SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill ending the traditional standardized tests that the state's public school students have taken in reading, math and social science since 1999.
Assembly Bill 484 replaces the pencil-and-paper, multiple-choice tests with new language and math tests that are taken on computers. The new assessments are designed to follow a set of national curriculum standards known as the Common Core.
Because the new test still is under development, schools will be required to give it in grades 3-8 and 11 in either math of language this spring, but not both, and no individual student scores, school performance reports or statewide results would be generated from the rollout.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has threatened to withhold federal funds from the state if it moves forward with the plan.
