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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma high school students will no longer have to pass at least four of seven End of Instruction exams in order to graduate, the state school Superintendent said.
Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said school officials want to provide more time for instruction and personalized learning and that as of July 1, there won't be any particular testing requirement tied to graduation.
"We had seven different assessments with multiple opportunities for re-testing throughout the year, so high schools became a nonstop testing environment times seven," Hofmeister said.
Under a new law, high school students will take assessments in English, math, science and U.S. history once in a four-year span, the Tulsa World reported (http://bit.ly/28K62Sl ).
Caleb Starr, principal of Tulsa's Hale High School, said educators do not see the new law as watering down standards for students.
"A lot of people don't understand that EOIs set a really low bar. They are procedural and don't allow us to prepare kids for college," Starr said. "Now, we can focus on analyzing, synthesizing, creating. It's much more enjoyable for kids but it's also critical in preparing students for college. We want to raise the bar but we've got to get rid of this old bar."
The law does not require the state Department of Education to develop new standardized tests aligned with Oklahoma's new academic standards until the 2017-18 school year. It allows the department to consider student assessments in reading and writing in certain grades.
Exams from previous years will be administered during the 2016-17 academic year.
Oklahoma PTA communications director said standardized test-weary parents will applaud the changes. The Oklahoma PTA has advocated for two years for parents to opt their children out of certain tests in protest.
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com
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