Standardized tests are tricky during a year of virtual classes, quarantining, and social distancing. The Michigan State Board of Education wants to ditch the M-STEP and stick to the tests that districts use at the beginning and end of the year to measure growth. They have pleaded with the U.S. Department of Education and are now calling on the Michigan legislature to back them up.
In a resolution passed unanimously this month, the State Board of Education recognized the stress of the pandemic and noted that while 83% of schools now have some in-person options, less than half of Michigan students received in-person instruction on “most” days this year. The majority of instruction has been online for the majority of the students.
State Board of Education President Dr. Casandra Ulbrich said, “You cannot give these tests remotely and accurately, in which case the data will lack both validity and reliability. The resulting data will be fundamentally flawed.”
The Board wants the legislature to sign off on waiving statewide testing and let districts use national tests of their choosing to gauge progress and make decisions about how best to allocate resources.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
The State Board of Education just passed the following resolution unanimously:
Resolution on Waivers Associated with State Summative Assessments and High-Stakes Accountability Measures in a Pandemic
for the 2020-2021 Academic School Year
WHEREAS, pre-K-12 students, parents and staff in Michigan and across the country have endured tremendous challenges in the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has gripped the state, nation, and world;
WHEREAS, 83 percent of school districts indicated last month that they were offering at least an in-person option, but—given parent choice and the enrollments of many of the districts that have been remote most of the year–fewer than half of Michigan students have received in-person instruction most days this school year;
WHEREAS, in recognition of this disruption and the public health threats present amidst the pandemic, the U.S. Secretary of Education approved the requests of the Michigan Department of Education and other states to waive state summative assessments and associated high-stakes accountability requirements tied to those assessments for the 2019-2020 school year;
WHEREAS, Michigan’s legislature passed, and the governor signed, a state law last summer to require public school districts to administer locally chosen, national benchmark assessments to measure where students are academically at the beginning and end of this school year, and for districts to share that information with parents and educators;
WHEREAS, the data gathered from those benchmark assessments have helped and will continue to help local school districts focus resources and determine interventions and supports for students;
WHEREAS, given the presence of benchmark assessments, schools need to continue focusing as much time as possible on the academic and social emotional needs of their students;
WHEREAS, the Michigan Department of Education has a request pending with the U.S. Department of Education to waive the federally required statewide summative assessments for the 2020-2021 school year and associated high-stakes accountability requirements and will continue discussions with the U.S. Department of Education (USED) on USED’s declared offer of flexibility on such issues;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that contingent upon the granting of these federal waivers, the State Board of Education strongly urges the Michigan Legislature to likewise act to relieve added burden on Michigan students and waive all state laws requiring the administration of statewide summative assessments and associated high-stakes accountability requirements for the 2020-2021 school year.
