States want flexibility on education testing

WASHINGTON – The nation’s governors want the power to opt out of a basic part of the education overhaul, a requirement that schools use uniform, statewide math and reading tests each year.

Annual state testing for all students in grades three through eight is a cornerstone of President Bush’s education plan, which ties test scores to schools’ federal funding for the first time. Passed by Congress, the plan was signed by Bush on Jan. 8.

In a letter sent this week to Susan B. Neuman, who oversees K-12 schools for the Education Department, the National Governors’ Association asked that states be given the chance to show that a combination of state and local tests demonstrate student progress.

Education Secretary Rod Paige, charged with enforcing the regulations, has already suggested that the law may let states use a combination of state and local tests.

In a Dec. 18 letter to Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, Paige also said the tests had to be high-quality, and students with limited English proficiency and disabilities would be required to take them.