Local schools to get double testing waiver

SANDERS COUNTY – Montana received a green light on a testing waiver from the U.S. Department of Education, eliminating double testing in the area. Montana was the first state to receive the testing waiver.

According to a press release, State Superintendent Denise Juneau and U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester announced the Office of Public Instruction had been granted the testing waiver from the U.S. Department of Education. The waiver avoids double-testing of Sanders County and Montana students this school year.

The waiver also allows schools to “smoothly transition” to a new statewide assessment in 2015.

“I am very pleased with the quick turnaround on this request,” Juneau stated in the press release. “Now we can focus on informing schools and parents about the changes in testing this year and prepare for the new statewide assessment in 2015. Avoiding double-testing of students this spring and providing our schools with the opportunity to make a smooth transition to our new, online assessment is the right thing to do for Montana students.”

Plains School District Superintendent Thom Chisholm stated in an earlier school board meeting that he was in support of the waiver.

Chisholm explained to the board that a new test comes with the Common Montana Core Curriculum the state is aligning to and he expressed his feelings that double-testing was unnecessary.

“We’re not going to double up on our testing. We are not going to waste our resources,” Chisholm said of the waiver request. At the time, the waiver had yet to be approved but even in the early stages, it won Chisholm’s approval.

“I have a tendency to agree with that. The idea is that it’s redundant to be taking two sets of tests,” Chisholm explained.

In November 2011, the Montana Board of Public Education adopted the Montana Common Core Standards, which replaced the English Language Arts and mathematics standards that were already in place.

According to the press release, the new standards are more focused on developing critical thinking skills and help teach students to apply what they have learned to real world situations. The standards are being implemented this school year.

“Montana has joined with 24 states in developing assessments with the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium,” stated the press release. “Smarter Balanced is developing a computer adaptive year-end assessment where each student’s test is customized based on his or her performances throughout the test. The new assessment will be used for state and federal accountability purposes beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.“

The press release also stated the Office of Public Instruction received hundreds of comments in support of the waiver request from all across the state. After receiving 350 comments from superintendents, principals, teachers, school board members, members of the public, among others, the testing waiver was officially granted.