Obama calls for cap to standardized tests

President Barack Obama wants to limit the amount of time students across the nation spend taking some standardized tests. He wants students to spend no more than 2 percent of classroom time on standardized

News 12 Staff

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Oct 26, 2015, 1:21 AM

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Updated 3,390 days ago

President Barack Obama wants to limit the amount of time students across the nation spend taking some standardized tests.

He wants students to spend no more than 2 percent of classroom time on standardized exams. "Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble," says Obama.

Obama says schools must meet three basic principles: tests should be high quality, they shouldn't take up too much classroom time and they shouldn't be the only measure of a student's growth.

Parent advocate Jeanette Deutermann, of the group LI Opt Out, says while the change may help other students, New York state already has a 2 percent cap.

"I can already protect my child from the 2 percent of testing," says Deutermann. "What we need is help on the other 98 percent." According to Deutermann, that 98 percent is spent preparing students for exams.

Other parents say they worry that the "robotic" way of learning is taking the fun out of school for children.

Obama plans to meet with teachers and school officials on Monday.