Parents press Lexington 1 board over frequent elementary testing and transparency about curriculum

Molly Reynolds, a parent of two fourth-graders, told the Lexington County School District 1 Board of Trustees she is seeing repeated testing in elementary grades and growing test anxiety among students. "Our kids are basically being tested to death," Reynolds said, describing testing she estimates occurs "on average 4 to 5 times a week" and telling the board she spends "over $400 a month" on outside tutoring to help her children keep up.

Jason Carnaval raised concerns about curriculum oversight and district accountability. He said a quarter of science instruction had been skipped at his children's school, asked who creates common assessments and whether they originate in central office or from outside vendors, and warned that removing policy language that requires daily instruction could allow subjects to be shortened rather than fixed. "When science is made up later, which subject gets shortchanged next?" Carnaval asked, pressing for clearer answers and follow-up from district leaders.

The public comments followed a district presentation that emphasized districtwide common assessments and new grading practices. Board members acknowledged the volume of community feedback and discussed near-term adjustments: administrators said teachers will have more flexibility to design local minor assessments and that reassessment processes are being revised for the second quarter to emphasize in-class reteach and targeted reassessment rather than separate retest days.

Board members and staff encouraged parents with concerns to continue direct conversations with teachers and principals while the district works through adjustments. The board also reiterated that public comment is recorded, will be part of the public record, and that the board does not take action on remarks during the meeting but collects feedback to inform policy and practice.