Second Grade STAR Test

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

As of July 1, the grade 2 STAR test officially no longer exists. The governor, however, has made its reinstatement a priority. Even if you have already written to Senator Perata and Speaker Nunez, please write the Governor today or tomorrow.

Sample Paragraphs on Second-grade Testing

Send your communications directly to the governor’s office on the second-grade testing issue because the administration is pushing the reinstatement. Thus far, lawmakers have resisted. Address your letters to The Hon. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, The State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814. 

To send an e-mail to the governor directly, log onto his “interact” site at http://gov.ca.gov/interact.

• Please do not reinstate the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) examination for second graders. Ending the Grade 2 STAR examination aligns California’s testing program with federal
requirements in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NCLB). The federal act requires statewide testing of pupils in instruments aligned to state standards beginning in Grade 3.

• The Center for Evaluation and Student Learning has determined that standardized tests are not accurate when used for high-stakes decisions about students under age 8. The Center’s research
indicates that tests intended for accountability purposes should be delayed until the end of Grade 3.

• A study by the Association for Childhood Education International led the organization to stress strongly that “no standardized testing should occur in the preschool and K-2 years.”

• With the phase out of the second-grade exam, California joins the ranks of the 41 other states that have rejected STAR-equivalent testing for second-graders.

• Second-grade testing also costs more than $2 million each year that could be better spent for other things, including instructional materials.