Thousands of high school seniors from Boulder to the Denver suburbs are skipping new state-mandated science and social studies tests, the latest flare-up in an escalating battle over Colorado’s standardized tests.
The no-shows in some of the state’s highest-performing and wealthiest districts come amid growing anxiety about overtesting, uniting families in liberal Boulder and conservative Douglas County.
Supporters of the state’s academic standards and testing can take comfort in one thing: This is not an uprising against testing fourth-graders in math, but instead involves tired, disillusioned high school seniors thinking about college.
At nine Douglas County high schools, nearly 1,900 students did not take the tests, more than half of students, according to preliminary data.
Boulder Valley School District said more than 1,500 high school seniors did not take the tests. Only 16 percent of students district-wide did — including just two of 414 students at Boulder High.
In Cherry Creek School District, nearly 1,500 students were no-shows, or 37 percent of students, also according to preliminary data. At Cherry Creek High School, only CLICK TO KEEP READING
Eric Gorski
Author: Mile High Mamas
Old Mama
Good for the kids! Even they are smart enough to figure out what a waste of time these tests are and the time taken away from instruction and learning!
Ardith
Here is what students in American public schools learned in the third grade: standardized testing requires no effort, because there are no consequences or rewards involved with the results.
Why, in heaven’s name, American education is making decisions based on standardized tests has got to go down in history as the most absurd and ironic concepts of the 20th and 21 Centuries.
Lana
No, having a standard and setting a bar with which to compare the performance at different schools makes perfect sense… its just common sense..
Michaela
What’s so awful is that the state is wasting $36 million mandating tests that have zero impact on the students’ future. Money that could be used to hire more teachers, purchase new materials, update unsafe buildings, etc.
Kendra
Good. I am appalled at the time wasted on this particular test. It was bad enough that earlier in the year Juniors spent a day taking the PSAT, meaning that all academic classes for the entire school were shortened to 22 minutes per class. When I was in school, the PSAT was held Saturday morning and did not interfere with class time. Now the CMAS for seniors caused THREE school days to be shortened for the entire school. It is ridiculous. I will be opting my junior out of any spring 2015 testing and the fall 2015 CMAS. We are done with standardized testing.