NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A task force created to review student testing and assessment in Tennessee is recommending the elimination of annual standardized tests for kindergarten and first-graders.
The recommendation was among 16 released on Tuesday by the task force Education Commissioner Candice McQueen formed in March.
The report follows a recent survey of nearly 37,000 teachers that showed 60 percent say they spend too much time helping students prepare for statewide exams.
Jim Wrye is assistant executive director of the Tennessee Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union.
Despite the elimination of standardized tests in early grades, Wrye says there are still “high stakes” placed on standardized tests.
For instance, teachers have long held that the state’s evaluation process relies too heavily on standardized test scores.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.