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State testing in jeopardy

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All students know the stress of getting prepared in the classroom for state testing. Will I do good? What if I get held back for some reason? What if I don’t finish and I fail? There are countless thoughts going through students’ heads, all due to a minor test in the spring. The people have tried to pass multiple bills previously in hopes they can get rid of the tests. The first of the two nearly identical bills is known as Senate Bill 358, and the later one does not have a name yet.

According to the Columbus dispatch several house lawmakers are working on bills that would end state testing for the remainder of this year. 

was created in hopes to extend the “protections” that started the past spring’s coronavirus caused the switch to remote learning, and it addressed parts of Ohio’s graduation requirements, and even teacher evaluations.

 They also go into the fact that the cancelling of K-12 state testing has been a hot topic for years, and the bill required the Ohio Department of Education to seek a waiver for the remainder of the federally required tests, and it would be difficult to do so. 

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As stated in the Washington Post “We know they [the students] are behind where they should be,” Rep. Jeff Crossman said. “Why do we need to put them in a testing situation to find that out,” This was the motivation for the second bill the people tried to pass. 

The students and staff at GlenOak High School have very controversial views on the state testing topic.

 “Very similar to last year [the first time we were on lockdown because of COVID], I feel as if there is too much stress and so many students are already struggling with school due to the new circumstances we have been given this school year and the last” sophomore Brenna Dobransky said. “The testing is a lot of excess pressure to put on kids, especially ones who fear that a grade will make or break their entire future.” 

On the other side of the spectrum, some students disagree with Dobransky. 

“ I think students should be given the option for state testing, they should not have to take the test if they feel they are not prepared enough, and they should be able to make their own choices,” junior Connor Tetor said. 

While the students are stressing and studying, the teachers are bottled up making lesson plans and reviews for the students over the topic they learned months ago, all in hopes that the students remember everything and do their best on the test.

“I think a case can be made for not having state testing. I think that case looks different from district to district. There are some districts that have yet to have in person classes this year, so they will be behind in content,” Dockus said. “We typically look at released OST (Ohio State Test) questions throughout the year to help us prepare for what the questions will look like on the test. We have not done that as much this year, but will soon begin as it looks like we could be taking the test this spring.”  

“I believe we should not have any kind of state testing this year.” sophomore Lounieta Alkaied said. “COVID has already caused a ton of people, including school students tons of stress, and adding harsh state tests into the mixture would not benefit us.”

“The school year would not be a waste without state testing. Students are still learning the same content they would if the test did occur. The knowledge they are gaining will also help prepare them for their future courses as well as other types of testing such as the ACT,” Dockus said. “We are still assessing students’ knowledge throughout the school year, so we are still gathering what students are learning with or without a state test to show us that.”

Students and teachers all over are wondering, will we have state testing? Or another year without it. 

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State testing in jeopardy