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.
Superintendents say free college readiness testing for all would raise SAT/ACT scores and boost college admissions. Opponents say AB 1951 would undermine the usefulness of high school testing.
Student advocacy groups and academics are seeking to adopt a model other states use to calculate the impact of students’ test score growth, but state staff urge patience.
State Superintendent Torlakson and some superintendents are at odds on the issue. An analysis by the prominent nonprofit Achieve will add fuel to the debate.
