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JUST IN: State ed board votes to delay use of test results for a year

Vanessa Romo | March 11, 2015



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common-core-standards-testThe California Board of Education voted unanimously today to delay using results of the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced test to tabulate school Academic Performance Index scores for at least one more year.

Although the results will not be used on the state index, they will still be reported at the school, district and state level, according to state board officials.

Districts will be required to “produce an accountability report no sooner than the fall of 2016,” Keric Ashley, a deputy to Tom Torlakson, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, said today.

“It doesn’t mean it would have to be in fall of 2016…there are very good reasons that maybe it’ll be later than that,” he added.

The vote reflected widespread concerns across the state that districts, teachers and students are not yet fluent in the use of computers and software designed for testing use. LA Unified was among the districts leading the lobbying efforts to delay the use.

The board also agreed to adopt a new system of measuring academic growth using multiple metrics, as opposed to the current single index API, based solely on proficiency on standardized tests.

An advantage of postponing use of the Common Core-aligned test results, districts can develop more meaningful accountability reports, Ashley told the board.

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