Obama: Cap class time devoted to standardized student tests

October 24, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. | Updated October 24, 2015 at 12:05 p.m.

by Associated Press

FILE - In this July 21, 2014 file photo, students at a summer reading academy at Buchanan elementary school work in the computer lab at the school in Oklahoma City. Wading into one of the most polarizing issues in education, President Barack Obama called Saturday for capping standardized testing at 2 percent of classroom time, while conceding the government shares responsibility for having turned tests into the be-all-and-end-all of American schools. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki,File)
FILE - In this July 21, 2014 file photo, students at a summer reading academy at Buchanan elementary school work in the computer lab at the school in Oklahoma City. Wading into one of the most polarizing issues in education, President Barack Obama called Saturday for capping standardized testing at 2 percent of classroom time, while conceding the government shares responsibility for having turned tests into the be-all-and-end-all of American schools. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki,File)

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is calling for capping standardized testing at 2 percent of classroom time, and he says the government shares responsibility for the excessive focus on testing.

He's targeting one of the most divisive issues in education today.

It's not known how much classroom time students spend preparing for standardized tests. The tests became mandatory starting in third grade under the No Child Left Behind law.

On average, students spend between 20 and 25 hours a year actually taking the exams. That's according to a study by the Council of Great City Schools.

Obama says in a Facebook video that learning is about more than filling in the right bubble. He says the government will work with schools and states to avoid an obsession over tests.

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