COLUMBUS — Members of a panel appointed by the governor tentatively agreed Thursday to recommend scaling back the number of subjects an Ohio high school student must master to graduate.

        The panel also wants to reduce the number of state-mandated tests in Ohio's schools and scrapped an idea floated last week to put students who repeatedly failed key proficiency tests into new, in-between grades 4.5 or 8.5.

        Instead, members of Gov. Bob Taft's Commission on Student Success now say students who fail such tests could still be promoted to fifth and ninth grades but must take intensive remedial courses.

        The proposals are the latest from commission members who have been assessing Ohio's proficiency tests. The commission's final report — expected Dec. 14 — could fundamentally change the way Ohio children learn and are promoted in school.

        “These are really big issues and we have constantly struggled between the state's high expectations and local control and flexibility,” said State Rep. Randy Gardner, R-Bowling Green. “We're having a logical tug-of-war over those two issues.”

        The panel carries a great deal of weight because Mr. Taft has repeatedly said he will support its recommendations, and Mr. Gardner and several other key legislative leaders serve as commission members.

        The commission has already come under fire from parents and educators who viewed its initial proposals, released last week, as attempts to expand proficiency testing.

        Critics of the tests argue that they fail to accurately measure knowledge, cause tremendous anxiety and are stifling creativity and flexibility in classrooms.

        Several commission members backed away Thursday from the initial proposals, such as creating “in-between grades,” saying they were misunderstood. They also said the commission never meant to expand testing.

        In fact, members of the panel's assessment and intervention committee said they want to eliminate unnecessary tests and scale back graduation requirements until schools are better prepared to teach students what they need to know to answer test questions.

        Commission members said Ohio should replace its ninth-grade proficiency test with a 10th-grade exam that would still cover five areas - reading, writing, math, social studies and science. However, students would not have to pass the social studies and science portions in order to graduate.

        “All five tests would be given, but students would not be required to pass them until there was evidence we were able to provide them with an opportunity to learn that material,” said Roger Trent, executive director of school standards and assessments for the Ohio Department of Education.

        Commission members also discussed giving high school students the option of passing six of 12 end-of-course exams instead of the 10th grade proficiency test to graduate. However, that plan could take take years to phase in.

        Educators on Thursday had mixed reactions to the commission's proposals, particularly the plan to eliminate passage of social studies and science tests as high school graduation requirements.

        “If you want proficient students, why only have the tests count in reading, writing and math?” asked Jay Meno, a government teacher at Lebanon High School in Warren County.

        Mr. Meno said he doesn't want the state to wait too long to make those tests count, especially since his high school faculty spent more than 60 hours over the summer aligning the school's social studies curriculum to the 10th-grade test.

        Brian Burgner, a parent of a third-grader at Woodland Elementary in the Lakota school district, said he's glad the commission is backing off on the idea of creating mid-grades for students who need remedial help.

        “What would have followed?,” Mr. Burgner asked. “5.5? 6?”

        Other ideas considered by the commission Thursday included:

        • Reducing the number of tests. Students in first through 12th grades are required to take assessment tests in reading, English composition, math, social studies and science. Under the new plan, students through second grade would undergo such assessment tests only in reading, writing and math instead of five subjects.

        • Allowing some high-performing school districts — those with 75 percent of students passing proficiency tests — to be exempt from assessment testing.

        • Eliminating the 12th-grade proficiency test.

        • Spreading out the five sections of the fourth-grade proficiency test to grades three through five. Instead of taking exams in five subject areas in one week, students would take different portions of the test each year.

        • Eliminating the sixth-grade proficiency test and requiring students to take that year's five-part exam in grades seven and eight so the tests are more spread out.

       Enquirer reporter Jennifer Mrozowski contributed to this report.
       

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