"Education Reform" process must change

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William Phillis, Via the mailbag

The recently adopted "education reform" process seems to follow these steps:

· State officials assume that any deficiencies in student test scores, behavior, work force readiness, college readiness, etc. are due to the lack of competence and dedication of boards of education, administrators, educators and staff in the public common school. (Of course, some of them believe poverty and home environment do not influence test scores, behaviors, etc.)

· State officials are provided model reform legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and seek advice from corporate leaders and others not working in the public common school system. A token representation of public education personnel may also be consulted.

· "Reforms" such as the parent trigger, vouchers, charter schools, mayoral control of schools, appointed commissions to assume part of the functions of boards of education, tuition tax credits, third grade guarantee, high stakes testing, replacement of teachers and administrators in "failing schools", A-F report cards, etc. are enacted with the expectation that these quick fixes will work wonders.

· In all cases the local education community typically attempts to comply with the state's reforms.

· When local educators and administrators don't fully embrace these untested "reforms", they are considered to be stuck in their old ways, resistant to change and not fit for the position they hold.

· Some state officials attempt to intimidate those who don't "buy-in" to the ever changing "reform" ideas. Then local education personnel are told that they would buy-in if they really would take the time to understand the "reform." · When the "reform" measures don't produce extraordinary results, the local education personnel are to blame and thus the system should be farmed out to the private sector.

We'd just add that by the time corporate reform ideas are proven to be failures (such as NCLB) the politiciand responsible for them are long gone and educators are left to pick up the pieces.

On Teacher Evaluation: Slow Down And Get It Right

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One of the primary policy levers now being employed in states and districts nationwide is teacher evaluation reform. Well-designed evaluations, which should include measures that capture both teacher practice and student learning, have great potential to inform and improve the performance of teachers and, thus, students. Furthermore, most everyone agrees that the previous systems were largely pro forma, failed to provide useful feedback, and needed replacement.

The attitude among many policymakers and advocates is that we must implement these systems and begin using them rapidly for decisions about teachers, while design flaws can be fixed later. Such urgency is undoubtedly influenced by the history of slow, incremental progress in education policy. However, we believe this attitude to be imprudent.

The risks to excessive haste are likely higher than whatever opportunity costs would be incurred by proceeding more cautiously. Moving too quickly gives policymakers and educators less time to devise and test the new systems, and to become familiar with how they work and the results they provide.

Moreover, careless rushing may result in avoidable erroneous high stakes decisions about individual teachers. Such decisions are harmful to the profession, they threaten the credibility of the evaluations, and they may well promote widespread backlash (such as the recent Florida lawsuits and the growing “opt-out” movement). Making things worse, the opposition will likely “spill over” into other promising policies, such as the already-fragile effort to enact the Common Core standards and aligned assessments.

[readon2 url="http://shankerblog.org/?p=8358"]Continue reading...[/readon2]

The end of Michelle Rhee?

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As for Rhee: I suspect she’s not planning on going anywhere, but all this error, corruption, and cover-up is taking a toll on her reputation. To the extent that her movement is about education reform rather than about Michelle Rhee, at some point they’ll have to find a more credible leader, no?

Click the link for more.

Education News for 05-22-2013

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State Education News

  • Little Miami regains its independence (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • Today is Independence Day for the financially embattled Little Miami Schools. Once Ohio’s poster child for school district monetary woes, the Warren County school system will be autonomous…Read more...

  • Coleman, Gee pitch Columbus school proposal to legislators (Columbus Dispatch)

    • State legislators drew attention to academic failures of the Columbus school district and to its ongoing data scandal last night in the first talks over a bill that…Read more...

  • Special-needs aides still fighting dismissal (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Two Columbus special-needs aides who were fired last summer are still fighting to get their jobs back. The final day of hearings before the Columbus Civil Service Commission…Read more...

  • Northridge out of fiscal caution, but levy needed (Newark Advocate)

    • The Northridge School District is out of fiscal caution. However, the district will have to renew its 8.86 mill levy by the end of 2014 to remain in the black long term…Read more...

  • As prepared as we can be for Tornadoes (Portsmouth Daily Times)

    • An enormous tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., Monday, killing more…Read more...

Local Education News

    

  • Families of the victims of Chardon School shooting are suing the United Way over access to Chardon (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • The families of the three Chardon High School students who were killed in 2012 are suing the United Way of Greater Cleveland and its Geauga County chapter…Read more...

  • Reynoldsburg takes over charter e-school (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The Reynoldsburg school board is taking over the charter e-school that it placed on probation last year…Read more...

  • Groveport Madison levy still losing by 12 votes (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Groveport Madison’s school levy gained four votes but is still behind after elections officials counted provisional ballots and added in an uncounted…Read more...

  • Columbus school board votes to back report of Coleman’s education panel (Columbus Dispatch)

    • A resolution supporting the recommendations of the Columbus Education Commission passed a divided Columbus school board last night, after a lengthy debate that centered largely around whether…Read more...

