Editorial: State Testing Issue on Front Burner Again

By Tom Miles
Mississippi State Representative for House District No. 75

Not only is the Legislature back in session, the issue of state testing is back as well. So far, there have been four bills filed in the House that will stop the state’s punitive system of keeping capable students from receiving their diplomas because of state tests. I am a sponsor of each one of them. And, in this time of fierce partisanship everywhere you turn, it’s great to report that both Democrats and Republicans have signed onto these measures right along beside me.

Tom Miles.

We are advocating, among other things, that students’ ACT test grades will be sufficient to show their college readiness and level of understanding of subject matter.

If a student has passed the required coursework, we say they should be allowed to graduate, and that a single test shouldn’t prevent it.

This issue is simply not going away, no matter how complicated some people want to make it. We’ve all heard everything from the outright story-telling that “no student is kept from graduating because of failed tests,” to “the federal government makes us do it.”

In a recent radio appearance with me, the State Superintendent even said that the ACT couldn’t provide the proper measurements of student achievement.

That’s hardly what the other XX states who are using the ACT in lieu of state-mandated testing have to say.

Mississippi does not have to be last in repairing the damage that’s been done to our education system by this ill-considered system. The majority of states have already steered away from mandatory testing.

Our educators report horror tales of their class time being dominated by test preparation. Many school activities, rather than being knowledge expanding for students, are nothing but pep rallies for test scores. Students are under immense pressure to pass the state tests – from as early as first grade.

For some parents, it is already a difficult task to keep their youngsters enthusiastic about school. With the gloom of test-taking lurking over their heads, it’s even harder. It is heart-breaking to hear some of the stories from parents and teachers about the emotional toll this system is taking on our young people.

It’s time to let the teachers teach. It’s time for our students to have a fully rounded education experience, free of imposed, artificial restrictions and needlessly stressful demands.

It’s also time to divert the millions of dollars being paid to a testing company back into the classrooms where it belongs. Some estimates have the amount as high as $110 million for the testing program. How far would that go to help bring our teachers’ salaries up to decent levels? How many classrooms could be repaired? How many new buses would that buy?

Using the ACT rather than these expensive state-mandated tests is a sensible solution to the need for evaluating our students’ college readiness. The state is already paying for all juniors to take this test – without excess test training necessary. No college is going to ask what a student made on an “exit” exam. They are going to ask what that student made on the ACT. That’s because the test is recognized as a valid measurement of student college readiness.

Some very smart students are just not good test takers. Their anxiety at test taking time affects their scores. Some students dread the tests so much that they just drop out of school rather than take them. That is surely not a wholesome outcome for a child’s public school experience.

This is the third straight year that my colleagues and I have attempted to make this change to help our students and teachers. I hope that the third time is the charm.

It’s time to let the teachers teach. #LetTheTeachersTeach

Representative Tom Miles serves as State Representative for House District No. 75 in Scott and Eastern Rankin Counties