LANSING, Mich. — A request has been made to waive standardized testing for students statewide amid school closures due to coronavirus.
Michigan’s president of the State Board of Education and its state superintendent are asking that the state's annual Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress tests, which are scheduled to begin the week of April 13 and run through May 28.
The request comes after Governor Gretchen Whitmer closed all k-12 schools until April 5.
"When we return to school, the focus should be on tending to childrens’ immediate needs: physical, socioemotional and academic," said State Board of Education President Casandra Ulbrich and State Superintendent Michael Rice in a letter Tuesday to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy Devos.
Rice said he will be working with Michigan’s state legislators to waive the requirements in state law to administer the M-STEP tests.
“In many cases, children will have experienced trauma. In other cases, they will simply need to be re-acclimated into their schools,” the letter stated. “In all cases, students will have missed instruction, and this lost instruction will render any conclusions about test results dubious, especially any comparisons across school years and in light of the pending public health concerns of parents, students, and staff.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoed their comments.
“It’s time for Betsy DeVos to do the right thing on behalf of our students and waive statewide assessments,” Whitmer said in the release. “When our kids get back to school, our number one priority must be ensuring they have the resources they need to get back on track.”
“Upon return to school, our focus nationally should be on instruction, supports, and nurturing of students, not on state summative assessments,” the letter stated. “By waiving the requirement nationally to provide state assessments under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, you help schools put students first and focus on providing the supports that students will need in the coming weeks and months.
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