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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > June > 20 > Entry
Editorial: Ohio must see more data to judge schools
Identifying a failing school is trickier than it looks.
Consider a school that, for three years, has been rated in the state’s bottom categories of “academic emergency” or “academic watch” because its kids have posted state test scores that, on average, show they are not proficient in the basic skills expected at their grade level.
Is that school failing? After the third year, should it face sanctions, like reduced state funding? Or perhaps it should be forced to close?
Now consider a school that, for three years, has earned extra credit on its state report card for test score growth. Students come to the school with very limited skills in kindergarten. On average, the kids score below grade level, but their test scores show more than a year’s growth for each year they attend the school.
Is that school succeeding? Should it receive extra money and support from the state to help it keep making progress?
Now get this: Suppose both these scenarios apply to the same school.
In Ohio, this does happen. Schools can be making strong progress on test scores and still be rated on the low end of the report card scale.
For that reason, the legislature must take both views of a school into account as it crafts a budget that Gov. Ted Strickland and House Democrats hope will include an overhaul of the process for dealing with low-performing schools and districts.
A Columbus-based school reform group called KidsOhio, in a report issued this month, has pointed out serious flaws in some of the education proposals being debated.
The House version of the budget, which is now being hashed out with the Senate, gets it right on some scores. For instance, one provision looked at both measures — rating and improvement — to decide if a low-performing charter school should close.
The House bill would shutter any charter school that has been in “academic emergency” for three years and did not show test score growth for at least two consecutive years in math or reading.
Yet, the same bill would also penalize charter schools financially for a low report card rating, even when the schools are making good test score improvement. It also would force a series of strict requirements upon school districts based solely on the report card rating, without looking at whether the district or its individual schools are making gains.
Those rules really make no sense.
If a district is in “academic watch” or “academic emergency,” the House plan would require all its schools to revamp programs to fit a state model — even the schools that are scoring well. The model would dictate what sorts of staff the school would have; it might actually interfere with effective, innovative programs.
Instead, lawmakers should evaluate academic performance at the school level, looking at both state report card ratings and test-score growth. Those that are measuring up should be left alone. Those that aren’t can be forced to change or, if nothing improves over time, shut down.
Dayton schools, rated in the second lowest state category of “academic watch,” are a good example of the potential problems with the House plan. Should an effective, unique school like the Stivers School for the Arts — rated “excellent” and making strong annual test-score growth — be forced to alter its program to fit the state’s vision just because other schools in the district are struggling?
There’s an easy answer to that question: no. But under the House plan, Stivers could be forced to do things the state’s way.
Gov. Strickland’s education proposals are numerous and complicated, and the budget fight is messy. But lawmakers must tie up these loose ends so the education plan that eventually passes makes sense. Before Ohio mandates how schools operate, each should be judged on both measures — state rating and test score growth.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Editorials, Education, Scott Elliott
Comments
By Marianne Lombardo
June 21, 2009 10:50 PM | Link to this
Thank you so much for a thoughtful and fair analysis. The politicizing of education that has been going on has been so disappointing. The interests of children needs to be the most important considerations.