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Teachers literally pay $6,000,000 out-of-pocket annually for Jobs Budget

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Greg Mild kindly granted permission for us to share this with you, from his Facebook notes.

Governor Kasich's Jobs Budget proposes adding a new law that will require teachers to pay out-of-pocket over $6,000,000 per year for standardized tests. Not for the kids -- for themselves!

The Governor, in his infinite wisdom and extensive educational experience, has decided that ALL of the core subject area teachers in the lowest performing 10% of school districts across the state will be required to retake the Praxis II tests that apply to their teaching assignment. The text of this newly created section of Ohio Revised Code follows:

Sec. 3319.58.
(A) As used in this section:
(1) "Core subject area" has the same meaning as in section 3319.074 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Performance index score" has the same meaning as in section 3302.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) The department of education annually shall rank order into percentiles all city, exempted village, and local school districts according to performance index score. The department shall notify each district board of education of the district's percentile ranking and whether division (C) of this section applies to the district based on that ranking.
(C) Each year, the board of education of each school district in the lowest ten percentiles of performance index score shall require each of its classroom teachers teaching in a core subject area to register for and take all written examinations prescribed by the state board of education for licensure to teach that core subject area and the grade level to which the teacher is assigned under section 3319.22 of the Revised Code.
(D) Each district board of education may use the results of a teacher's examinations required under division (C) of this section in developing and revising professional development plans and in deciding whether or not to continue employing the teacher in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. However, no decision to terminate or not to renew a teacher's employment contract shall be made solely on the basis of the results of a teacher's examination under this section until and unless the teacher has not attained a passing score on the same required examination for at least three consecutive administrations of that examination.
(pp 1667-8)

Here's the BREAKDOWN:

According to the information available to the public through the Ohio Department of Education website, and as defined in the bill, the lowest-performing 10% of school districts employ 24,655 teachers. Approximately 18,864, or 76%, teach in a core subject area. Each teacher would be required to "take all written examinations prescribed by the state board of education for licensure to teach that core subject area and the grade level."

Depending on the subjects and grade levels, teachers will be required to take between 2-5 exams each. Averaging this by grade level results in a total of 56,592 total written examinations.

At what cost - literally? Educational Testing Service (www.ets.org) charges an annual fee of $50 and each exam costs $90 for a grand total of $6,036,480 flowing out of the hands of Ohio's teachers

That money will be flowing into the hands of the New Jersey based non-profit company that once reported: "Mistakes in the scoring of an examination that 18 states used in licensing teachers caused more than 4,000 people who should have passed it to fail instead." (Link)

And what about the sheer amount of time involved? After all, this is obviously part of the Governor's plan to give school districts flexibility in staffing decisions, so it must work to the benefit of a school board, right? After all, the bill states that schools will be able to use these results "in developing and revising professional development plans and in deciding whether or not to continue employing the teacher."

Let's go to the calendar to see how this helps a school district turn things around.

Currently, the state does not finalize Performance Index Scores until August. Let's generously project August 1. ODE will then need to notify districts, who will then need to notify their teachers (who are all on vacation at that time) when they return to work on, or around, August 21.

On August 22, those 18,864 teachers (minus retirees) will be logging on to the ETS website to schedule their paper examinations -- none of these particular Praxis II exams are computer-based.

If the website doesn't crash, those teachers will find that the next testing date available to them is Saturday, November 12 (unless they teach 7-12 science, then the next test date is January). Those teachers who only need two tests will be able to schedule both tests on this date, assuming the test center can accommodate the high number (the 3 sites in Columbus will need to seat nearly 2,700).

Those teachers that finish in November will get their test results back one month later, just in time for Winter Break. Those still needing to take another test or two will schedule for January 14 and should see their results by February 14.

And finally, those needing a fifth test will be able to wrap that up around March 17, receiving their scores on April 17.

After the district receives all of these scores, then they can begin the real work for the school year, "developing and revising professional development plans and in deciding whether or not to continue employing the teacher."

