Hickenlooper says give PARCC time (Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post).
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Tuesday strongly endorsed a bipartisan bill to streamline state-mandated tests while insisting that Colorado is “not slowing down or going back” on education reforms stretching back decades.
The Democratic governor said at a Capitol news conference Colorado needs to balance a commitment to statewide assessments with higher standards while acknowledging testing anxiety and making sure kids and teachers are not overburdened.
“We want to make sure we don’t let the politics of the moment undermine the long-term best interests of our children – or undermine more than a decade’s worth of hard work to create these education reforms,” Hickenlooper said.
Responding to questions from the media, Hickenloper also urged against parents and students opting out of the tests, saying those who do “are not doing the kids any favors.”
Senate Bill 215, introduced Friday, that for six months sought to find ways to reduce the testing burden while not running afoul of federal requirements or undermining a system used to hold districts, schools and educators accountable.
The bill, scheduled to be discussed Thursday before the GOP-controlled Senate Education Committee, .
Hickenlooper appeared at Tuesday’s news conference with business leaders, education reformers and the leadership of both chambers — Senate President Bill Cadman, a Colorado Springs Republican, and House Speaker Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, a Boulder Democrat.
Notably, Hickenlooper said teacher evaluations and accountability central to a 2010 law, S.B. 191, “remain essential.” Teachers unions and liberal Democrats oppose making student growth on tests part of teacher performance reviews.
The testing reduction bill does not address opting out of tests, even though the task force recommended that state officials make more information available to parents about it. A draft bill, yet to be introduced, .
Hickenlooper did not respond directly to a question about whether he would support that, saying “let’s see how it works out.”
Hickenlooper said PARCC test itself isn’t too burdensome, a “relatively small amount of time” goes into preparing students for it. He said the results will be more meaningful if more kids take it.
“This is the first time we’ve done PARCC. Let’s see how it goes,” Hickenlooper said “… To throw something out before you’ve even tried it, after you’ve spent millions of dollars creating it, at least to me doesn’t seem like the wisest course.”
Hickenlooper conceded that he did get lobbied on opting out from another party — his 13-year-old son, Teddy.
The governor said upon completing his first day of PARCC testing, Teddy returned to “ask if he might opt out.”
“He had heard it was going to be hard,” Hickenlooper said. “I said, A, don’t get wrapped up in the test. Life is full of tests. You are going to be tested day in and day out. This is one of many tests you’ll have in your life and enjoy it. Go out and be the best that you can.”
