Colorado's Democratic Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennetalong with Democratic Congressman Jared Polis have once again introduced legislation to boosts schools standards and systems to track student performance.
The Growth to Excellence Act of 2013 aims to ensure that students are college and career ready by the time they graduate from high school. Similar measures have failed in previous years.
Senator Udallsays the legislation is modeled after Colorado’s program for measuring students’ academic growth year over year. “It would give states more flexibility in measuring student achievement, and ensure that children do not fall through the cracks,” Udall said in a written statement.
Colorado’s growth model has been recognized nationally as a working reform to No Child Left Behind, the current standard for tracking student growth.
Congressman Polis says each state would be able to customize their program.
"This legislation will hold all states to the rigorous academic standards similar to those used in Colorado, while also allowing states to build upon their accountability systems to meet their individual states' needs,” Polis said.
The Growth to Excellence Act of 2013 would amend federal school standards. Instead of assessing school performance solely at test times, the bill would measure school performance to its students' growth over time to ensure they are academically ready for graduation.
