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JUST IN: LAUSD board members favor a delay in CA testing
Members of the LA Unified school board as well as several administrators suggested today that the district should delay using the results of the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced computerized test as means of measuring academic growth next year. Their views came a day after officials from statewide educational organizations told the California Board of Education that...
By Vanessa Romo | November 14, 2014
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Commentary: Another test, but what is it, exactly?
In a recent opinion piece in The New York Times, “When the Circus Descends,” David Brooks derided opponents of Common Core Standards, implying that they were ideologues on the far left and far right making “hysterical claims and fevered accusations.” But as I visit classrooms across the city talking to teachers about the Common Core,...
By Ellie Herman | April 29, 2014
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With testing moratorium, LAUSD crafts its own for ELL shift
With a year-long state moratorium on standardized testing, LAUSD is crafting its own assessment to determine if English learning students are ready for an English-only curriculum. The new tests will look a lot like the tests they replace, said Hilda Maldonado, director of the LAUSD Multilingual and Multicultural department. The district had initially sought to purchase...
By Chase Niesner | March 4, 2014
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Survey Shows LAUSD schools not ready for computer tests
When California decided it was out with old standards and in with the new, Common Core-aligned assessments, it was only the start of a long and arduous transition for local school districts in adopting to the new computer-based “Smarter Balanced” tests. That was seven months ago. Now, an internal LAUSD memo released to LA School...
By Chase Niesner | January 28, 2014
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Testing Tools Approved for Smarter Balanced Assessments
California and the 24 other states developing the Smarter Balanced assessments aligned to the new Common Core standards have approved support tools for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities. The supports range from digital notepads to test items translated into the student’s native language. The “Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines” identifies three types...
By Brenda Iasevoli | September 12, 2013