U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Tuesday in Hilliard pushed for a reduction in duplicative testing in schools. Brown pushed for legislation that would provide incentives for school districts to study existing local, state and federal tests to find ways to eliminate unnecessary exams.
Brown says the program would also ensure school districts and parents receive test results in a timely manner so teachers can design instruction based on the results.
“There’s far too much testing going on,” said Brown, “(Parents) want accountability but, they want flexibility so teachers can teach what they are there for and not spend so much time on testing.”
Hilliard school superintendent John Marschhausen said, “We can’t test our way out of poverty, we can’t test our way to being competitive at an international level.” Marschhausen called for greater personalization of education.
Standardized tests have come under fire recently with the implementation of new, tougher exams aligned with the Common Core standards. Some parents have had their children opt-out of taking the new exams.