Obama Wants to Limit Standardized Testing

President Obama seems to be doing an about face on standardized testing. Over the weekend the White House posted the following video on Facebook.

“Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble. So we’re going to work with states, school districts, teachers, and parents to make sure that we’re not obsessing about testing, that the principles I just outlined are reflected in classrooms throughout the country—to make sure that our kids are enjoying learning, that our teachers are able to operate with creativity, to make sure we are preparing our kids for a lifetime of success,” he said.

USA Today reports that he is encouraging schools to limit testing to 2% of classroom time.

President Obama says students are spending too much time in the classroom taking tests, many of them unnecessary, and urged officials in the country’s schools to take steps to administer fewer and more meaningful exams.

The White House said Saturday the proliferation of testing in the United States — a problem the administration acknowledged it has played a role in — has taken away too much valuable time that could be better spent on learning, teaching and fostering creativity in schools. To curb excessive testing, Obama recommended limiting standardized exams to no more than 2% of a student’s instructional time in the classroom.

While I agree that standardized testing should take much less time in the classroom (I’d prefer none as I see it as a colossal waste of time) the White House obviously hasn’t learned it’s lesson.

It should totally stay out of the discussion.  This is a discussion that needs to happen at the state and local levels. I haven’t been able to find the 10 page plan yet, but I know how the Obama administration has operated thus far I’d suspect that it is a plan that doesn’t respect federalism much less the Constitution.