Well, I’m actually writing a blog in favor of a Senate Bill, SB2689, authored by Senator Dennis DeBar, that I support. Yep, you read that right; I support it.

SB2689, described as… “State subject area tests and accountability standards; replace with college prep test and revise provisions.” It’s status? It passed out of the State Education Committee yesterday and is on the Senate calendar. And, it will still have to go before the House.

The title of the proposed bill is: AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DISCONTINUATION OF END-OF-COURSE SUBJECT AREA TESTING IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS FOR 11TH AND 12TH GRADES; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO SECURE APPROVAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ALLOW THE ACT AND ACT WORKKEYS TO SERVE AS COMPLIANCE WITH ANY FEDERAL TESTING REQUIREMENTS; TO REQUIRE ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO TAKE A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED COLLEGE-READINESS AND CAREER-READINESS TEST, SUCH AS THE ACT AND ACT WORKKEYS ASSESSMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-17-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE STATE’S PERMANENT PERFORMANCE-BASED ACCREDITATION SYSTEM FOR SCHOOLS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-16-3, 37-16-7, 37-16-17, 37-3-49, 37-15-38 AND 37-35-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISION OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Did you read the bold print? Yes, I’m on board for this. Here are a few reasons why…

1. It will stop schools and teachers from teaching the test. This has been an ongoing problem since standardized testing began. When this happens, schools and teachers narrow the curriculum, neglecting important subjects and skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. Depth of knowledge is limited due to drilling students for the right answers and limits learning opportunities. If all we ever allow students to do is memorize, then how will they ever learn?
2. The ACT and the ACT Workkeys brings a national test with a standardized measure for student achievement. All states are scored the same way. This allows for fairer comparisons among students from various regions and ensures all students are held to the same academic standards.
3. College-bound students have to have the ACT anyway, which allows high schools to have common benchmarks for student performance that measure the effectiveness of all teachers at the high school level. If this happens, I would dare say you can quickly find out what teachers are or are not teaching.
4. By nature, the ACT is designed to assess college readiness and measure the skills necessary for success in higher education. One of the main aspects of college scholarships is the ACT. Serious money is being given out for ACT scores. Students can attend Junior College for free with an ACT score of 20 at some Junior Colleges in Mississippi. Colleges do not give money to people for passing state mandated tests.
5. Doing away with state subject area tests might just keep teachers in the classroom longer, and education might not have a teacher retention problem. Some of the best teachers are leaving and/or retiring because they are sick of testing.

It will be interesting to see how much traction SB2689 gets. It will also be interesting to see how contentious the debate in committee will be. Nonetheless, I am excited to see this bill proposed. A quick internet search stated that “About 22 states use a college entrance exam (ACT, PSAT, SAT) as the high school assessment for accountability.”

Doing away with state testing could be a game changer for our educational system in Mississippi. I believe the ACT is a better tool to educate the whole child throughout students’ high school careers. In contrast, state testing hinders overall academic development and intellectual growth. If we continue to study for passing instead of studying to learn, education is more of a noun than a verb.

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2024 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…