Staff report and Associated Press
news@wbcowqel.com
Results from recent tests measuring reading proficiency for third graders look much better in Ohio than they did the year before.
In Crawford County, Buckeye Central showed that 100 percent of its students tested at or above the required mark of 394. Wynford was next at 98.8 percent, followed by Galion at 98 percent, Bucyrus at 97.9, Colonel Crawford at 95.2 and Crestline at 93.8.
The statewide average was 95.8 percent. The year before, 88 percent of Ohio students met the standard. Results for all school districts are avialable online at www.education.ohio.gov.
The testing is part of the Third Grade Reading Guarantee legislation passed in 2013. Students will be tested again in the spring.
In a touch of irony, The Ohio House passed a billed on Thursday that would limit time students in the state’s public schools spend on standardized tests.
The measure would limit testing time beginning next school year to no more than four hours per subject each year. It now moves to the Senate for consideration.
The goal is to allow more time for teaching. Rep. Anne Gonzales, a Westerville Republican and co-sponsor of the bill, says teachers are now spending more time testing than teaching.
The sponsors say they are responding to parents, teachers and students who complain that increased standardized testing forces teachers to focus more on test content and reduces local control over curriculum.