Did you hear sabers rattling today? If you did, the sound might have been emanating from California, which is in a standoff with the U.S. Department of Education over its plan to abandon most of its state testing system, and use only the field tests being designed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.
As we report in a story just published on our website, the Golden State’s proposal has run smack into stern disapproval from the feds.
Of course that saber-rattling sound also could have been emanating from Washington. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued a statement warning California that if it were to go ahead with the plan to dump most of its standardized testing in 2014, there could be some dire consequences.
Check it out and see what you think.