Voices of Change was created by the OEA as a place where members, public education advocates, policymakers and others can exchange information and express their opinions on public education and related issues. So make your voice heard! We’re interested in what you have to say.

Please note: All comments must adhere to OEA discussion rules.  Comments may be excerpted for use in other OEA publications, and may be edited for length and clarity. You must be logged in to leave a comment. | #OverTestedOH

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Average Classroom Educators
Dear So-called Average Teacher

Guest Blog By Julie Holderbaum, Minerva EA/OEA | Now that summer is here and you have time to breathe and reflect on the school year that just ended, maybe you’re feeling that your year was just, well, average. We don’t always see, in immediate hindsight, the seeds that we have planted and the impact that we have had…

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Image: STRS Logo
STRS Board Adopts New Funding Policy Amendments

Additionally, at OEA’s urging, the Board adopted a change that at an 85% funding level or greater, the Board may consider changes in the plan that do not materially impair the fiscal integrity of the system. OEA supports this change and supports restoration of COLA benefits as well as a reduction in employee contribution rates as financial conditions improve.

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Image: Becky Higgins
House Bill 239 Could be Antidote for ‘Test Distress’

By OEA Pres. Becky Higgins — The Testing Reduction Act (House Bill 239) sponsored by Reps. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, and Erica Crawley, D-Columbus, is bipartisan legislation that makes important changes to Ohio law to reduce state-required testing. OEA strongly supports this legislation.

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Image: Self-harm wrist covered with bandage
When Anxiety Over Takes a Test

Guest Blog | My son is an excellent student who is high achiever…I do know that he verbally and physically showed signs of severe stress in the weeks up to taking the tests that spring. But what his teacher who was proctoring the test told me left me heartbroken for him.

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Image: Computerized Testing
Computerized Testing — A Revolution That Wasn’t

Guest Blog By Kim Snyder, OEA/Wadsworth E.A. | “We have now lived through the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT), the Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA), the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) — and now, the worst of them all — the AIR tests.Imagine what we could do with at least a month added back to our teaching plans.”

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Image: OvertestedOH
The Dreaded “T” Word….

Guest Blog by Samantha Muniz , United E.A. | We used to meet the week of the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT) with some trepidation. But now we meet the MONTH of testing with absolute and utter dread. Dread for the amount of time it takes to prepare for “the tests,

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Image: Becky Higgins, Ohio Statehouse, April 9, 2019
HB 154: Proponent Testimony – Becky Higgins

April 9, 2019 | On behalf of our 122,000 members, I am Becky Higgins, President of the OEA. “The state takeover and the resulting loss of local control in Youngstown, Lorain and East Cleveland schools has not helped the students in those districts.”

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Image: 04.09.2018_Scott DiMauro at the Statehouse
House Bill 166: House Finance Primary & Secondary Education Subcommittee Testimony

April 9, 2019 | OEA VP Scott DiMauro testifies about the Cupp/Patterson Bill to the House Finance Primary & Secondary Education Subcommittee: “We remain concerned that HB 166 retains a school funding methodology that is not driven by what constitutes a high-quality education.”

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I Don’t Wanna Go to School!

Guest Blog | Sarah Boss, Western Reserve EA | …Her biggest fear was not the test. She said to me, “Mom, I can’t sit still for that long. I’m not allowed to get up and I can’t sit still!”

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Imge: Open microphone at public meeting.
Why I Ran for Office

Guest Blog | By Molly Wassmuth, Westerville E.A. | The 2016 presidential election…it did not turn out the way I had hoped or worked for, despite the fact that I donated, canvassed and phone-banked. Did I do enough?

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