Madison opting out of test could cost Idaho $10 million

(Courtesy Idaho Education News)

REXBURG — Madison School District Superintendent Geoff Thomas says his students will not be taking the state-adopted standardized test next month, even though that may defy a federal requirement and could cost Idaho more than $10 million.

“It certainly could be that extreme,” said Tim Corder, special assistant to Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra. “It’s against the law to opt out. The state signed an agreement and took that money and (the federal government) expects you to honor the deal.”

The Madison Board of Trustees voted unanimously in February to opt out of taking the Idaho Standards Achievement Test by Smarter Balanced. Thomas, named the 2015 Idaho Superintendent of the Year by members of the Idaho Association of School Administrators, supports his board’s decision. An explanation letter was sent to parents and is displayed on Madison’s website.

Corder is not aware of any other Idaho district opting out of administering ISAT.

The federal government has threatened to withhold 20 percent of all Title I funds from all of Idaho’s Title I schools if 95 percent of students do not complete the ISAT this spring. Madison’s more than 5,200 students account for about 2 percent of Idaho’s student population (about 262,000) so the district’s decision could impact Idaho’s 95 percent participation requirement.

Corder told the House Education Committee on Monday that 20 percent of all Title funds equals $3 million; but on Tuesday afternoon he corrected himself and told Idaho Education News the amount will be closer to $10 million.

Ybarra sent Thomas a letter stating the district is required to comply with the parameters of the No Child Left Behind/Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Ybarra is in Washington, D.C., this week meeting with federal officials as part of the Council of Chief State School Officers. She and other state officials are writing another waiver for the federal education law. But Corder said any rewrite would not change Idaho’s requirement of 95 percent participation this spring in the ISAT.

“It’s now the Legislature’s call on how they address that cost,” Corder said about the $10 million the federal government may want back if Idaho fails to meet the 95 percent threshold.

“We are not doing this out of the spirit of defiance,” Thomas said. “We found a much better test. Our decision was deliberate and thoughtful and research-based. All the signs to use another test are very positive. It’s what’s best for kids.”

Madison School District students will instead take the Measures of Academic Progress or MAP test. It will be administered this spring to students in grades three through eight and 10.

Thomas said his district is choosing to administer MAP for these reasons:

• It is less disruptive on instructional time because it is a much shorter test.
• It costs less to administer (Thomas says MAP costs $4 per student while the ISAT by Smarter Balanced costs about $26 per student. “We could save taxpayers tons of money — millions,” Thomas said).
• Test results are reported back to the district within days while ISAT results could take months.

“MAP is a high quality assessment however, it is our understanding, that the current version of MAP does not meet the current (U.S. Department of Education) peer review guidance for use as our statewide summative assessment,” said Angela Hemingway, Director of Assessment
and Accountability for the State Department of Education.

Thomas disagrees and says that MAP does meet the federal requirements and that it is aligned to Idaho Core Standards.

“I feel this is what’s bright for children because this assessment guides instruction and helps students know where they are,” Thomas said. “We’re not against testing, it has its place, but it shouldn’t disrupt instructional time and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”

Thomas compared the ISAT by Smarter Balanced to other recent statewide endeavors such as the Idaho Education Network and Schoolnet — which have come under recent scrutiny by lawmakers.

“(The state) has gone off the deep end embracing these massive contracts that don’t follow common sense,” Thomas said. “The ISAT was a product of the same people who brought us IEN and Schoolnet and those things are not working and they cost millions. Doesn’t that tell us something?”

Thomas said even if he forced the ISAT on his patrons, he would not get a lot of participation. When the test was administered last year in Madison only 73 percent participated.

“I hope they take a look at our (MAP) results and consider us a pilot project,” Thomas said.

This story was written by Idaho Education News Editor Jennifer Swindell. It is used here with permission. The original article is available at here.