Bill Text: HI HR39 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging The Board Of Education And Department Of Education To Reduce The Use Of Standardized Testing In Hawaii's Public Education System.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-28 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) Okimoto, Tokioka voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cabanilla Arakawa, C. Lee excused (2). [HR39 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-HR39-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
39 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
URGING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO REDUCE THE USE OF STANDARdIZED TESTING IN HAWAII'S PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.
WHEREAS, enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and Race to the Top program in 2009 shifted national education priorities from inquiry-based teaching to standardized testing; and
WHEREAS, the nation's schools spend growing amounts of time, money, and energy on standardized testing, in which student performance on standardized tests is used to evaluate individual students, educators, and schools; and
WHEREAS, an overemphasis on standardized testing has adversely affected public schools, teachers, and students by narrowing academic curricula; reducing arts and cultural education; causing teachers to teach to the test; decreasing whole-child and vocational programs; and creating a climate of compliance and fear among students, teachers, and administrators; and
WHEREAS, the adverse effects of standardized testing most directly affect low-income students, English-language learners, students from ethnic-minority backgrounds, and students with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2014 study conducted by the National Education Association, 72 percent of teachers feel considerable pressure to improve test scores and a majority of teachers report spending too much time on testing and test preparation, with the average teacher spending approximately 30 percent of the teacher's time on tasks related to standardized tests; and
WHEREAS, a 2014 PDK/Gallup poll on public attitudes toward public schools found that only 31 percent of parents support using standardized test scores to evaluate educators; and
WHEREAS, there is a diverse and bipartisan movement to opt out of standardized testing led by students, parents, teachers, administrators, and organizations, which includes the National Center for Fair & Open Testing and United Opt Out National; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education administers standardized tests in multiple grade levels that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards, including the Smarter Balanced Assessment; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education has active contracts with third-party entities to facilitate standardized testing and test-based curricula that total approximately $60,000,000; and
WHEREAS, the estimated cost of standardized testing does not include time spent on test preparation, interim testing, classroom materials related to standardized testing, computer equipment and personnel needed to administer standardized tests, and the opportunity cost of educational programs eliminated to increase time for standardized testing; and
WHEREAS, in 2015, President Barack Obama criticized the proliferation of standardized testing throughout the nation and called on school districts to limit the amount of time spent preparing for and taking standardized tests to no more than two percent of a student's instructional time; and
WHEREAS, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act provides states with increased flexibility in the use of standardized testing, including eliminating federally mandated inclusion of standardized tests in teacher evaluations, allowing states to choose what test to use for annual school assessments, permitting states to institute a cap limiting the amount of time that students spend preparing for and taking standardized tests, and providing funding to states for auditing and streamlining assessment systems; and
WHEREAS, a survey of public school principals in Hawaii conducted by Ward Research in July 2016 found that:
(1) 85 percent of principals agreed that instructional time spent preparing for and taking standardized tests should be reduced; and
(2) 84 percent of principals felt that the Department of Education should consider changes in the Smarter Balanced Assessment; and
WHEREAS, a survey of public school teachers conducted by Governor David Ige's Every Student Succeeds Act Team found that 91 percent of teachers felt that the State should consider changes to its current testing program; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii's Blueprint for Public Education, developed by Governor David Ige's Every Student Succeeds Act Team, called for reconsideration of Hawaii's membership in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium; and
WHEREAS, numerous states have begun implementing authentic assessments, which de-emphasize standardized testing and instead focus on student performance indicators that promote critical thinking, open-ended questioning, and collaborative learning; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Board of Education and Department of Education are urged to reduce standardized testing in the public education system; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education and Department of Education are urged to replace standardized testing with authentic assessments that promote critical thinking and align classroom instruction with real-world problem-solving, including assessments based on project-based learning; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Education is urged to amend board policies related to the evaluation of teachers and educational officers so that standardized testing will not be used to evaluate the performance of any teacher or educational officer; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Reduction in Standardized Testing in Public Education System
