Bill to dump CRCT in early grades goes nowhere. Why?

Despite what seemed to be widespread support, two bills in the Georgia Legislature to eliminate mandatory CRCTs in first and second grade went nowhere this session.

Georgia is unusual in its mandated standardized testing in the early grades. Only one state tests in grade one, while six states test in grade 2.

This comment came to me from Caitlin McMunn Dooley, assistant professor of early childhood education at Georgia State University. I also created a Google doc – you can link to it below – in which she compares CRCT and NAEP.

House Bills 1132 and 1100, which both proposed to eliminate CRCT testing in grades 1 and 2, seem to be dead in the water. HB1100 made it through the education committee, made it to the Rules committee, but was never voted on by crossover day.

I worked closely with state Rep. Stephanie Benfield to get this legislation passed for the good of Georgia’s little kids. The bills were sponsored and supported by Democrats and Republicans alike. This would have saved Georgia more than $7 million.

I’m sick with disappointment.

At the same time, NAEP scores came out.

So, I did a quick comparison of NAEP and CRCT. I compared results from 2007 and 2009 from the fourth grade reading and math tests. I’ve attached the comparison here in a document called The Elusive Target

The math NAEP and CRCT mirror each other. Both show that our students are moving away from proficient in equal groups toward basic and advanced (although that movement is exaggerated in CRCT scores).  It’s a disturbing trend that suggests some kids are getting better instruction while an equal number are getting worse instruction.

The reading NAEP and CRCT results do not even correlate. The CRCT shows kids getting better in reading. The NAEP shows kids getting worse across the two years.

I think Dooley raises some interesting points. Please look at her charted material in the link and let’s discuss.