Connecticut juniors get to take SAT, not SBAC

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2015 file photo, Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaks about the administration's priorities for education in advance of the Congress taking up reauthorization of the so-called No Child Left Behind Act. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) less FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2015 file photo, Education Secretary Arne Duncan speaks about the administration's priorities for education in advance of the Congress taking up reauthorization of the so-called No Child ... more Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Connecticut juniors get to take SAT, not SBAC 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A new waiver from the U.S. Department of Education means one less test for high school juniors in Connecticut.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Thursday that starting with the 2015-16 school year, 11th-graders in the state will sit down to the SAT, not the so-called SBAC test aligned to the Common Core curriculum.

“While exams that test college readiness are essential to helping us gauge where we are as a state and help guide instruction, we are doing our part to mitigate over-testing — a common concern among parents,” Malloy said. “There’s a balance to be struck, and we’re working to reach it.”

The waiver was requested last fall and the state Legislature put an exclamation point on the effort this spring by passing legislation to swap out the tests.

“The U.S. Department of Education must have recognized what we in Connecticut have been saying for a while now: Enough is enough when it comes to student testing,” said Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, co- chair of the Education Committee.

“Relieving the burden of over-testing on our students was a top priority for me this session.”

Under federal law, Connecticut must administer end-of-year tests to all students in grades 3 to 8 and once in high school. Many have complained that the new Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test and the preparation that goes with it were just too much for high school juniors, many of whom already take Advanced Placement and other college readiness tests such as the PSAT and SAT.

Now the SAT, already taken by 85 percent of high school students in the state, will be taken in school and at no charge to students.

Cyndie Schmeiser, chief of assessment at the College Board, which produces the SAT, said the test is redesigned to reflect what Connecticut students are learning in their classrooms. “The College Board is committed to working closely with the state of Connecticut,” she said.

More Information At a glance With any waiver there are usually strings. Here are some spelled out for Connecticut by the U.S. Department of Education in its renewal letter dated Aug. 6, 2015: Details of its plans to use the SAT instead of SBAC at the high school level by Dec. 31, 2015. A timeline for including student growth in teacher and principal evaluations based on state assessments administered no later than the 2016-2017 school year. Detail no later than Sept. 1, 2016, the approach the state will use to calculate student performance in teacher and principal evaluations. Beginning with the SBAC test given in the spring of 2016, the state must assign ratings to schools, between 1 (highest) and 5 (lowest), based on the sum of their scores to identify the highest-performing schools.

The waiver is part of the renewed flexibility that seven states, including Connecticut, were awarded by the federal government on Thursday from the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind. The other states affected are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

In all, 42 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have received flexibility from waivers.

The new three-year renewal for Connecticut was based in part on the state’s creation of Commissioner’s Network schools — a system that supports chronically low-performing schools. So far, three of those schools have been in Bridgeport. In addition to some extra funding that diminishes over time, the schools are monitored by a state Department of Education employee.

Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell said the federal waiver allows the state to expand opportunity for students as it strengthens accountability.

Connecticut was also given increased flexibility for testing English language learners. Those students get two years to learn English before their reading and math tests count. Connecticut is required to start including student growth in teacher evaluations no later than the 2016-17 school year.

Even federal officials admit that under NCLB, schools were given many ways to fail but few opportunities to succeed. The law forced schools and districts into one-size-fits-all solutions, regardless of the individual needs and circumstances in those communities.

Under flexibility plans, states continue to focus resources on rigorous interventions in their lowest-performing schools and to support the neediest students. States also agreed to focus on improving teacher and principal effectiveness with evaluations that include student achievement.

If Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal Department of Education will work with states to help them transition to the new law.

Wentzel said the effort to reduce over-testing won’t stop at the 11th grade. This year, the state awarded $428,253 to 48 districts as part of the Assessment Reduction grant program. The grants aim to help districts analyze their tests to make sure they reflect district priorities, are aligned to new state standards and are not redundant.