What are they REALLY saying:? Education (student testing).

Another installment in the H-L gubernatorial series, this time education -- specifically school tests -- is the focus.

Question:

What changes, if any, do you propose for the state's testing system for school kids?

Beshear's Answer:

As I travel the state, I hear from teachers and parents that our children are being tested too much, too often. Teachers have too little time to teach and students have too little time to learn. I’ll conduct a comprehensive education review of programs and technologies that need to be changed or eliminated, including an assessment of the testing system. Kentucky ranks 47th in workforce education, 47th in college degrees and in math achievement our 4th graders rank 40th and 8th graders rank 39th. It's time for a change. I've proposed a comprehensive education plan available at www.stevebeshear.com.

Fletcher's Answer:

Education funding only increased 6.5% from 1995 to 2004. We’ve provided 25% more funding in just four years, including $70 million in technology.

Our testing system must change. The focus should be on teaching not testing, and we should work to simplify and minimize the amount of testing, focusing on our children mastering the basics while also learning valuable other subjects that may not be assessed.

Technology investments will allow the creation of an online system where we can track student progress longitudinally, and make results available in real-time so parents and teachers will know how their child is doing.

My view? The fact that the candidates answered the questions WITHOUT taking a swing at each other has NOW left me speechless. So I have to go now.