Strickland rips into standardized tests

"The Bible says 'Let not the world squeeze you into its mold,'" Strickland said, noting that Ohio schools currently treat every student too much alike.

"None of us would want to be judged on a single test," Strickland said of standardized testing, presumably referring to Ohio's proficiency tests used to grade schools and advance students to upper grades.

Blackwell countered that some of Strickland's ideas amounted to treating schoolchildren inequitably. "No more soft bigotry of low expectations," he said.

Strickland called Blackwell's statement "a red herring," saying he won't throw away educational standards for young black men.