6/27/08

Plain Dealer Editorial

Regarding the June 19 editorial “High-stakes tests are useful”: I am a 2008 graduate of an Ohio public school and one of the Ohio Youth Voices authors of the briefing paper to Gov. Ted Strickland. And I strongly disagree with the editorial’s claim that the Ohio Graduation Test is “worth the sweat.”

While the point can be made that standardized testing has some merit, it focuses on memorizing facts, not applying academic concepts. A student’s ability cannot be measured by a multiple-choice test.

The punishment focus of standardized tests has narrowed the curriculum. That is why Ohio Youth Voices suggested a small pilot program to field-test senior projects, research papers and community service to see if students could learn as much with those alternatives.

Schools no longer focus on giving all students a full education, instead devoting all their resources to good test-takers. The Plain Dealer editorial found it easy to criticize our pilot program solution while hiding behind the inefficiency of the status quo.