Ohio needs to slash student testing

New state education tests are a mess. Sixth-graders at Midway Elementary in Westwood will take more than 22 hours of state-mandated tests from now to the end of this school year, approximately twice as many hours as were required last year.

Students across Ohio are facing a whole new layer of evaluation with the state's adoption of Common Core, outraging teachers and prompting some parents to opt their kids out of the new tests. Opponents of Common Core standards have latched onto these growing pains as another reason the standards themselves need to go.

We agree that the amount of time students spend taking state and district tests needs to be reduced. It's time to re-prioritize education over testing.

At the same time, Common Core standards are critically important to ensure the success of Ohio students. The standards remain the best way to ensure students are competitive in a global economy. Common Core strengthens and sustains America's greatness by demanding students' best work, regardless of where they study, and setting them up to succeed outside the classroom, regardless of where they'll live.

We understand why some conflate Common Core with over-testing. Some of the additional testing is mandated by Ohio's membership in PARCC, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. Ohio is one of 11 states in the consortium. Ohio's PARCC membership is unpopular with some, but Common Core isn't the villain here.

Politicians and state and local education officials share blame for the crisis that has developed, and they all have a role to play in correcting the situation.

The state didn't realize until last month that students would be over-tested. Gov. John Kasich required the Ohio Department of Education to report to him how much testing students would face. We're glad he did, but troubled he needed to and that it didn't happen until last month.

So how should Ohio limit the test-load on students and educators? The Department of Education's Jan. 15 report showed the way, offering up legislative recommendations that would cut testing by 20 percent.

Meanwhile, parents who seek to opt out of testing for their children should be allowed to do so, at least during this turbulent transition period. The General Assembly should provide clear direction on the matter to the Department of Education and school districts besieged by opt-out requests.

Ohio students are paying the price of testing mania. It's time to ease the cost. Let's ensure students have the time they need to conquer tougher standards, not waste their time with additional, unnecessary tests.

The Cincinnati Enquirer, March 1

At a Glance

Gov. John Kasich and legislators should

• Direct the Ohio Department of Education to monitor the number of tests in every school district.

• Direct the department to limit or cut away assessments whenever possible.

• Consider total testing load when implementing and reviewing required assessments.

• Allow parents to opt their students out of onerous testing, at least for a time.

The Department of Education should

• Serve as an information clearinghouse to highlight examples of test-load best practices.

• Collaborate to troubleshoot districts struggling to limit testing.

School districts should

• Be transparent about how many tests there are, when they are and what they accomplish.

• Speak out to state leaders and parents about the burden of over-testing.