JON TESTER ae Wnited States Senate January 19, 2016 ‘The Honorable John King Acting Secretary USS. Department of Education 400 Maryland Ave SW Washington, DC 20202 Dear Acting Secretary King: I write to you regarding implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and ‘our shared goal of reducing the burden of standardized testing on our nation’s students, I strongly believe our education system relies too heavily on testing to the detriment of our students. We need to ensure testing does not distract from good instruction and that it takes up a limited amount of time. That's why I ask you to consider the following requests as your Department works to implement ESSA. ESSA allows States to set a target limit on the amount of time their schools spend administering tests, and lets them use a portion of their Title I funds to work with local districts, in identifying and eliminating duplicative tests. I urge you to take all possible steps to clearly communicate these opportunities to States and districts, and make technical assistance available to the States and districts that choose to use these ESSA provisions. ESSA gives States and districts another opportunity to reduce the testing burden on their students. They can substitute nationally-recognized tests, like the SAT or ACT, for the State designed assessments they currently administer to high school students under the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Numerous states, including Montana, have already chosen to take advantage of this opportunity, which will allow them to reduce testing time and prepare every student to apply for college at the same time. I strongly encourage you to ensure that regulations published by your Department do not create barriers for States and distriets that choose this option, While an enormous amount of work went into making ESSA the law of the land, an equal amount of work remains to implement it correctly. T look forward to working with you to implement ESSA to better prepare our students to succeed in the 2st century economy. Sincerely, Jon Tester Bozentan Bure Great Fauis Hevena sir ie) 586-4450 (40) 723-3277 (4) 452-968 106) 448-5401 (406) 257-3300 Bun Missoua 1406) 252-0550 406) 728-2008