Idaho’s State Board of Education has called a special meeting for tomorrow afternoon to formally cancel the 9th grade Idaho Standards Achievement Test. The board earlier announced it was cancelling the test, which 3rd through 10th graders now must take at least twice a year, due to a budget shortfall, after discussing the matter in a closed meeting in apparent violation of the Idaho Open Meeting Law. On behalf of The Spokesman-Review, I filed a complaint with the Idaho Attorney General’s office over the incident; that office is investigating. Today, the Idaho Allied Dailies, an association of 16 daily newspapers, filed a similar complaint. The board’s agenda for tomorrow’s meeting, which was announced late this afternoon, includes amending its $22 million contract with the ISAT testing firm and formally waiving the board rule that requires 9th grade ISAT testing.

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