GILLETTE, Wyo. — State education leaders are looking to overhaul testing requirements in Wyoming schools, stating doing so aligns with a recent proposal to reduce math and science standards.
On June 20, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder’s Assessment Reduction and Efficiency Plan was presented to the Wyoming State Board of Education during a meeting in Newcastle.
“I have heard the concerns of educators, parents, and students about the need to reduce the burden of testing,” Degenfelder said in a statement. “As a result, I am proposing this plan to reduce and streamline the state assessment system while still maintaining the academic rigor we need to provide valuable insight into student learning.”
The plan includes a 30% decrease in items on the third- through eighth-grade math assessment while removing interim assessments from kindergarten through second grade. It also removes the third-grade writing assessment and may eliminate a mandatory assessment for ninth grade, per a June 20 release.
Additionally, the plan calls for an updated math assessment in high school that focuses less on course-based math and more on comprehensive math skills, the release states.
The plan will also release additional diagnostic tools for teachers so they can use the assessment in a more meaningful way, per the release, which says the plan falls in line with the recently reduced math and science standards proposed by the SBE and the Wyoming Department of Education.
Work will continue on these recommendations in collaboration with the SBE and the Wyoming Legislature, according to the release.
