Despite strong opposition from teachers and parents, the Illinois State Board of Education is considering the possibility of replacing the state’s annual student assessment with interim testing throughout the school year, including an option to test children as young as kindergarten.
Yakciry Nieto, left, and Eliel Valenica Palomino participate in fourth grade math class at Lords Park Elementary School on March 24, 2022, in Elgin. Fourth graders enrolled in the dual language program at Lords Park Elementary would need to sit for state assessments at least three times a year under an Illinois State Board of Education proposal that is facing opposition from educators, including some at Elgin-based Unit School District 46.
While foes of so-called high-stakes, standardized assessments say the tests waste valuable classroom learning time, with no evidence to show the costly programs provide any benefits to student achievement, ISBE officials say they hope to improve the program and enhance equity. “Our one and only goal in exploring any improvements to the assessment is to better meet the needs of educators and families,” Matthews said, adding that any assessment offered to students in kindergarten through second grade “would be optional, developmentally appropriate and would never be a part of accountability.”
While the state board has yet to unveil a new assessment proposal, officials with the Chicago Teachers Union expressed dismay at the prospect of the state ramping up student testing at a time when many students are already struggling. ISBE officials declined to estimate the cost of the interim assessments, saying the state board does not yet have a proposal. But union officials have estimated the interim assessments to cost about $228 million.
“We’ve already taken significant time and resources away from student learning by having students jump right back into testing last spring, in the thick of the pandemic, and the results were what we predicted,” said Pacione-Zayas, a mother of two children.
“We strongly believe in the utility of high-quality formative assessments that help teachers improve teaching and learning. Large-scale interim tests can help support that work, but have a fundamentally different purpose than accountability testing,” said John Burkey, executive director of the Large Unit District Association.