State leaders discuss school funding, tests

Changes in state testing, funding for concurrent enrollment and education funding priorities were all hot topics lawmakers and state public and higher education leaders discussed during Thursday's joint legislative meeting on state education issues.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Patti Harrington said among the state school board's funding priorities for next general session of the Legislature are $28.7 million to reduce math and literacy classes by one student, $7.5 million to fund full-day kindergarten for at-risk students and $30 million to increase the number of computers in Utah classrooms.

Leaders will also be looking at making some changes in the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students. U-PASS includes a number of assessments including the state's criterion-referenced tests and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

CRTs measure a student's progress in math, science and language arts in various grades. And the language arts CRT is currently given to all students in first through 11th grades.

However, officials plan to explore whether the state should eliminate the first- and second-grade tests, since in most districts more than 90 percent of those students are scoring proficient. Harrington said students at that age are still in the language development stage, and thus the test is not highly diagnostic in those grades.

Also, the ITBS test is state-funded and administered in grades three, five, eight and 11. Leaders said that for secondary students in grades not being tested, those testing days have often been wasted days, and leaders want to explore whether schools should be encouraged to test all students.

Lawmakers plan to put together a committee made up of legislators, school board members, superintendents and assessment directors to look at those and other issues that could lead to potential changes in U-PASS. They would make recommendations by Dec. 1.

Other discussions included ways to fund concurrent enrollment so that quality classes are preserved.

Commissioner of Higher Education Richard Kendell reported that in the 1998-99 school year, 19,700 students participated in concurrent enrollment classes. In 2006 about 27,300 were enrolled, and some state leaders said that if lawmakers don't continue to fund for growth, then students will need to help shoulder the costs.

Students who participate in concurrent enrollment have the opportunity to take college courses while in high school and the potential to earn an associates degree before graduating.

State education leaders are also proposing a change in the funding formula where the State Office of Education would receive 60 percent of the money the Legislature earmarks for the concurrent enrollment program.

The rest would go the participating colleges and universities.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com