Students now required to take standardized sex ed, health test

          According to the District of Columbia’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), D.C. public schools are planning to test students on their knowledge of human sexuality, contraception, and drug use starting this spring. The D.C. OSSE, developed the 50-question exam for grades 5, 8 and 10, said it will be the first standardized test on health and sex education in the country. School officials say the test will help determine student’s knowledge about behavior that can lead to childhood obesity, sexually transmitted diseases, and teen pregnancy which are among the highest in the country. South Carolina is already testing a statewide health-education assessment, according to the Council of Chief State School Officers, which helped developed a group of sample questions for the test, along with local educators. The questions have also been aligned to health education standards approved by the D.C. State Board of Education in 2008 to guide instruction on subjects such as STDs, HIV/AIDs, conflict resolution, and communication. Adam Tenner, executive director of MetroTeenAIDS, a community health organization says his organization’s analysis of a new state report that shows that most health education programs in schools remain deficient.

            I do believe that most sex education in schools is deficient. Children are starting to explore earlier, and taking part in situations where they should know the consequences. I guess the question is what age should sex education start, and do students really need to be state tested on it? I do not agree with state testing at all, so I think teachers can find a way to educate students about sex without having to test them on it. If I understand correctly, the test is mostly for the state to see what students are participating in, and what students are not participating. Actually, I believe most sexual education should come from the home, by parents FIRST. Parents make educating everything, a teacher’s job, and then go against the way we teach it. I do not remember ever really being talked to about sex in school, or at home. My mother assumed that the school was going to educate me. Due to the fact that school and home did not educate me, my friends did. Overall, I believe sex education is important, but not important enough to be tested on.