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Board hears concerns about testing, iReady and state-mandated assessments
Summary
Trustees and district staff discussed curriculum choices, iReady use, MAP testing and state-mandated Smarter Balanced and ACT assessments. Staff said the district must follow state testing requirements; K-3 students will see both MAP and iReady assessments in some cases.
Trustees raised concerns that curriculum choices and assessment practices place heavy demands on teachers and students. Some speakers said iReady was criticized and described state testing as "excessive." Superintendent Logan responded that the district's curriculum in question is state approved and that some assessments are mandated by the state.
Staff explained the district will continue to use I-Ready for K-8 in part, and that K-3 students will see MAP testing in addition to I-Ready, noting that MAP can trigger Read-by-Grade-3 interventions. A district speaker clarified: "We still have I Ready testing for reading and math... In addition to that, we will have for K-3 MAP testing that it's gonna have to occur. So there is gonna be double testing on K-3 for MAP and I Ready that's gonna occur plus the SBAC." Another trustee noted that Smarter Balanced and the ACT remain state-mandated assessments for grades the state requires.
Board members said they favor holistic measures of student growth and some trustees highlighted district efforts to explore alternative instructional models, noting that one trustee had suggested piloting a different approach at a single school. No change to district testing policy was adopted at the meeting; trustees were told the district's ability to alter testing is constrained by state requirements and that lobbying the legislature is the appropriate channel for systemic change.
