Student Success Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, this amendment requires school districts to be transparent in providing information to parents at the beginning of the school year on mandated assessments the students will have to take during the school year and any school district policy on assessment participation.

As a former teacher and elementary school principal, I have seen firsthand the damage caused by the pervasive overuse of high-stakes standardized testing. For the sake of our students and our education system, we need to move towards a more balanced form of assessment that effectively measures diverse kinds of success in teaching and student learning. Unfortunately, H.R. 5 fails to address schools' excessive dependence on deeply problematic standardized tests.

As someone who has dedicated decades of my career and my life to my students and their success, I can tell you that teachers do not join the profession to teach to the test; yet more and more educators are forced to spend time preparing students for tests, administering tests, and reviewing the results of those tests. By some estimates, almost one-third of a teacher's time is spent preparing students to take standardized tests. This is unacceptable. That is why this amendment is so important.

By providing parents with information about the standardized tests their students will be taking and providing them with the policies regarding student participation, we begin to hold the system accountable for the dramatic overuse of these tests.

It is time to end this practice of toxic overtesting. That is why I support this amendment and ask all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, this amendment provides for elementary students reading below grade level to utilize intensive care reading labs to improve their reading efficiency.

I am well aware of the shortcomings of H.R. 5 and its failure to make the improvements necessary to bring our educational system into the 21st century. The bill falls short of providing quality education for many of our young students and has, in fact, left many of our students behind.

Students need enriching learning environments, individualized instruction, well-trained teachers, and positive reinforcement to support their educational development.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment I have before you today provides for just that approach to helping students improve their reading proficiency.

First, it provides for individualized reading instruction through intensive care reading labs, in addition to their normal reading instruction in schools, helping improve students' literacy early in their education.

In these labs, students will be taught by highly trained teachers who work with students in small numbers to improve their literacy and reading comprehension. If children can read on grade level by grade three, they will graduate high school.

Teachers in first, second, and third grade should specialize in teaching language arts, then another subgroup should specialize in math and science. They should be trained by the school district.

By using this specialized approach, schools will be able to better prepare teachers and ensure students are being taught by teachers dedicated to their specific fields. In high schools, English teachers teach English, math teachers teach math. It should be the same in K-3 grades.

That is why I support this amendment and why I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this amendment as well.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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