themselves if they think young children exhibit what they really know during intensive batteries of exams that would tax even dedicated college students. All testing, all the time, for nearly two weeks every spring is a provably unreliable waste of time and money.
By removing the state's focus on CSAP and creating incentives that encourage school districts to end social promotion of students, the state can change its role in public education. This time, it can help schools help students instead of forcing schools to focus on systems rather than results.
— Editorial
Aurora Sentinel
2007-12-05
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