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Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord
The California Senate today approved an Assembly bill that suspends statewide testing while students acclimate to the new computer-based Common Core curriculum.
The legislation now heads back to the Assembly for a final vote before it reaches Governor Jerry Brown for his signature.
Sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and authored by Assembly member Susan Bonilla, a northern California Democrat, Assembly Bill 484 calls for nearly all of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program to be suspended during field tests of new assessments known as the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress (MAPP).
The bill calls for the new program to permanently replace STAR tests in the 2014-15 school year.
“This vote brings us a step closer to trading our outdated fill-in-the-bubble paper tests for new, computerized assessments that model the skills today’s students need,” Torlakson said in a press release. “If we want our education system to inspire students to learn to think critically and solve problems, we need tests to match those lofty goals.”
The revised legislation, co-authored by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, calls for a full suspension of STAR tests in mathematics and English-language arts, while leaving science tests in place. The legislation also leaves in place voluntary primary language assessments, specialized assessments for students with severe disabilities and the Early Assessment Program for grade eleven.
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