Ohio Graduation Tests: Ohio Board of Regents supports Ohio Core

The Ohio Board of Regents has called passage of Governor Bob Taft's Ohio Core curriculum upgrade, which includes a beefed-up version of the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), the most important legislation before the current lame-duck general assembly.

On Wednesday, November 15, the board joined a group of businessmen and community leaders in urging passage of the Ohio Core legislation before the end of the legislative session.

Ohio Core emphasizes math and science courses, as well as a college and work preparedness test similar to the OGT during the junior year. Students would be required to complete the Ohio Core curriculum to be admitted to a four-year public university in the state. The Class of 2012 (this year's seventh graders) would be the first affected.

The legislation is now in its fifth version as sponsors try to reach a satisfactory compromise and push it through before then end of the session. Although every version appears to hold firm on the need for four years of math and science in high school and the need for more stringent assessments such as the OGT.

Ohio Board of Regents Chairman Ed Adams noted that 40 percent of college freshmen are ill prepared for higher learning, which ultimately costs their schools and families dollars in terms of time and effort lost.

Most of these same students breezed through the OGT, so possibly the system does need reform.

Preparing students for the Ohio Graduation Test is one of the most important tasks educators face. Clicking on the buttons at right will provide information on the latest tools to help prepare for the OGT, including a free demo of an online prep test.