COLUMBUS – February 25, 2016 – In response to the release today of the Ohio School Report Cards by the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Education Association (OEA) urged state policy makers to take further steps to reduce the use of standardized tests to measure student achievement and evaluate teacher performance.
“Ohio’s 2014-15 report cards should be interpreted with considerable caution,” said OEA President Becky Higgins. “The drop in test scores was anticipated as local schools and students were adjusting to the substantial changes made to Ohio’s testing system. Among these changes was the use of the more rigorous and controversial PARRC tests that have since been replaced. Without more time and support for teachers and students to adjust to the implementation of a new testing system, it was always likely that Ohio and other states would see a drop in scores.”
“School districts, parents, and policy makers should be leery about putting much emphasis on the report card data or using it to make decisions or comparisons'” said Higgins. “We encourage the state’s policy makers to find more ways to limit the role of standardized tests so that our students get more genuine teaching and spend less time preparing for and taking tests.”
Join the conversation @OhioEA and Like Us at OhioEducationAssociation
###
The Ohio Education Association (ohea.org) represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges and universities