DaytonDailyNews.com

EDITORIAL: FLUNKING THE TEST

Ohio's tests not up to test of judging kids

By the Dayton Daily News

When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act, it jumped powerfully into the business of running schools. Local communities still get to choose their school board and superintendent, but Washington has laid down heavy-handed, though well-intentioned, dictates that impact everything from who graduates to when principals will get the boot. For the relatively little money it puts into schools, Congress has stuck not just its nose, but also its hands, arms and feet into schools. In their three-part series, "Flunking the Test," that begins today, reporters Scott Elliott and Mark Fisher uncover much that is wrong in the rush to make schools and teachers more accountable and raise expectations for students. For example, some experts argue that the tests that determine who will move up to the next grade, and even who gets to graduate, are poorly written and too often graded inaccurately. They say that testing companies are overwhelmed as states are hurrying to meet deadlines imposed by the No Child Left Behind law. (The testing industry, which has more business than it knows what to do with, disagrees.) Critics also say that many children are being set up to fail in multiple ways. Often multiple-choice test questions are designed to trip up children, rather than measure what they know. The questions, especially on reading tests, are so literal and precise that children are punished for using inference or relying on information that they know but isn't provided in the test question. Under a policy that needs to be reconsidered, Ohio also is purposefully crafting tests in a way that ensures a certain number of students will fail. Rather than measuring students' proficiency in a subject - allowing all those who have mastered the test material to pass - the education department is ordering up tests so difficult that a few students will do well, most will do just OK, and a few will fail. All students are not created equal, but purposely creating a situation where the standard is so high that some kids can't possibly make the cut is cruel. The goal behind the No Child Left Behind Act was not to fail people and consign them to never getting out of high school. It was supposed to set a high but fair standard for what young people need to know. No Child Left Behind has, because of some of its requirements, resulted in successful revolts by parents. The tests, for example, that the state education department wanted teachers to give kindergartners through second grade - for an hour, one-on-one - have been postponed. And the feds have loosened up some unrealistic demands. Both Washington and the state are slowly recognizing that, as important as setting high standards is, there is a lot that elected officials and bureaucrats just didn't understand. If tests aren't written well, if they're graded in error, if testing is done too often, the damage can be long-lasting and traumatic. Politicians - at every level - are right that, as a country, we need to have high standards for schools and that too many are failing to educate children, especially in poor and minority communities. But there also have to be standards for the people making the laws and setting the standards. Like the kids, they shouldn't get by with failing work either.