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Ohio Department Of Education Calls For Reduced Testing

Pete "comedy_nose"
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Flickr/Creative Commons

The Ohio Department of Education has released a report recommending a cutback in the amount of time spent testing students, which currently averages 20 hours per school year.

The department wants state lawmakers to reduce testing and practice time by 20 percent, eliminate the fall 3rd grade standardized reading test except for students who need them, and eliminate math and science diagnostic tests in the first three grades.

Ohio’s own teacher evaluations add time as well, because students are tested to show how much they learned over a year.  

Department of Ed spokesman John Charlton says they don’t want the evaluations to be overly burdensome.

“I think there is some discussion to be had with that...whether it’s students testing or a more robust or detailed teacher evaluation system,” he said.  “I think it might be difficult to have both of those.”

The report says 72 percent of testing comes from federal requirements like No Child Left Behind. Parents, teachers, and administrators have all been complaining, saying there is just too much time spent on tests.