And haven't we all experienced the impactful work that occurs in May & June as it relates to effecting change in student learning for the school year? I believe we can all appreciate the immediate impact this process will have on affecting student achievement, right?

Bravo, Governor Kasich. It's about time you identified a method for holding teachers accountable, creating jobs (ETS test proctors), and giving districts the flexibility to make immediate changes (give or take 12 months) to impact student achievement. Don't listen to the naysayers that will claim that the fact that the results of these teacher examinations won't be useful until after the next year's student tests are finished, thereby creating a vicious cycle that keeps these districts from any real gain from this information. These teacher examinations are the real deal!!!

What's that you say, Ohio Department of Education?

Successful completion of required tests is designed to ensure that candidates for licensure have acquired the minimal knowledge necessary for entry-level positions. The Praxis II tests are not designed to predict performance on the job nor can passing the licensure examination(s) guarantee good teaching. The tests are built to represent knowledge and skills imparted in educator preparation programs in the United States.

Well, that's awkward . . .

Top 3 Today

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Your top 3 stories today.

  1. Business Breaking With Kasich Over Union Busting Bill
    "Small businesses understand SB5 will lead to the elimination of lots of jobs in local communities," Dennis Willard told TPM. "When that happens, because public sector jobs like all jobs drive the economy, these merchants are really concerned they're going to lose business."

    For now, Williams said there's no organized effort to raise money from the firms to support the SB5 repeal operations. But he said that the fact that so many companies are publicly standing in what amounts to opposition to the state Chamber suggests that SB5 supporters in the business community may have a problem.

  2. TEACH FOR AMERICA NOT EDUCATION'S CURE-ALL
  3. Pickerington Teacher Layoffs Finalized
    The board voted not to renew the contracts of 70 newer, probationary teachers, those with one to three years of experience. Board members also approved laying off about 50 more experienced teachers.

“I Couldn’t Believe It Happened to Me”

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Most teachers are likely to go through their entire career without being unfairly targeted for dismissal by administrators. But that shouldn’t be left to chance.

For example, what if this happened to you?

You’re a high school teacher. You work out with your students a rubric for grading a small-group project. One group, unfortunately, really blows this project off. According to the rubric, they deserve a D, which you deliver. Parents complain to the principal. He tells you to raise the grade. You say, no, and you point out that the students took part in designing the rubric that guided you in giving them the D.

Do you lose your job?

That can depend on whether you have a strong and enforceable due-process system for dismissal, generally called “tenure” but often misinterpreted as a guaranteed job.

[readon2 url="http://neatoday.org/2011/04/11/i-couldnt-believe-it-happened-to-me/"]Continue reading...[/readon2]

What's on your ballot?

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With the May 3rd primary election soon upon us, 148 school related issues will be decided by voters. The following comprise those issues:

The links take you to the local issues summaries as provided by the Ohio Secretary of State.

According to our friends at Support Ohio Schools

The school items are down from 178 in 2010 and 160 in 2009

The reduction is likely because districts are waiting to see how the final budget, due July 1, will affect funding and properly gauge the amount they should seek from voters.

"The significant decline in the number of levies being placed on the ballot due to uncertainty with the state budget is also a part of a multi-year trend toward fewer districts asking voters for additional funding," Support Ohio Schools Executive Director Jerry Rampelt said in a release.

"Unfortunately, we expect this trend to reverse quickly and significantly once schools realize the catastrophic funding realities that state budget cuts will bring."

Voucher Poll

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A recent poll, noted in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review shows that most Pennsylvanians oppose vouchers

Nearly two-thirds of Pennsylvanians oppose creating a voucher system that would use tax dollars to pay private-school tuition, according to a public opinion poll released yesterday.
[...]
In the March poll of 807 adults, 61 percent said they were opposed to the voucher idea, while 37 percent said they supported it. The margin of error was 3.4 percent.

Citizens continue to understand the benefits of a great public education and the means whereby vouchers undermine it, for the benefit of the few.