Familiarity with tests and increased Internet capabilities helped districts administer assessments, but state system experienced glitches when overloaded.
The State Board of Education agreed to spend $1.5 million more on testing, including nearly $500,000 on new "Science Academies" intended to help teachers better understand the Next Generation Science Standards.
Across California, 34 high schools and 12 districts have formed a network to promote performance-based assessments, including portfolios. These are the end product of months of intense collaboration, research, critical thinking and multiple revisions that students typically present in their senior year.
The National Math + Science Initiative program has led to improved Advanced Placement test scores in more than 725 schools in 34 states over three years.
California education officials have appealed the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to reject the state’s request to begin phasing in new science tests this spring.
If California does what the U.S. Department of Education says it should do, some students could end up taking two standardized science tests instead of one this spring.
PISA tests show a lower-than-average percentage of U.S. students were high-performing in math, while a higher-than-average percentage of U.S. students were below proficient in math last year.