  • Brunswick school officials close all buildings in response to norovirus (Sun Newspapers)

    • Although symptoms of the condition itself last, in general, little more than 24 hours, a norovirus outbreak at the Brunswick City Schools this past week led to the closer of every building…Read more...

  • Maysville students benefit from early college courses (Zanesville Times-Recorder)

    • Skylar Novaria might achieve his goal of becoming a business manager or CEO sooner than expected because of being a proactive teenager…Read more...

SB21 Decoded

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A number of readers have asked us to decode the Ohio House's version of SB21, which is likely to be passed into law.

In the area of teacher qualifications, after July 1, 2013, third grade students who have been retained or are on a reading improvement plan shall be assigned to a teacher who has at least one year of teaching experience and satisfies one of the following criteria:

a) K-12 reading endorsement on their teaching license
b) Master’s degree in reading or literacy
c) Rated “most effective” for reading instruction for the most recent two years based on student growth measures
d) Rated “above expected value added” in reading instruction as determined by criteria established by ODE for the most recent consecutive school years
e) Passed a rigorous test of principles of scientifically research-based reading instruction approved by the State Board of Education
f) Holds a teaching license for P-3 or 4-9 issued on or after July 1, 2017

The House version limited or did away with qualifications in the Senate version that allowed for evidence of completion of a program of scientifically research-based reading instruction programs approved by the department (limited to until July 1, 2016) or the teacher is an effective reading instructor as determined by criteria established by the department (eliminated).

The House version of the bill also expands who may offer services in the following ways:

  • A teacher with less than one year of experience provided they meet one of the qualifications and is assigned a teacher mentor who meets one of the qualifications
  • Through July 1, 2016, a teacher who has successfully completed training on reading instruction approved by the department
  • A teacher other than the classroom teacher to whom the student is assigned provided the teacher meets the qualifications, the teacher and the principal agree and the assignment is documented in the student’s reading improvement plan
  • A speech language pathologist may provide reading intervention and remediation services

Additionally, the House version of the bill allows school districts who cannot furnish the number of teachers to satisfy the qualifications to submit a staffing plan to the Ohio Department of Education. ODE may grant extensions of district staffing plans through the 2015-2016 school year.

Other provisions of the House passed version of SB 21 include:

  • Specifies that retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee is triggered by failure to attain at least the “equivalent level of achievement” as determined by ODE
  • Exempts English language learners enrolled in U.S. schools for less than three years
  • Exempts students with significant cognitive disabilities from diagnostic tests on a case-by-case basis as determined by ODE
  • Requires the State Board of Education to adopt competencies for reading credentials and training by January 31, 2014. Requires all new applicants seeking an educator license for grades P-3 or 4-9 to pass an examination aligned with these competencies. Requires reading endorsement programs to align to these new competencies not later than July 1, 2016
  • Requires school districts and community schools that receive a D or F on the K-3 literacy progress measure on the new school district report cards and less than 60% of students score at least proficient on the third grade English language arts assessment submit a reading achievement improvement plan.

Thanks to OEA's Government Services for their expertise in helping to decipher SB21.

Education News for 05-21-2013

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State Education News

  • Legislature may ditch takeover proposal for Columbus schools (Columbus Dispatch)

    • As hearings start this week on a Columbus school-district reform bill, an earlier proposal allowing for a state takeover of the state’s largest district is likely to vanish…Read more...

Local Education News

  • North Canton school officials take steps to increase building security (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The Board of Education has approved the purchase of digital radios and antennas as part of a district-wide safety and security initiative…Read more...

  • Akron board cuts Akron Digital Academy loose (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • The Akron school board effectively severed ties with Akron Digital Academy — after sponsoring the online charter school for more than a decade…Read more...

  • A look inside the future of education (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • In a new building just outside of Indianapolis’ downtown, Darren McCorkle sits at a desk in a sea of short-walled cubicles, taking an eighth-grade algebra lesson online…Read more...

  • Teachers negotiating (Findlay Courier)

    • Contract negotiations between Findlay's teacher union and the district administration are progressing smoothly, according to Superintendent Dean Wittwer…Read more...

  • Lorain City Schools' staff looks to change culture of low expectations (Lorain Morning Journal)

    • Lorain City Schools’ staff has developed a “widespread culture of low expectations” but hope is budding among employees under its new administration, a state assessment determined…Read more...

  • Lots of changes in Warren district (Marietta Times)

    • The Warren Local school district will look very different next year with a new superintendent, new high school and elementary administrators and the return of high school busing…Read more...

  • Boardman schools official warns of 5% cut in funding (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • The Boardman schools director of instruction said she expects a 5 percent cut in funding next year for the four federal programs for which the school district receives money…Read more...

Editorial

  • Dollars in the classroom (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • State Sen. Peggy Lehner wants to devote an additional $100 million to early childhood education in Ohio. The Kettering Republican cites the handsome return, $10 or more for every dollar spent…Read more...

  • Added scrutiny of charter schools in city and state is overdue, but finally coming (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • State and local education leaders are committing themselves to beefed-up monitoring of Ohio’s ballooning network of charter schools…Read more...