Murkowski Applauds USED’s Decision to Grant Alaska Testing Waiver
Today U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to approve the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s (DEED) request for a waiver from federal testing requirements this year due to technical problems that arose during last spring’s testing.
“I am pleased the Department of Education heeded Alaska’s concerns and granted this much-needed waiver. There is simply no reason our state should be penalized for failing to meet federal testing requirements this past school year due to the significant, widespread, and unexplained technical problems associated with the Alaska Measures of Progress test,” said Senator Murkowski. “While I acknowledge the need for these assessments, the state should not be punished for circumstances entirely out of its control – and I thank Secretary King for recognizing that.”
Background: Senator Murkowski sent the U.S. Department of Education a letter on June 23rd in support of Alaska’s waiver request. In addition, Senator Murkowski pressed Secretary of Education John King on this issue during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on June 29th and urged him to approve the state’s waiver request.
