Pasco Schools Cut 18 Standardized Tests

Pasco County elementary school children fed up with testing received some good news Wednesday.

The school district announced plans to do away with 18 different standardized tests.

“In an effort to reduce some of the testing demands at the elementary level this year (2014-2015), Pasco County Schools will eliminate the comprehensive performance-based test in grades K through 5,” the district wrote in a media release. “In addition, the district will eliminate the special area tests in art, music, and PE for grades K, 1, 3, and 4.”

Special are testing will continue this year in grades two and five, because some teachers may only work with students in primary grades or only students in intermediate grades rather than an entire school, the district noted.

The tests being done away with are at the district level. The changes do not impact the Florida Standards Assessment tests that rolled out this year or the remaining FCAT exams on the schedule, district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

See Also:

• Watch: 4th-Grader Schools Board on Standardized Testing
• State Needs to ‘Step Back’ on New Assessments, Pasco Superintendent Says

Testing at the local level isn’t going away entirely, however.

“In the content areas where tests are being eliminated, principal approved tests will be administered,” the district’s release stated. “A principal approved test is one that measures the student’s mastery of standards and can be a test, performance-based activity, observational checklist, or a combination of the three.”

The idea behind the move is to streamline and cut down on district-run tests while providing more oversight from school principals.

The district has no plans to alter assessments for middle and high school students this year.

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