Jones states that budget cuts negatively affect Idaho schools, causing programs to be cut, detracting teachers and causing some districts to move to a four day week.

 

Ybarra states she needs to see ‘what’s working for Idaho. She has three priorites, "21st century abilities, assessments, and safety and support."

Both candidates' sites say that testing is a fact of education.

 

Jones believes that tests allow states to compare their students' performance with other states, but it’s important that focus shouldn’t be specifically on testing; it’s just as important to teach students.

 

Ybarra wants a broader approach to testing because each child is diverse in learning. Ybarra doesn’t want students assigned a quantitative number, so she wants a test at the beginning of the year and at the end, aimed at showing the ‘growth’ of the student. Ybarra doesn’t want tests to be ‘fear-based’ or considered ‘high-stakes.’

 

Both candidates support early-education and seem to agree that early-childhood is a vital learning time.

 

Jones says that early-education helps kids start at an equal point, preventing some kids from falling behind.

 

Ybarra, although she also believes in early-education, says that the problems caused by the "'fear based' testing regimen" are going to ‘trickle-down’ and affect developmentally challenged children.

Both candidates support the Common Core for Idaho. They also admit that there are some challenges to the Common Core, but each has her own solution to these problems

 

Jones states that there are broad goals for each grade level, but that it’s up to the districts and classrooms on how that goal is achieved.  She also believes one of the issues with Common Core is that there are gaps in goals from grade to grade. She’d like to create a group of educators from around the state to address these gaps in the summer of 2015.

 

Ybarra believes in the Common Core, but doesn't think it's enough for Idaho students. For example, she believes we also need ‘aligned professional development and more tools for teaching...’ and that tests shouldn’t be feared.