PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 16, 2021
SKPS board splits on standardized testing
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
In a 4 -3 decision, the Salem-Keizer
School Board — at the recommenda-
tion of the district — elected for schools
to skip standardized public testing for
the 2020-21 school year at a meeting on
Tuesday, April 13.
Board chair Satya Chandragiri, as well
as Marty Heyen and Paul Kyllo provided
the dissenting votes.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools (SKPS)
staff will still use diagnostic assessment
to monitor student learning. The dis-
trict’s current plan is to administer the
state-required Smarter Balance (SBAC)
assessments during the 2021-22 school
year if students are back to fi ve days a
week of in-person instruction — SKPS
plans to have full-day, in-person classes,
fi ve days a week for all students by Fall
2021.
Before the vote occurred, assistant
superintendent Kraig Sproles explained
to the board the benefi ts of not having
SBAC testing for this school year.
“We only have our students for the
next six or seven weeks, and we would
be devoting a chunk of that time to giv-
ing this test … We have heard from lots
of teachers and parents in the last week
or so that are concerned about giving
the test and devoting that precious time
we have without students,” Sproles said.
“Getting ready for it, setting up the test-
ing environment for it, getting kids in
for that time, it will be a focus that takes
away from the care and connection and
the academic recovery we would like to
focus on.”
Sproles did, however, say that he per-
sonally would support the assessments —
even though he informed the board that
the SBAC data would not be able to be
used as a comparison to years past.
Jesse Lippold Peone and Kathy Goss
were two of the board members that
spoke out in approval of the district skip-
ping the standardized testing.
“I believe that students need every
hour that we can possibly give in the few
weeks that we have this year,” Lippold
Peone said. “I have never been a big fan
of the SBAC. I think that it promotes the
culture of putting unique shapes into a
cookie cutter.”
“I see no use for SBAC this particular
year,” Goss added.
Kyllo, however, had the strongest dis-
sent against not doing standardized test-
ing, due to it not being in compliance with
the Oregon Department of Education
(ODE) and the state’s standards for
public schools — the district would then
report to ODE as required that it was
out of compliance and would create an
action plan to meet the requirement.
“I am not prepared to violate the oath
I took three-and-a-half years ago and four
years before that. I don’t believe that any
administrator in this room would say
publicly that it’s okay to violate the law.
We are supposed to be setting an exam-
ple for students. And what is the exam-
ple we are setting? That it’s ok to violate
the law when it’s convenient? That is not
a message I want to be a part of,” Kyllo
said.
Paul Dakopolos, the attorney for
SKPS, explained to the board that, while
he couldn’t in good faith tell them to
violate the law, he also said the conse-
quence of not doing SBAC testing may
be extremely minimal.
“If all you have to do is write a letter
that says ‘yeah we didn’t do that this year
we’ll do it next year’ and if ODE checks
the box and says that’s an acceptable
plan, you’re home free,” Dakopolos said.
While the board was split on the deci-
sion, they unanimously voted in favor of
the Teacher Appreciation Week procla-
mation and the Child Abuse Prevention
Month proclamation. The board also
voted to approve the Optimum Learning
Environments Charter School con-
tract, with Kyllo representing the only
dissenting vote — Optimum Learning
Environments is located at Forest Ridge
Elementary.
Earlier in the week, board leadership
created some controversy after initially
making the decision to delay recogni-
tion for student reporter Eddy Binford-
Ross from South Salem High School in
the Spotlight on Success portion of the
meeting.
Binford-Ross has won several national
awards for her work over the last year. But
after writing an article about how several
members of the school board had their
campaigns fi nanced by Oregon Right to
Life and affi liated political action com-
mittees, Chandragiri wanted to delay
honoring Binford-Ross until the school
board elections had taken place after her
article was shared by the Salem chapter
of the Democratic Socialists of America.
However, after hearing community
feedback, Chandragiri reversed course
and decided that the board shouldn’t
wait to honor Binford-Ross for her work.
Chandragiri also emailed an apology to
Binford-Ross.
“I want to personally apologize to you
about my decision to move your spotlight
recognition to after the May elections. I
want to sincerely assure you that I have
profound respect for all your amazing
work and deserving accomplishments
in the fi eld of journalism, racial justice,
advocacy in the fi eld of mental health
and suicide prevention. I want you to
know that I am proud of your work for
our community,” Chandragiri wrote to
Binford-Ross. “While we truly wanted
to keep the board meeting proceedings
and school district to be entirely focused
on our students, student safety, health,
learning and closing the achievement
gaps and keep any semblance of politics
out of the board meeting, unfortunately it
did not come across in that manner. For
that I ask for your forgiveness.”
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