Friday, April 08, 2016

House passes bill limiting time spent preparing for standardized tests

(From Rep. Mike Cierpiot, R-Lee's Summit)

Rep. David Wood presented and passed House Bill 1943 on the House Floor this week.This legislation allows school districts to set their yearly calendar without any limitations on days or hours as long as they meet a required 1044 hours throughout the year. Many districts feel that the prior regulations and requirements on school calendar years are too restrictive, this will allow districts to set up a calendar year that fits the needs of their communities and student schedules.

The second provision in House Bill 1943 limits school districts statewide testing or practice for the statewide tests to 2% of the calendar year. Too often, school districts spend a great portion of their year focusing on the statewide assessments instead of making sure students understand and learn the material they need to move on in school. By limiting the time spent focusing on statewide tests, we believe the teachers are able to encourage the students to learn the material instead of learning to take the test.

For more information on House Bill 1943, please visit: HB 1943 Elementary and Secondary Education

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

April and May are not worth anything in tested grades. Between making sure all the technology is set up and works to practicing to take the test, there is no school happening for those kids. Nothing but how to take the test and stress.

Steve Bilko said...

Naive, standardized test drive classroom practice and curriculum August to May.