WASHINGTON, D.C. – With Ohio children in the midst of annual testing, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced new legislation to streamline and improve testing practices in our nation’s classrooms. During a news conference call today, Brown was joined by Courtney Johnson, a teacher at Columbus City Schools and parent of a Hilliard City Schools student, to discuss efforts to improve reliability and effectiveness of mandatory tests.

“More of our students’ time in school should be spent on learning, not on unnecessary testing,” Brown said. “While annual testing is critical in measuring student achievement, we should eliminate duplicative tests and realign focus to college- and career-ready standards. The SMART Act would accomplish these goals by giving states and school districts the tools they need to ensure tests are reliable and efficient – eliminating outdated and redundant tests while improving accountability and increasing instruction time.”

“What we know as educators is that the testing, labeling, and punishing regime ushered under No Child Left Behind has corrupted the quality of education our students receive,” said Courtney Johnson, NEA member, mother and board-certified high school English teacher from central Ohio. “Promoting a love of teaching and learning is more important than a test score. I commend Sen. Sherrod Brown for recognizing that too much focus on standardized tests takes up too much valuable time from learning. Streamlining, improving, or even eliminating the types of tests administered would again allow educators to focus on what matters most: inspiring a love of learning in our students.”

Duplicative testing reduces instruction and learning time for Ohio students. According to the Center for American Progress, students take 10 standardized tests each year in grades 3-8. Federally-mandated tests are responsible for 32 percent of testing time in Ohio, while another 26 percent of testing time is devoted to new assessments developed by the State of Ohio to implement a teacher evaluation system. The remaining 42 percent of testing time is devoted to tests required not by the federal government, but by the state or local school districts.  The average student in Ohio spends almost 20 hours taking tests each year and another 15 additional hours practicing for tests each year.

Brown is a cosponsor of the Support Making Assessments Reliable and Timely (SMART) Act, which would help states ensure statewide and local assessments are reliable and timely, while eliminating outdated or duplicative tests. The bill aims to improve mandatory state assessments and ensure they are efficiently and accurately measuring students’ progress and teacher effectiveness.

Specifically, the legislation would update an existing grant formula to assist states and local education agencies in aligning testing materials to college- and career-ready standards. The funding can also be used to speed delivery of test data to educators and parents – providing more time for educators to design instruction based on test results. Additionally, states can undertake audits of existing practices to eliminate unnecessary assessments, design more effective systems, and amplify effectiveness of remaining exams to support educators. A one-pager is available here.                                                       

In January 2015, Brown held a roundtable discussion with teachers and officials from the Ohio Education Association where they discussed priorities for the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – including the SMART Act. In addition to the Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers, the bill has broad support – including endorsements from the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the Education Trust, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Center for American Progress, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the National Council of La Raza.

 

 

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