Well, one state is about to change all of this.South Carolina's new State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Jim Rex has decided that change is critical.Rex wants to scrap the traditional, worn out, testing regime of the past, and replace it with a newer, more useful and more productive system.The Rex approach will replace the end-of-year grueling testing period with a shorter, less comprehensive set of tests and, in addition, initiate a series of short, interim tests during the school year, to provide guidance to teachers as to what is working and what is not.Starting in spring 2009, South Carolina students in grades 3-8 would be taking more tests during the school year, and fewer tests at the end.While giving teachers much more useful information at the time it is actually needed, more effective use will be made of the last month of school because, at present, after the exhausting, unbearable end-of-year testing, both the teachers and students are so worn out that little effective education takes place before the beginning of the next academic year.

Dr. Rex says that, "If we test everything, every year for every student, all we are going to be doing in South Carolina is testing.Interim exams given throughout the year could help teachers determine where students need to make improvements and also would include quickly reported scores.Many of our parents and many of our teachers believe that we're doing too much testing, and in some cases, we're sacrificing good teaching instruction because of the amount of testing we're doing."

It is past time that state education officials began thinking outside the box and follow Rex's lead.The educational community needs to take leadership in reforming the testing, testing, testing that has been brought about by No Child Left Behind with and educational system that treats children as individuals rather than widgets going through a factory. Educational leaders need to focus on needy children, as we now do, but should provide equal attention to the best and brightest, which we have not done.Instead of seeing all children as a homogeneous flock of sheep, each child needs to be challenged at this or her own level of competence.Neither should children be over-challenged nor under-challenged.But when we set a single goal for all children, we do both.

Under the leadership of Dr. Jim Rex, South Carolina, traditionally lagging in education will clearly be zooming toward the head of the pack.

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Dr. Solomon is a retired University of South Carolina professor and can be reached at mbsolomon@aol.com

Published May 21, 2007