Schools statewide, including all four Laguna Beach Unified School District campuses, will not be rated on students' performance on familiar standardized tests this year as California transitions to new assessments.
Supt. Sherine Smith praised Gov. Jerry Brown for signing Assembly Bill 484 into law last week, paving the way for tests that align with the Common Core State Standards, revamped assessments that focus on interpretation, critical thinking and writing for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Schools will not receive an Academic Performance Index ranking this year as the trial tests are given.
"It makes a lot of sense to suspend the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) program to give schools and teachers time to become familiar with field testing in math and English-language arts," Smith said. "It will allow teachers to become familiar with the test questions. The students will have to take tests on computers, which is a dramatic change."