APPLY FOR WAIVERS FOR FEDERALLY MANDATED TESTS.

New State Superintendent Catherine Truitt expressed in an op-ed on EdNC.org this past month with Eric Davis from the State Board of Education:

“Conducting testing is an essential part of a student’s educational journey,” Superintendent-Elect Catherine Truitt said. “As an educator and parent of two public school students, I believe the more knowledge we have of our children’s progress the better.”

When Truitt and Eric Davis co-wrote that op-ed they also said:

“Part of our recovery from COVID-19 is assuring we have appropriate measures in place to determine with certainty the academic and non-academic needs of our students. Testing allows us to determine the appropriate steps to help students meet their educational goals. We continue to explore our options to waive punitive accountability measures for the 2020-21 school year. However, federal testing and accountability measures can be waived only by the U.S. Secretary of Education. At this time, no waivers from the current secretary are forthcoming.”

Actually, teachers are the best at finding “the appropriate measures to determine with certainty the academic and non-academic needs of our students.”

We can still apply for waivers. If Truitt could act as the “state super” in December, we can also see ask the Biden administration to give an indication of its willingness to give waivers.

APPLY FOR WAIVERS FOR FEDERALLY MANDATED TESTS.