STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3214

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 155

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 155 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ABOLISH HIGH-STAKES TEACHER EVALUATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Department of Education to abolish the use of teacher evaluations that impact teacher pay or employment status and discontinue the use of standardized tests in evaluating public school teachers or administrators.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Teachers Association, IMUAlliance, and more than forty individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the federal Race to the Top program required states receiving funds under the program, including Hawaii, to implement high-stakes teacher evaluations in which pay and employment status were linked to the results of annual evaluations.  Your Committee further finds that high-stakes evaluations and an emphasis on standardized testing forces teachers to teach to the test and tailor their teaching strategies to fit the criteria of the evaluation.  Research indicates that these constraints do not benefit students, and may actually harm the ability of teachers to perform their duties.  Your Committee additionally finds that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) prohibits the federal government from requiring specific evaluation systems as a condition on receiving grant monies, and gives states significant freedom with regard to standardized testing.

     This measure requests the Department of Education to adopt the flexibility afforded by the ESSA to repeal and replace high-stakes evaluation protocols.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 155 and recommends that it be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary and Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

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MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair