Miller Statement on California Legislation to Pause on Accountability for Millions of Students
Washington – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Obama administration’s statement regarding California’s pending legislation, Assembly Bill 484, that would remove millions of students from state assessments leading to a year or more gap in information on student progress, which would be a violation of current federal law. As a result, many parents and schools would be completely in the dark as to whether children are achieving in the classroom.
“While I commend California for making Common Core a priority, I echo the Obama Administration’s concerns with Assembly Bill (AB) 484. California, like much of the nation, is at a pivotal transition point when it comes to education. This process must be approached carefully and thoughtfully. A year is a significant amount of time in a child’s education and shouldn’t be taken lightly. The stakes are too high to hurry this transition or to pause in monitoring the achievement of our students, including our most vulnerable and disadvantaged students.
“As the state rightfully reaches for the future, it must also maintain some stability and understanding through this transition on how on all students are learning. Failing to measure and inform parents about how well their child is doing in school for an entire academic year is absolutely the wrong approach. Additionally, maintaining a focus on achievement is especially critical at this time for English Learners and students with disabilities. Given those students’ need for quality assessments and individual supports, parents should be concerned about losing a year or more of information on their children’s progress.
“We all agree that students and teachers will not benefit from excessive testing. That is why Secretary Duncan has offered states the option of waiving current assessments in schools that will be field testing new assessments while maintaining current accountability for those schools not participating in that process.
“The transition to new standards and assessments is just that, a transition. The next phase of field testing new assessments is a critical learning element of that transition for the state as a whole – learning how well teachers are prepared to teach new standards, how close are all students to achieving at grade level, what are the technology needs and gaps. While that field testing and learning process is occurring, it is critical the state continue to measure whether students are learning at grade level as part of that process.
“In light of these concerns and the consequences for students, parents, and educators, it is my hope that the California legislature will reject the current version of AB 484. I urge the governor, superintendent, and legislature to revise their approach to ensure that accountability for student learning is maintained at this critical time.”
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