Legislators supporting the Less Testing, More Learning campaign last week filed bills for a moratorium on most of the “high stakes” tied to standardized tests. Please contact your own Representative and Senator and ask them to support these bills.
You can find your Representative and Senator on the Open States web site and email them right from that site. Your email can be as simple as, “Please co-sponsor Rep./Sen. ___’s bill to ______.” If you explain why, that’s even better.
- Rep. Mary Keefe of Worcester filed H.418 and Sen. Barbara L’Italien of Andover filed S.311, identical bills calling for a three-year moratorium on the graduation test: No student who completes all other high school graduation requirements should be denied a high school diploma because of a score on a state standardized test. (Click here for more information and here to read the text of the bill.)
- Rep. Benjamin Swan of Springfield filed H.497 and Sen. Cynthia Creem of Newton filed S.257 which would also ban the use of a score on a state standardized test as a requirement for high school graduation, but without the three-year time limit.
- Sen. Pat Jehlen of Somerville filed S.294 calling for a three-year moratorium on the state’s five-level rating system for schools and districts, and also on new school “turnarounds” and state takeovers. They are based almost entirely on test scores. (Click here for more information and here to read the bill text.)
- Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge filed H.340, a broader bill for a three-year moratorium on these and other aspects of high-stakes testing including tying test scores to teacher evaluation. (Click here for details on the bill and here to read the bill text.)
- Rep. Liz Malia of Boston filed H.3395 making it clear that parents have the right to opt their children out of state and district-mandated standardized tests. (Click here for more information and here to read the bill text.)
The deadline for legislators to co-sponsor House bills has passed but they can still co-sponsor Senate bills. Ask your legislator to co-sponsor the Senate bills if they have not yet done so.
For a downloadable flyer with the Less Testing bill summaries, click here.
