Lawmakers Poised to Review the Need for Locally Mandated Tests

Members of the Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education (Photo by Sky Arnold)

Each year, Tennessee students take both state-mandated tests, such as the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), as well as additional benchmarks set by local school districts to track student progress. Education organization SCORE issued a report earlier this year that pointed out local testing requirements vary wildly by district, and the state doesn’t fully track them.

Some state lawmakers appear ready to change that.

At Thursday’s Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education meeting, lawmakers agreed to recommend that the Department of Education conduct a full review of locally mandated tests and the reasons for them.

“That way we would know the universe of testing,” said Senator Bo Watson, R-Hixon. “I think that’s something that the department should pursue. It will help to clarify exactly what the state is requiring of the systems versus what the districts are requiring.”

The advisory committee has spent the last three months holding meetings to discuss the scope and frequency of state testing, potential changes to the academic requirements for career and technical education (CTE) students, whether schools should have a minimum number of required instructional hours, and the licensure and evaluation requirements for teachers.

Representative Scott Cepicky (Photo by the Tennessee General Assembly)

The committee will make recommendations for the General Assembly to consider next year, and reviewing locally mandated tests was one of four areas where members found consensus. Some, including State Representative Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka, expressed an interest in taking local testing review a step further and requiring state approval for local benchmarks.

“I think one of the concerns we have is the amount of testing we have on our students. I don’t think the problem we have in testing is at the state level, I think it’s everything that gets added in at the local level,” said Cepicky.

Consensus on Testing Portal, Instructional Time, and School Letter Grades

Committee members also appeared to reach consensus on recommendations for the Department of Education to provide a report on the possibility of giving high schools greater flexibility in instructional time and to create a detailed online portal for parents to learn more about state testing. Members also expressed support for researching additional metrics to include in the annual School Letter Grades, including CTE performance data that’s not currently part of the report.

The committee remained split on two other proposals, including changes to teacher evaluations and graduation requirements.

Committee Divided on Annual Evaluations

In Tennessee, all teachers are evaluated annually, but the Tennessee Education Association has proposed reducing that for teachers with “consistent records of effectiveness.” Representative Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, appeared to support that proposal by recommending allowing teachers rated “above expectations” to be evaluated less frequently.

“To free up that space for the ones that need it the most,” said Haston.

Multiple members of the committee pushed back on the recommendation, including State Board of Education member Krissi McInturff.

“I know that it does take a lot of time, but every teacher…needs to have that feedback because it’s almost an island unless you have someone coming in there and being able to observe and to tell them, you’re doing this very well, but what if you try this instead,” said McInturrf.

CTE Graduation Requirements Debate

Committee members also disagreed on a proposal to allow students with a CTE focus the ability to substitute another math subject for the Algebra II graduation requirement. Representative Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, was among those who argued that the flexibility might be appreciated by students who aren’t planning to attend college.

Representative William Slater (Photo by the Tennessee General Assembly)

“I do feel like stats (math) is a very reasonable alternative,” said Representative Mark Cochran, R-Englewood. “I’m not saying reducing higher order math, but perhaps adding another option.”

Critics of proposals to remove Algebra II and potentially other core subjects as graduation requirements have argued that it could put Tennessee students at a disadvantage when applying to state institutions that require these subjects for admission.

State Representative William Slater, R-Gallatin, also argued Thursday that removing Algebra II as a graduation requirement could create other negative impacts.

“I think if we begin offering an alternative to Algebra II that we’re going to see more students choosing that alternative,” said Slater. “And then I also think we’re going to see where some schools and districts when it’s difficult to find math educators, may take an easier path and not offer or even encourage students to take Algebra II, when they should be encouraged to do that.”

Members of the advisory committee are planning to hold one additional meeting later this year to finalize their recommendations for the General Assembly.