DENVER—The Colorado Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to replace comprehensive tests with student assessments, removing writing exams that vexed teachers and students alike.
Under the legislation, students would be given three assessments: one to see what they know, one to see what they learned during the school year; and a third so teachers can tailor instruction.
Sen. Evie Hudak, D-Westminster, said the tests will no longer be called the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP.
“This bill is really the one that changes CSAP as we know it,” she told colleagues.
The bill now goes back to the House, which will consider changes made by the Senate.
Teachers for years have expressed frustration with CSAP, which was developed by educators and teachers a decade ago. They said the tests were a poor measure of student progress, and they fought attempts to use the tests to measure their teaching ability. They also objected to school ratings based on student performance.
Lawmakers agreed the education system was broken, and complained teachers were teaching to the tests with little student improvement.
Under the bill, educators will review recommendations from a committee set up by Gov. Bill Ritter to study changes in public education from kindergarten through college and to ensure courses are compatible.
Sen. Keith King, a Republican from Colorado Springs, said the proposed new assessments were an improvement, but he objected to eliminating the writing tests in upper grades.
“One of the best evaluations for students is how students write,” King said.
Hudak said the inclusion of writing tests could allow opponents to kill the bill and warned other states working with Colorado to develop new tests also would object. She also said writing tests take too long to administer and too long to grade.
“It’s formula writing and essays. The modern world requires technical writing,” she said.
