Udall, Bennet, Polis Welcome Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee's Inclusion of Growth-Based Standards in Education-Reform Legislation

Press Release

Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet and Congressman Jared Polis welcomed the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee's inclusion of growth-based standards to track student performance from year to year in the Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013. The provisions accomplish much of what Udall, Bennet and Polis pushed for in the Growth to Excellence Act, which they introduced last month.

The growth model concept incorporated in the Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013, which reflects innovative student growth tracking systems similar to those used in Colorado, would help schools around the country more accurately measure student performance and ensure that high school graduates across the country are college- and career-ready the day they earn their diplomas.

"I applaud the Senate HELP Committee for joining our push to give schools, teachers and parents the tools they need to ensure students are performing and getting the skills they need every step of the way, from their first day of preschool through high school graduation," Udall said. "This common-sense idea is gaining momentum, and I am excited that Congress is coming around to the idea that students need more than a single high-stakes test to ensure they are on track to be ready for college and careers."

"Accurately measuring student progress and understanding how we are most effective is integral to our kids' success in school," said Bennet, a member of the Senate HELP Committee that wrote the bill. "Colorado has demonstrated how the growth model can help kids better prepare for college and careers, and I'm glad we're pushing to give districts the opportunity to implement this idea across the country."

"I am pleased that Senator Harkin's strong comprehensive bill to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) sets strong accountability consistent with language in the Growth to Excellence Act, which allows states the flexibility to design an accountability system that includes measuring student progress," Polis said. "The Senate's ESEA reauthorization bill requires states to adopt college and career readiness standards and ensures that schools are accountable for student progress and closing achievement gaps. As we work to reauthorize No Child Left Behind, we must not retreat on accountability and should ensure that parents, teachers, policy makers and students alike have clear and useful information about individual student progress."

Much like the Growth to Excellence Act of 2013, the Strengthening America's Schools Act of 2013 would amend federal school standards to include an accountability model for states to track student growth and performance toward being college- and career-ready. Instead of a one-time snapshot of school performance at test times, it would tie school performance to its students' growth over time to ensure they are academically ready for graduation. The standards also would ensure that schools, parents, teachers and students readily have the information they need to track where growth has occurred and where there is room for improvement.

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