In a significant policy shift, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman, a Republican, has signed into law a measure authorizing statewide reading and mathematics exams that would supplement鈥攁nd could eventually compete with鈥攖he state鈥檚 unique patchwork of district-level assessments.
, finalized on the last day of Nebraska鈥檚 legislative session, made the Cornhusker State the last to move toward uniform, statewide assessments to meet the accountability requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
What might happen next, however, nobody quite knows.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to read that bill and see what it means,鈥� said Doug Christensen, the state鈥檚 commissioner of education, who will spend the next three to six months figuring out how to integrate the local and state-based systems.
On paper, the law looks straightforward: Starting in the 2009-10 school year, the state will begin giving students a uniform exam on which they will have to demonstrate their reading competency. In 2010-11, the same thing will happen in math. Statewide writing exams for grades 4, 8, and 11 have been in place since 2000-01.
But Mr. Christensen said the state has no plans to ditch the School-based Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System, or STARS, Nebraska鈥檚 existing network of math, reading, and other subject-area assessments, which went into effect in 2000-01.
Each of the state鈥檚 254 school districts has its own system of testing for those subjects. (鈥淣ebraska Swims Hard Against Testing鈥檚 Tides,鈥� Feb. 21, 2007.)
Although Mr. Christensen said the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 process for approving STARS appears nearly complete, the department last year designated the system 鈥渘onapproved鈥� for the 2005-06 school year, and noted that the state would not be able to comply with the NCLB law during the 2006-07 school year.
That finding was cited in a , released in February, that was ordered by state Sen. Ron Raikes, the author of the new state law, which passed 30-13, with six senators not voting.
The department cited the difficulty of documenting all the widely varying forms of assessment the districts use鈥攅verything from multiple-choice paper tests to hands-on lab experimentation.
Comparability Sought
Sen. Raikes, an Independent in Nebraska鈥檚 49-member unicameral legislature, insists he doesn鈥檛 want to replace the homegrown STARS with statewide exams; he just wants different districts鈥� scores to be comparable within the state.
鈥淚f you have a statewide math test, would you still use lab experiments or whatever [from the current system] within your classroom to make your students achieve better? Sure you would,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he only question would be if you use it as an accountability measure or a teaching technique.鈥�
Sen. Raikes also cited teacher complaints that the STARS assessments take too much time from instruction, and noted that the existing system seems to overstate students鈥� achievement levels when the scores are compared with such tests as the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the ACT college-admissions exam.
Mr. Christensen, a staunch defender of Nebraska鈥檚 locally developed assessments, believes time will tell whether the newly mandated battery of statewide tests will really help educators and students.
鈥淎t worst it鈥檒l be redundant,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t best, it鈥檒l be value-added.鈥�
In the meantime, he sees nothing wrong with STARS鈥� diversity of achievement measurements.
鈥淚f I measure the distance to Chicago with a ruler, a yardstick, and the odometer on my car, the distance to Chicago doesn鈥檛 change,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just report the results differently, and that鈥檚 what we have.鈥�
George H. Wood, who directs the Forum for Education and Democracy, a national group opposed to high-stakes standardized testing, is critical of the new law.
鈥淭he unfortunate thing is that Nebraska leads the country in assessment,鈥� said Mr. Wood, who鈥檚 also the principal of Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e developed a really thoughtful and sensitive system that鈥檚 really teacher-centered.鈥�
is still working out what form the new statewide reading and math tests will take. And it鈥檚 not even certain that the new law鈥檚 directives will be carried out. In 1998, then-Gov. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, signed a similar bill into law, and it remains on the books. But he subsequently vetoed the funding for it, so the tests the law authorized were never put in place.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still time to undo this,鈥� Mr. Wood said, noting that the new assessments won鈥檛 see the business end of a No. 2 pencil until 2009. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 an election cycle. And in an unicameral legislature, it doesn鈥檛 take many seats to change direction.鈥�
