DENVER-
Colorado students won’t get more time to prepare for the state’s standardized tests.
A Senate committee on Wednesday killed a proposal to delay the start of the Colorado Student Assessment Program testing period by a month because the state education department said it would cost $2.3 million.
Currently the tests must be administered between the second Monday in March and the third Monday in April. Sen. Paula Sandoval, D-Denver, wanted to administer the tests between April and May because she said some students are being tested on material they haven’t yet studied.
Sandoval said the reason for the big pricetag is because the vendor would need more money to grade the tests faster. But she said the state will pay McGraw-Hill $23 million to administer the program next year and should be able to negotiate a better deal to move the test dates back.
“I feel like the vendor is driving public policy instead of the other way around,” she said.
