In all of the discussion about balancing the budget, are we failing to adequately address important policy issues? How do we decide what issues need to move forward now versus what issues need further debate and discussion?Because of strong pushes at both the national and state levels, Ohio finds itself in a catch-22. Without a doubt, Ohio's mediocre standards, developed over a decade ago, need updating (see here). Yet, moving forward alone with significant revisions (as with the governor's proposal and House-passed version of H.B.1) poses challenges while the national firestorm intensifies. If the national standards movement leads to world-class standards, then Ohio's hard work to revise its standards risks becoming irrelevant or a costly and ultimately unnecessary effort. If Ohio waits and sees what comes of the national movement that, too, can backfire. Going along with the Common Core State Standards Initiative (or others like it) is not a sure-fire bet for better standards. Nothing may come of the effort as it could fall under competing political pressures. Or, it may take years for standards to be developed and agreed to by states and, in the end, they may not be what Ohio's children need.
What's Ohio to do? Ohio needs to be a leader in these national conversations and be seen as a full partner in the effort to develop common core standards. At home, Ohio needs to be prudent with any revisions it does make and not fall prone to fads or calls for giving all stakeholders a voice at the risk of subject content. The Senate version of H.B. 1 best approximates this position (see here for our H.B. 1 analyses). With thoughtful preparation, Ohio will be able capitalize on the national standards movement either by embracing the effort outright or taking what good work these efforts generate and customizing it to Ohio's needs.
5 comments:
Ohio needs to be a leader in these national conversations and be seen as a full partner in the effort to develop common core standards. At home, Ohio needs to be prudent with any revisions it does make and not fall prone to fads ...
Fordham got this right, but they underestimate Ohio's academic content standards.
Here's a Grade 12 Research standard in English:
"Determine the accuracy of sources and the credibility of the author by analyzing the sources' validity (e.g., authority, accuracy, objectivity, publication date and coverage, etc.)."
How often have we seen people with graduate degrees actually apply this... for instance, to our Governor's EBM bibliography?
I am an educator and I strongly believe in National standards.
I would like them to be of narrower scope, but allow for more depth of knowledge. I think we miss the boat by expecting our students to know a little bit about everything. That way it is difficult for the average student to master anything.
Work is already under way to revise Ohio's content standards. ODE is benchmarking content standards against high performing countries and states. They hope to eliminate extraneous items and deepen the focus on remaining content.
Our actual content standards, with the possible exception of being overly broad, are pretty good. It is our performance standards (proficient cut scores) that are painfully low. It's not enough to improve content standards. Ohio must raise expectations for all students.
Our actual content standards, with the possible exception of being overly broad, are pretty good. It is our performance standards (proficient cut scores) that are painfully low.
Yes. But at least we've not been as dishonest as Wisconsin, where Dr. Odden finds many of his examples of "doubled" student achievement. (In 8th grade math, Wisconsin’s black students tied for fourth-worst in the nation with Washington D.C.)
So do high school teachers in Ohio teach to the standards or teach to the OGT? Is the OGT "Cliff's Notes" demonstrably dumbed down from the academic content standards?
The OGT is aligned to the content standards but 1) only includes material through the 10th grade, and 2) has a very low pass score on each subject test.
As to doubling achievement, we must remember that "double" doesn't quite mean double in a mathematical sense, it means a "large" increase. As best I can tell that means more than a double digit increase.
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