Closing schools to combat the spread of the coronavirus has prompted several states to cancel the standardized testing that is dreaded by students and teachers alike.
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020, file photo, custodial staffer Hortensia Salinas uses an Electrostatic Clorox Sprayer to spray disinfectant in a classroom at Brownsville Early College High School in Brownsville, Texas. Closing schools to combat the spread of the coronavirus is having a sweeping impact on an annual rite of spring: the standardized tests that are dreaded by millions of students and teachers alike.
While that’s easing the burden on students and teachers, it’s also creating problems. The federal government requires states to perform annual standardized assessments under the Every Student Succeeds Act. And education groups warn that moving classes online won’t deliver equitable learning across states, school districts and even within classrooms.
That was a relief for Lisa Ivy, a 16-year science teacher in Round Rock, Texas, whose fifth-grade daughter had been facing a STAAR test to determine if she would advance to middle school. The Texas test is a high-stakes assessment that starts in third grade and can stop poor-performing students from advancing to the next grade level or even graduating high school. Test scores are also used to evaluate teachers.
The vast majority of people recover from the virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild cases recover in about two weeks, while others could take three to six weeks to get well. Maggie Brown, a 12-year-old sixth-grader in Austin, Texas, said she wasn’t worried about passing the STAAR this year but that she and her group of friends were glad it was canceled. She remembers the stress it put on students trying to advance out of elementary school.
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