Colorado lawmakers debate testing proposals

State legislators are debating a proposal for Colorado to retreat from the Common Core educational standards, one of a slew of education reforms bills being considered Thursday.

The Senate bills are before the Education Committee, which already has seen discussions illustrating how heated politics can be when the subject is schools.

Parents and educators are pushing lawmakers to reduce state-mandated testing, saying that while assessments are necessary, they now take away too much teaching time.

In addition, the roll-out this year in Colorado and other states of tests linked to the Common Core standards has been met with accusations it will lead to a loss of local control. The federally backed initiative originated with the states and is aimed at ensuring high school graduates are career and college ready.