Ohio Drops 2 Standardized Tests Due To Economics

COLUMBUS, Ohio—A couple of standardized tests for Ohio elementary school students have failed to make the grade in the new state budget.

The two-year spending plan approved by lawmakers this week eliminates a fourth-grade writing exam and a social-studies test for the state’s fifth graders.

The Ohio Department of Education says dropping the two exams will save the state $4.4 million in the next two school years. About 130,000 students take those tests each year.

At the Pearl Alley Market, Erin Addington, a mother of two, sells her jewelry and just learned about the change.

“I think it’s a bad idea to cut them. It’s a good indicator of what we need to do in schools to change things and I would feel a lot more comfortable with keeping the tests there,“ Addington said.

An official with the Ohio Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, says the cutback is not likely to affect the quality of instruction.

Mark Real, president of Kids Ohio, said he didn’t see the change coming.

“First of all, virtually nobody realizes these tests have been eliminated,“ Real said. “Testing is a way to find out, ‘Who are the kids we need to help?‘ Only 28 percent of kids in CCD in 8th grade last year passed the social studies test.“

Fourth graders will still be tested in math and reading, while fifth grade students will continue to take standardized math, reading and science exams.

“What the test does is provide you a way to compare the performance of kids in your school building with 3,400 other buildings around the state. It allows you to compare kids in Columbus to kids in Cleveland, Youngstown and Toledo. We’re going to lose that,“ Real said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.