DECEMBER 24, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The U.S. Department of Education, which has warned that it could cut, withhold or redirect federal funds where large numbers of students refuse to take standardized tests, has outlined steps to do just that in a letter sent to states this week.
Under federal law, states are required to test at least 95 percent of students, yet thousands of families refused to let their children participate in testing last spring in multiple states, including New Jersey, amid complaints that the tests were confusing, difficult and a drain on time and resources.
States that didn’t meet the mark both last year and this year could face one or more of three possible sanctions, according to the letter from Ann Whalen, acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education.
The federal government could withhold administrative funds for a Title I program, used mainly to help low-income schools; could put a specific Title I grant on “high-risk status”; or could withhold or redirect funds from the testing portion of a program called Title VI.
In New Jersey, education officials have long warned about potential federal cuts if too many students refuse to take state tests. David Saenz, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the most recent federal communication about testing did not state anything new.
“This letter further reiterates what they have said all along and now that they have data, there are actions they plan on taking,” he said.
Some educators and test opponents, however, have dismissed the warnings as empty threats.
The letter “is intended to coerce states into bullying parents and students into compliance,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a volunteer with Save Our Schools NJ.
The education department, she noted, did not take action when New York had opt-out rates of up to 20 percent last spring. She also said that the administrative funds are a “tiny percentage” of total federal funds.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/feds-detail-penalties-for-test-refusals-1.1479704
