The Oklahoma State Department of Education is eliminating statewide standardized end-of-year testing for several subjects to give “local control back to school districts.”
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FIRSTONFOX:TheOklahomaStateDepartmentofEducation(OSDE)iseliminatingstatewidestandardizedend-of-yeartestingforseveralsubjectsaspartofanefforttogive“localcontrolbacktoschooldistricts.”
OSDEstatedthatthechangeswilltakeeffectinthe2025-2026schoolyearandwillimpactmathandEnglishcoursesingradesthreethrougheight.Inplaceofthestandardizedtests,Oklahomawillallowdistrictstouseapprovedbenchmarkassessmentsthatarealreadyinusetoreportonstudents’academicachievementandgrowth.
Itsaidthechangewillreducetheoveralltestingburdenonstudentsandteachersaswellasallowteacherstofocusonclassroominstructionratherthantestpreparation.OSDEnotedthatthebenchmarkassessmentswillcontinuetocomplywithfederalandstateprotectionsforstudentswithdisabilities.
OSDEisalso“exploring”futureoptionstoeliminatestandardizedtestingforscienceandhistoryinth
