Harrington plans to present a draft of a plan to possibly eliminate tests such as Criterion-Referenced Tests, the Directed Writing Assessment, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test to a legislative panel next week.

In place of the old tests, she and the K-16 Alliance would like to see students in grades two through 12 take adaptive, online tests at least three times a year. She said the tests could possibly become part of the U-PASS system the state uses to gauge schools' academic progress.

Speaking to the Utah Board of Education meeting in St. George, Harrington said the adaptive tests, which would be fitted to each student's needs and progress, would do a better job of showing teachers how students are progressing and which areas they need to work on during the school year. Also, the tests would be online, allowing teachers to see results quickly as opposed to waiting, as they must with other standardized tests.

Under the draft, students would be required to take the ACT as well as college and career readiness tests in eighth and 10th grades.

“A lot of kids from minority and poverty backgrounds don't perceive their worth and don't understand they're college material,” Harrington said. “We want to give them an early signal they're bright and capable.”

Harrington said she'll see how receptive legislators are to the ideas before proceeding. Board member Randall Mackey of Salt Lake City said he's excited about the bold plan.

“These testing changes are really radical, and I think we're headed in the right direction,” Mackey said.

lschencker@sltrib.com