States continue to debate the implementation of Common Core-aligned tests in its schools. One particular state called on their board of education to suspend its Kindergarten Readiness Assessments program.

The Maryland State Education Association called on their state board "arguing that teachers lose too much instructional time administering the new computer-based tests and are not receiving useful data to improve teaching and learning," according to an article on WashingtonPost.com.

Betty Weller, the president of the teachers union, according to the article, "said the MSEA fielded numerous complaints from teachers after they started administering the test this fall. The union wants the state to halt the testing until issues surrounding the assessment and its implementation are resolved."

“Our students in all grades — and especially those in kindergarten, which for many is their first formal educational experience — are counting on the adults to get it right and provide them with an education in which they have adequate time to learn and their teachers have adequate time to teach,” Weller said. “We cannot afford to waste valuable instructional time without ensuring that new initiatives have been thoroughly piloted, communicated and are useful to our practitioners.”

The Washington Post reported states across the country "are increasingly using tests to measure kindergartners’ knowledge in such areas as letters, sounds, syllables and number recognition, assessing the needs of the nation’s youngest students as they move into the K-12 public school system."

"At least 25 states mandate a kindergarten readiness assessment, according to the Education Commission of the States," the article said. "Kindergartners in Virginia and the District take standardized literacy tests."

Maryland. the article said, "has administered kindergarten assessments for the past decade, but this year the state revamped the tests to align with the Common Core State Standards, a new, national set of academic guidelines."

"The new comprehensive test, which was designed to evaluate kindergartners in language, literacy, math, science, social studies and physical well-being, includes one-on-one interaction between teachers and students," the article said.

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Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor