Local school officials ready for new legislation

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Mike Watty, Carson City's associate superintendent of education, said the schools are ready for new legislation from Washington, D.C., which emphasizes accountability.

"We're already doing more than what the federal government requested," he said. "We're not going to get more, but we may get different tests."

The education bill, which Congress passed Tuesday, will call for testing in grades 3 through 8.

Students in the Carson City School District are tested through the nationally normed TerraNova Exam in the fourth, eighth and tenth grades.

A statewide Criteria and Reference Test is administered to third- and fifth-graders.

Achievement Level Tests are also given to all third- through eighth-grade students on the district level.

Watty said those tests may satisfy the new standard, but new tests may need to be developed.

He said he would like to see one standard test be given -- like the Achievement Level Tests -- rather than a variety at the different grade levels to better track improvement or lack of progress.

"We use the ALT to measure growth for individual students as well as schools," Watty said. "We have the data to compare from year to year."

The bill would also allow for more flexible spending of federal dollars.

"I think that's a good idea," Watty said. "The money we get now has a lot of strings attached and there are some site needs that just don't fit."