The standardized math and English exams that California students take each spring would be replaced with computer-based tests designed to assess critical-thinking and problem-solving skills under a proposal today by state schools chief Tom Torlakson.
Outlined in a slate of a dozen recommendations, the new exams would be rolled out in the 2014-15 academic year, coinciding with the state's implementation of a national curriculum known as the Common Core State Standards.
Unlike the current California Standards Tests, which use multiple choice questions to gauge students' knowledge about specific content, the new tests would help determine whether students are learning the critical-thinking skills that are at the heart of Common Core.
"Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests alone simply cannot do the job anymore," Torlakson said. "It's time for California to move forward with assessments that measure the real-world skills our students need to be ready