Heidi Alexander: “I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. This is the report card. The Federal Government is saying: We will give…”

“I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. This is the report card. The Federal Government is saying: We will give you $23 billion, and all we are asking in return is that you, State, write a test; that you, State, figure out what the accountability system is and you report it to the parents and the public. That would mean a third grader, for example, would take two tests a year. Each test would be about 2 hours. So it is a State test, a State assessment. In our Alexander-Murray bipartisan bill, we keep what works in No Child Left Behind, which is the report card, but we get rid of what does not work, and we give back to States responsibility for determining student achievement. This is the consensus that supports this bill. Keeping the important measure of student achievement is essential to maintaining that consensus. So if you want to get rid of the Common Core mandate, get rid of the waivers for 42 States, reverse the trend to a national school board, vote no and keep the requirement for important measures of student achievement, which are State tests. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2180.”