School Board Votes Against Testing Before First Grade
For the first time in about two decades, Huntington Beach City School District will not test children in kindergarten next year to identify gifted and talented students.
On a 3-2 vote, the school board of the 6,200-student district opted Tuesday to begin testing no earlier than February in first grade.
Trustees in the majority--Catherine McGough, Shirley Carey and Robert J. Mann--contended that earlier testing can be unreliable, possibly excluding some children who deserve special programs.
The move was strongly opposed by many parents with children in the district’s gifted and talented education program, known as GATE.
The board also voted to expand participation in the state initiative to reduce class size. In the fall of 1998, kindergarten teachers will have no more than 20 students each. Class-size has already been cut in first, second and third grades.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
