Lawmakers in Washington are working on fixes to the No Child Left Behind Act that could have implications for teachers and students in Connecticut.
The bipartisan rewrite of the act includes changes to teacher assessments, standardized testing, and the ability of the federal government to identify failing schools.
“I think it offers promise" said Mark Waxenberg, executive director of the Connecticut Education Association, one of the biggest unions in Connecticut.
He's most satisfied with the emphasis on standardized testing being reduced which was unveiled in some proposals surrounding the law last week.
“The most important thing for us is to enhance teaching and learning and to move away from the test score mentality that exists in Connecticut today and across our country so that offers a tremendous amount of hope for parents" he said.
Gov. Dannel Malloy, who has been critical of the No Child Left Behind Act, said the state has made major changes when it comes to standardized testing. He defended his record on education saying he's gotten changes for Connecticut approved by the Department of Education in Washington.
“We would have been testing 11th graders twice that year as opposed to once that year. It made no sense. We got a waiver and I’m glad we got that waiver.”
Lawmakers approved and the governor signed a replacement for the SBAC test this year. Now juniors will all take the SAT free of charge. Previously, many students took both exams.
Malloy says he's waiting to see what really comes out of Washington.
“As far as what’s going to happen in Washington I’m not going to hold my breath on a bill.”
Congress could vote on the proposal later this week.
