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Correction

This story originally had the incorrect party affiliation for state Sen. J.J. Dossett, D-Owasso. The story has been corrected.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would end some high-stakes testing for high school students.

Senate Bill 1170, by Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, passed by a vote of 41-0 and heads to the House for consideration.

There was no debate.

The measure would discontinue the controversial end-of-instruction exams that high school students must take to graduate.

Currently, they must pass four of seven such exams. Some alternatives are also available.

Ford said the tests were a good concept but did not provide the benefits for which officials had hoped.

“It has not reduced our remediation for those going to college, and it has created an environment where teachers are spending too much time preparing the student to take the test instead of additional time teaching the students the content of the subject matter they are supposed to be learning,” Ford said.