According to a report
issued by the Department of Education on Thursday, high school students will
see a reduction of up to 8 hours in standardized testing during the 2016 school
year. The report states that the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress
will be seeing a significant time cut this year, and continues to say that
lower grades could also see a cut of up to two and a half hours.
The time decrease is
a result of eliminating the state-specific mathematic and English tests at the
high school level, and instead using the SAT tests in these subjects. The
reduction in time for the lower grades comes as a result of the performance
task portion of the English test being limited to fifth and eight grades.
Both the Michigan
Education Association (MEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) -Michigan
issued responses in full support of decreasing standardized testing saying that
the decision shows that the Department of Education values teaching over
testing. According to Steve Cook, President of the MEA, and David Hecker,
President of AFT Michigan, the increased value on teaching over testing sends a
strong message to parents and teachers, showing that the education of
Michigan’s youth is their number one priority.
The report also
released the testing windows for each grade level, with high school students
and 5th and 8th grade students testing April 11-29, 3rd
and 6th grade testing between April 25 and May 13, and 4th
and 7th grades testing May 9-27.