CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said they're scrapping a number of controversial tests that students were required to take.
CMS is getting rid of 52 controversial year-end exams, including one-on-one testing for children in kindergarten, and the "value-added" test-score ratings that had caused a lot of controversy last year, according to our news partner The Charlotte Observer.
The district spent some $2 million developing these exams and CMS will save at least $300,000 a year on administering and scoring the tests.
"[The 52 exams] took two-to-three years to develop," said Hattabaugh. "This wsn't a one time tcost. It was over several years, [but the testing] costs up to 300-thousand-dollars-a-year, so we'll put that aside," he continued.
Interim Superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh announced the testing changes in an email to staff Tuesday afternoon.
But controversy has been swirling around the testing for months. Opponents have said the district simply tests students too much especially since federal "Race-To-The-Top" testing covers many of the same topics.
The district originally designed the tests along with complex formulas to gauge how each teacher contributed to student learning. CMS says they're going to continue to look for other ways to measure that.
