DETROIT (AP) - Education officials in Michigan are concerned that an increase in testing for high school juniors will lead to problems this spring.
Testing time will nearly be doubled or tripled, from three days of tests to between five and eight days, according to some principals. Opponents believe classroom instruction will be affected because teachers will be forced to alter lessons.
Additional tests have been developed to align with the Common Core, new uniform national education standards, which were recently adopted in Michigan, the Detroit Free Press reported.
"We would actually prefer not to have this much testing time in 11th grade," said Joseph Martineau, a deputy superintendent at the Michigan Department of Education. "We're in a situation where we don't have the luxury of deciding which law not to obey."
But the exams will still be "incredibly disruptive," said Stephen Bigelow, principal of Cousino High School in Warren Consolidated Schools.
"Imagine as a teacher you have a portion of your class missing every single day," he said. "And it's a different group that's missing (every day). At some point that becomes exhausting not only for the teachers but the students as well. It's excessive."
Some high school students also say the tests will affect their learning environment.
"I think that's going to be a burden on the students and the teachers," said Ermelinda Ndoka, a junior at Cousino High School. "They'll have to stop their whole class pretty much."
School officials are worried that there won't be enough available spaces to holding the testing, as well as teachers to administer the tests.
Several of the state's high school principals, including Bigelow, have written open letters to legislators and the Department of Education urging them to reconsider the proposed testing schedule.
Published: Thu, Dec 04, 2014
