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Overall letter grades for Ohio schools don’t tell it all
By Melissa Martin, PhD
I perused the Ohio Department of Education’s website for this column
because report cards for Ohio schools were recently released. And the
results (grades) for schools were reported in myriad newspapers in Ohio.
How does a school or district earn an A-F Achievement Component Grade?
By a Performance Index score: the level of achievement for each student
on each state test. The possible levels are Advanced, Accelerated,
Proficient, Basic and Limited.
Folks, these A-F grades don’t tell it all.
“The state test results that form the backbone of the report card have
long been closely correlated to wealth and poverty. Schools in
higher-income communities generally test well, while those in
lower-income areas usually score lower,” according to a 2019 article in
the Dayton Daily News.
Do school districts need to be held accountable for student learning?
Yes. Do schools need to measure achievement and progress? Yes. Does
balanced testing have a place in our school system? Yes.
And what about schools in Ohio’s Appalachian counties? The Coalition of
Rural and Appalachian Schools, in partnership with the Ohio University
College of Education, is an organization composed of 136 school
districts, institutions of higher learning and other educational
agencies in the 35-county region of Ohio designated as Appalachia. What
say you about an overall grade for schools in Appalachia? Please speak
up and speak louder—I can’t hear you.
I agree with the following paragraph on the ODE website, “Report Cards
are only one part of the story. To get a fuller picture, we encourage
you to visit schools, talk to educators, parents and students, and
review the school’s or district’s webpage. A lot of great things are
happening every day in Ohio’s schools!”
So, send some appreciation to teachers, administrators, and school
staff in Scioto County. National Teacher Appreciation Day, also known
as National Teacher Day, is observed on the Tuesday of the first full
week in May. But you can send some extra gratitude anytime. Speak out
against the overall grade as a viable measurement.
“Teachers have the capacity to shape the minds and futures of many -
and they do so at all kinds of critical life stages. Kindergarten
teachers introduce young minds to the wonder of learning - and to the
basic tools of learning that students will use their entire lives.
Middle School teachers have the onerous challenge of instilling a
passion for academics in large groups of teens and tweens, whose minds
are so deeply focused on developmental issues and their idiosyncratic
social worlds. High school teachers are charged with teaching detailed
intellectual content to large groups of “near adults” - whose worlds
are often tumultuous on the inside and on the outside,” according to a
2015 article in Psychology Today.
Using an overall grade indicator remains controversial among lawmakers,
school administrators, educators, teachers, parents, and others.
Kudos to State Rep. Mike Duffey, the primary sponsor of House Bill 591.
Duffy’s position in a nutshell: A-F grades lead to a punitive approach
to schools and should be dropped. Cosponsors include Representatives:
Theresa Gavarone, George Lang, Bill Reineke, Craig Riedel, Tim Shaffer,
and William Seitz. Read information on HB 591 at
www.legislature.ohio.gov.
Shame and blame are not positive motivators for kids or adults. So just
stop it with the punitive approach of overall grades for Ohio schools.
ODE needs to speak up and support House Bill 591.
The take-way from this column is that Ohio schools should not be labeled with an overall grade indicator. What say you?
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in Southern Ohio.
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