OKLAHOMA CITY — State Senator Clark Jolley got the message.
And he agreed with his critics.
Following an outcry by social studies and civics teachers across the state, Jolley, R-Edmond, said this week he replaced language in Senate Bill 1111 which had eliminated civics and social studies testing for students in the fifth and eighth grades.
“I think the civics and the social studies teachers had a very valid concern,” Jolley said. “They said eliminating the fifth and eighth grade testing component made the bill about something other than transparency and accountability. And, after reflection, I think they were right.”
A previous version of SB 1111 had drawn the ire of officials with the Oklahoma Council for History Education and representatives of the Oklahoma Council for the Social Studies. Both groups said Senate Bill 1111 would “negatively affect the quality of citizenship education in Oklahoma.”
Wednesday, Jolley said he changed his bill.
“An early version removed the testing, as it was not required by the federal No Child Left Behind law, but after hearing from concerned educators, I authored an amendment to leave those tests in place,” Jolley said in a media release. “The tests were restored.”
He said the primary goal of the bill was to restructure the state Office of Accountability, changing it into the Educational Quality and Accountability Office.
“There is a problem nationwide with states being forthcoming about student achievement, because those achievement levels can directly impact public office holders,” he said. “By moving testing oversight to an impartial third party, we can get objective numbers and begin to enact reforms that will truly improve student achievement.”
Jolley said the testing component originally was removed because of complaints by schoolteachers and other education officials.
“I’ve heard nothing but complaints that we were just testing too much,” he said. “Many teachers told me they were not able to spend much time in the classroom. And many said it was a huge problem for many school counselors who wound up being test administrators.”
To address that issue, Jolley said he asked the Senate’s staff to find out which tests the state didn’t have to offer. He said staffers told him testing wasn’t required for fifth and eight grade civics and social studies.
Wednesday, Jolley’s amendment drew praised from the Oklahoma Council for the Social Studies.
“We’re very pleased that the language had been restored,” said Matthew Holtzen, a spokesman for the OCSS. “It’s great to see the state Senate support the social studies.”
Holtzen said the group “appreciated” being able to work with members of the Legislature.
“It’s great that the process worked and we could express our concerns,” he said. “It’s great that they listened.”
Senate Bill 1111 passed the state Senate by a 26-20 vote late Tuesday. The measure is now headed to the House of Representatives where it could get a hearing as early as next week.
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