Not a single 11th grade student showed up to take the SBAC test at Nathan Hale High School this week, a Seattle Public Schools spokesperson confirmed.
The news that 100% of the 11th graders opted out of the test was first reported on an education blog.
State Superintendent Randy Dorn released a statement Friday on the potential “fallout” from students opting out of testing. Dorn said there could be academic and financial consequences for the state of Washington if students don’t take the SBAC.
“No test is perfect. But the Smarter Balanced tests, with their emphasis on real-world skills, are better than any standardized test our state has administered before,” Dorn said in a statement.
He said without the testing results, educators will have a harder time identifying learning gaps in the student population and that results will be less reliable. Dorn also pointed to federal expectations, saying that without a 95% participation rate, the Department of Education could cut funding to schools and label Washington as “high risk.” (Read more from “No Juniors Show up to Take Common Core SBAC Test at Seattle High School” HERE)
