Average scores have been rising in English language arts, but dropping in math as students progress through middle and high school — a cause for worry.
College admissions tests rank students on a curve rather than measuring how well they are meeting state standards and are weaker predictors of college performance than high-school grades.
One bill would let school districts give the SAT or ACT to all students, at state expense; another calls on UC and CSU to consider phasing out the tests altogether.
Place your bets: curbs on charter schools, passage of universal preschool, more money for K-12, more teacher strikes and the resignation of Betsy DeVos; an untested governor and volatile president may affect the odds.
There are signs of "encouragement" and "distress" in implementing the Common Core standards after four years of Smarter Balanced testing. There is also a dilemma: 11th-grade results.
Dozens of districts are offering the tests at their own expense already, because scores on SAT and ACT, not Smarter Balanced, are what matters to high school juniors.
