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A student's performance on year-end tests would no longer impact teacher evaluations and salaries under a bill approved by the House Education Committee on Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Salt Lake City, would prohibit the use of scores from SAGE, Utah's statewide testing system, when evaluating a teacher's job performance and merit-based salary increases.

Poulson, a former educator, said the reliability of SAGE data is undermined by contradictory state laws. While SAGE is used as a measuring stick for schools and teachers, parents can excuse their children from testing and educators are prohibited from offering incentives to test takers or including SAGE scores in course grades.

She said that leads to children who either opt out of taking the SAGE test or who make little effort to achieve a high score.

"We should think really hard and really be cautious about using this kind of data for teacher evaluations," she said.

Gay Beck, a kindergarten teacher who was Utah's Teacher of the Year in 2011, said schools and educators are open to being held accountable for student performance. But that accountability should recognize the challenges and successes that aren't captured in a single test score.

"We're happy to be evaluated," she said, "but we want it to be fair."

The committee voted 12-1 in favor of the bill, which will now go before the full House for consideration.

Committee members were also presented with a bill by Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, which would allow teachers to grade their students based on SAGE or, in a potential substitute to the bill, would abolish the SAGE test entirely.

"If it is not used in grading of students and not used in grading of teachers," he said of SAGE, "why do we have it at all?"

Several lawmakers expressed a desire to read the substitute version of Powell's bill, which was prepared shortly before the committee convened.

State law requires a computer-based test, like SAGE, and federal law requires annual testing at most grade levels. Because of those requirements and other state programs that rely on SAGE testing, Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane, suggested the committee hold on to the bill for further debate and consideration.

"I think to make a decision right now to do away with SAGE testing is insane," Last said.

The committee voted to continue on to the next agenda item, leaving the potential that Powell's proposals will be heard later.

Twitter: @bjaminwood