Ohio graduation test to be subbed out

Students to face tougher college-readiness exam

11/21/2012

COLUMBUS -- Ohio will dump its high-school graduation test and replace it with a tougher college-readiness exam and a series of end-of-course tests.

The new assessments will gauge whether students are prepared for college or ready for careers, benchmarks that the Ohio Graduation Test doesn’t measure.

State education officials announced yesterday that the new exams will be required starting with sophomores in the 2014-2015 school year.

“This is a major step forward in our reform efforts to ensure all Ohio students have the knowledge and skills necessary to leave school remediation-free and ready for their postsecondary experience in higher education or work-force training,” said Michael Sawyers, Ohio’s acting superintendent of public instruction.

State legislators directed education officials two years ago to come up with a replacement for the Ohio Graduation Test, which measures what students should know in the 10th grade and has long been considered a low hurdle for a high-school diploma. Lawmakers and educators point to the 42 percent of college freshmen in Ohio who need to take remedial coursework as proof of the need for students to be better prepared.

Yesterday, Sawyers and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro unveiled a plan that will require high-school students to take a college-readiness exam along with 10 end-of-course tests in English, mathematics, science and social studies.

“Our goal is to advance degree completion in the state. One of the key ways to accomplish this goal is to ensure students are college- and career-ready. Eliminating the OGT and replacing it with a better gauge of college readiness will help students to be more successful,” Petro said.

READ MORE of this story at dispatch.com.