The Republican-controlled Senate Tuesday night, with its primary Senate GOP co-sponsor portraying it as better than the alternative — nothing.
The legislation trims reading and literacy tests for the youngest students, eliminates 11th and 12th-grade PARCC tests, replaces 10th grade PARCC tests with a shorter college-preparatory exam and creates a pilot program allowing districts to use alternative tests or develop their own.
The Senate gave preliminary approval to House Bill 1323, following the House taking the same step the night before on Senate Bill 257.
The bills differed significantly when they arrived in the opposite chamber but were amended Monday in committee to be in harmony.
After floor amendments,the two bills still must be reconciled by the end of Wednesday, the final day of the legislative session.
Parent activists and teachers unions don’t think the plan goes far enough, while education reformers worry the pilot program will undermine accountability and comparisons across districts.
Efforts by Tea Party-aligned Republicans and liberal Democrats to more aggressively cut were beaten back on the Senate floor.
“Do we want to do nothing or do we want to do this?” said Sen. Chris Holbert, R-Parker. “Do we want to decrease those assessments as much as our political process will allow us to do this year?”
