Dive Brief:
- Washington state's Board of Education and education chief are separately urging legislators to reconsider two very different tests that are currently required of students to graduate.
- State Superintendent Randy Dorn is pushing against current legislation that requires students to take an old state exam and the new Common Core-aligned exam in order to graduate, a move Dorn has said is unfair, illogical, and financially irresponsible.
- The state Board of Education, on the other hand, is asking legislators to eliminate a required year-end biology exam that, as of last year, all seniors must pass in order to graduate.
Dive Insight:
"The double-testing is a problem. Having two standards is a problem," Dorn told the Associated Press Thursday. He believes the state could save up to $30 million a year by giving just one test, and since the new exam tests college and career readiness, it probably makes more sense as a graduation requirement.
In terms of the board's request, according to the Associated Press, Chairwoman Isabel Munoz-Colon says the board wants to expand its focus to comprehensive science standards instead of just zeroing in on biology.