Statement From The Education Trust on the Support Making Assessments Reliable and Timely (SMART) Act

WASHINGTON (December 9, 2014) — The Education Trust issued the following statement on the Support Making Assessments Reliable and Timely (SMART) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Jim Gerlach (R-Penn).

“The SMART Act underscores the importance of maintaining statewide annual testing, while acknowledging there are too many redundant and unnecessary tests — many of which are not required by federal law and are a waste of time and money. This bill shows a federal commitment to relieving the burden of useless tests by providing additional resources for this important work, which states and districts have already committed to do.

“Statewide, annual assessments aligned to meaningful standards are essential to high-achievement for all groups of students. These assessments:

• provide parents with timely information on how their children are performing when compared with their peers;
• allow educators to measure student learning growth over time; and
• give parents and policymakers the comparable information they need to make informed choices about school quality.

“We look forward to working with Congressional leaders in both parties to ensure a sensible, constructive federal policy on assessment that gives educators the tools they need to support achievement for all students.”

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