Legislators and school officials are talking about tests and how best to make sure Ohio students leave school with the skills they need to succeed in life and in the business world.

Friday, May 19, 2000

Legislators and school officials are talking about tests and how best to make sure Ohio students leave school with the skills they need to succeed in life and in the business world.

The debate centers on the proficiency test system that has become a part of every school’s list of priorities.

The tests are supposed to measure students’ progress and to make sure they are on track to finish their schooling at an appropriate grade level.

The idea behind the testing is fine. Schools should continually evaluate their programs to make sure they are meeting the needs of the students. And, if a student does not have the skills he or she needs at a particular grade level, it is a school’s obligation to make sure he or she does not proceed to the next grade without some sort of remedial work.

The problem is that many schools focus on scores and how best to increase them rather than making sure the programs work. And, that is the fault of the state, which has set proficiency test scores as the measure of the success or failure of both school districts and teachers.

So, schools teach for high test scores and students continue to leave school without the necessary skills.

A better solution would be to have testing, but make it truly a measure of the grade level. In other words, to use tests as a way to help students rather than a way to place blame.

Making the tests progressively easier is no way to help children. It is a way to mask the real problems.

If a school can pinpoint if a student is lagging behind his or her peers in a particular subject, teachers and principals are able to help. They can hold a child back, if necessary, or recommend intense remedial programs.

It is time to stop using tests to threaten teachers and school administrators. Instead, let’s concentrate on reaching the children who have not yet mastered the core subjects – without which they cannot hope to find a job.

To reach that goal, parents, teachers and administrators must join hands, not find ways to point fingers.