HR0289 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0289 LRB103 32380 LAW 61795 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Public schools are the heartbeat of our communities and a pillar of our democracy; and

WHEREAS, Public schools need to be funded and supported in order to foster equity and continue fostering joy, curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills so that each child may reach their full potential; and

WHEREAS, Today, more time is spent on testing than on teaching, and the overfocus on testing has resulted in teaching to the test and the elimination of subjects such as art and music; and

WHEREAS, A combination of federal, state, and local testing has negatively impacted what is taught in our schools, narrowing the curriculum to only those subjects that are tested; and

WHEREAS, Standardized tests do not reliably measure learning, particularly for Black and low-income students and those with special needs, and are often used inappropriately to make high-stakes decisions about grade retention, graduation, teacher evaluations, and more; and

WHEREAS, States are currently required by the Every Student Succeeds Act to administer statewide summative assessments annually in grades three through eight; and

WHEREAS, The More Teaching Less Testing Act has been introduced in Congress and, if passed, would promote ways to improve assessment and accountability for the actual purpose of increasing student learning opportunities; and

WHEREAS, The More Teaching Less Testing Act would allow states the flexibility to administer summative assessments and design assessment systems that support high quality teaching and learning and eliminate the current federally mandated testing schedule for summative assessments in math, reading and the languages arts, and science, replacing it with other options that include grade-span testing and representative sampling; and

WHEREAS, The More Teaching Less Testing Act would quadruple the Title I funding level to address the chronic underfunding of public schools and would finally prioritize public education funding in the federal budget; and

WHEREAS, The More Teaching Less Testing Act would prohibit states from using federally mandated statewide assessments as the sole or dominant factor for large-scale retention policies, high school graduation decisions, teacher evaluations, or school rating systems; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge members of the Illinois Congressional delegation and all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to vote in favor of the More Teaching Less Testing Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies be delivered to the Illinois Congressional delegation.