OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma State Superintendent Janet Barresi is raising concern about a bill before the Legislature that would eliminate state testing in social studies and geography.
In a statement Tuesday, Barresi complained the bill would erase the state's ability to measure student knowledge in those topics, as well as in a "significant portion of U.S. history."
Senate Bill 1654 would eliminate several state-mandated tests beginning in the fall, including social studies in grades five and eight, and geography in grade seven.
As a result, Barresi says students won't be tested on their knowledge of pre-Civil War U.S. History, including the Declaration of Independence, the writing of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Civil War.
The bill narrowly passed a House committee and is pending on the House floor.