House Bill 239 Could be Antidote for ‘Test Distress’
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
A growing number of parents and educators agree — Ohio’s students have to endure too much testing. The demands and pressures of so much testing are having a detrimental impact on our learners, and it’s time to do something about it.
Across the state, excessive testing has led to a loss of instructional time in the classroom and lost educational opportunities for students. Testing has fostered anxiety not curiosity and a fear of failure instead of the freedom to flourish.
“While some districts may not need to think twice about their student’s success on state assessments,” a history teacher in Lorain County recently told me, “many of us need to place every ounce of our effort into strategies that point directly to an endgame that has little to do with student college and career readiness, nothing to do with the joy of learning, and everything to do with an arbitrary score on a standardized test.”
A high school counselor in Columbiana County said, “The amount of anxiety bottled up in the walls of our school for the month and a half it takes to test all our students is immeasurable and unfathomable. I’ve seen students shake with fear in anticipation of logging in to the testing system or break down in tears of relief after submitting their last question.”
Ohio is now in the minority of states that exceeds minimum federal testing requirements for students. The number of end-of-course exams, as well as the stakes attached to them, must be reduced.
The Ohio Education Association has been urging state lawmakers to do more to address this issue and, with the introduction of new legislation last week, it’s clear legislators are listening.
On Wednesday [May 8, 2019], the Testing Reduction Act (House Bill 239) was introduced in the Ohio House. The bill, 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 and bring together teachers, parents and administrators in each school district to address the testing load on students. OEA strongly supports this legislation.
Specifically, HB 239 would make the following changes:
- Reduce state-mandated standardized tests to the federal minimums by eliminating four high school end-of-course exams.
- Require school districts to convene a local work group made up of teachers, parents and administrators to examine district-required testing and make recommendations for ways to reduce the amount of time students spend taking tests.
- Alter the existing provision that allows local school boards to pass a resolution to exceed testing limits by requiring that such action be taken on an annual basis and be reported to the Ohio Department of Education.
- Require that ODE issue an annual report on the time spent on state- and district-required testing in Ohio’s schools.
- Provide that the state continues to offer a paid administration of the ACT/SAT tests for high school juniors, but student participation would be voluntary.
This bill is a thoughtful way to restore some balance to our classrooms by addressing overtesting while also keeping high standards. Less time spent on testing means more time for teaching and learning. That’s what’s best for Ohio’s students.
By Becky Higgins, president of the Ohio Education Association.
Reprinted courtesy of the Dispatch Printing Company. Original URL: https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20190514/column-house-bill-could-be-antidote-for-test-distress
Local Presidents’ Training — June 18-19th
All elected presidents of OEA locals, including those elected for the 2019-2020 school year, are invited to participate in a special training program June 18-19 at the Columbus Renaissance Hotel, 50 N. 3rd Street, Columbus OH 43215.
This program, led by a diverse cadre of local presidents and OEA staff, will provide participants the opportunity to learn about the roles and responsibilities of a local president, the essential knowledge and skills needed to be successful, as well as connections with others serving in similar roles in Ohio locals of all types and sizes.
This training is planned around the NEA Leadership Competencies and is focused on knowledge and skills related to Governance & Leadership and Organizing. Participants will receive OEA’s Local Presidents’ Handbook to support them in their work to grow and strengthen their local unions.
This program will begin at the conclusion of the OEA Summer Academy with a reception and dinner at 5:00 p.m. on June 18 and conclude at 4:00 p.m. on June 19. OEA will cover the cost of a hotel room for participants traveling from outside of Columbus.
There is no registration fee; however, space is limited, and pre-registration (below) is required.
About Last Tuesday Night….
Let me get right to the point – the election results were deeply disappointing.
We had a very good candidate for Governor in Rich Cordray who was with us on the issues and who pledged to give us a seat at the decision-making table.
We lost an opportunity to have a close partnership with the governor of Ohio.
While we are still diving into the data to understand what happened this year, we know that this was not a normal non-presidential election. The turnout exceeded expectations. It was the highest it’s been since 1994.
“We made important progress in the last General Assembly on such issues as reforms to the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES).”
As we analyze the election to inform future strategies, we’ll also be re-doubling our efforts to address the issues that our members care about. We made important progress in the last General Assembly on such issues as reforms to the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System (OTES).
Because of the relationships that we’ve built with key Republicans, and who we supported in their re-elections, we’re confident we can make further progress in the next General Assembly.
Here are some things you should know:
- Behind the scenes, outside the heat of the election, a bipartisan group of legislators, school district treasurers, and superintendents have been working on a sustainable school funding model that would adequately fund the cost of educating our students.
- There’s still a lot of important work to be done and hurdles to overcome, but we are excited about the potential for this proposal to create a constitutional school funding system in Ohio.
- We have a bipartisan consensus among legislators that the A to F report card system does not currently serve the needs of our students and must change.
- We have an urgent and immediate problem with graduation requirements and we need a fix this year to avoid having thousands of students denied a high school diploma.
- Now that OTES reforms have passed the legislature, we need to make sure that they get implemented right by the State Board of Education and at local levels.
- We will continue to work with the legislature to fix or eliminate the law (HB 70) that allows for the state to takeover local school districts.
Both candidates for governor talked about the importance of having school funding plans that include providing mental health services and dialing back on testing.
We are committed to making every effort to work with Governor-elect DeWine and the legislature to ensure that they implement policies to support our students on those issues.
Thank you for all that you do. By standing strong, together we will advocate for our students, our members and for public education.
Sincerely,
Becky Higgins,
President
Ohio Education Association
Stand Strong for Public Education…Together, We Can!
Janus v. AFSCME?
Through our union, we advocate for what our students deserve and for what educators need to do our jobs well. However, the U.S. Supreme Court will likely issue a decision in the case this week that could threaten our collective voice. Janus v. AFSCME is a politically motivated attack to use the U.S. Supreme Court to divide and conquer our union by eliminating the fair share fee.
Why Does It Matter
Janus v. AFSCME is part of a concerted effort to weaken our ability to advocate for our students and members. Negotiating collectively improves the lives of all working people—even those who are not union members themselves—because strong unions set pay and benefit standards that non-union employers follow. This means stronger communities. At its core, the Janus case is about working people’s freedom to make a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities.
What Are We Doing About It?
Together, we are continuing the fight for strong public schools by strengthening our locals and demonstrating value and relevance to our members. | #OEAstrong
Download the Strong OEA = Strong Public Schools fact card for additional details about Janus v. AFSCME.
Oh Yes, We’re Social — Join the Conversation!
Updated June 4, 2018
Ohio Education Association Endorses Cordray for Governor
The Ohio Education Association (OEA) Fund for Children and Public Education (FCPE) has unanimously endorsed Richard Cordray (D) for Governor of Ohio. The vote was taken at an FCPE convention on Saturday, May 19, 2018, in Columbus.
“Richard Cordray displayed an impressive understanding of the key issues that Ohio’s next Governor will face – from the need to invest more in the state’s public schools and less in poor-performing charter schools. He also understands the need to halt the over-reliance on standardized tests to measure student growth and to evaluate teacher performance,” said OEA President Becky Higgins. “He inspired our members with his commitment to make public education a top priority and to enhance universal pre-K programs that will set Ohio’s children on the path to success.”
The OEA FCPE State Council, comprised of elected OEA members from throughout Ohio carefully screens candidates based on their voting records, their stated support of public education and the OEA’s priority issues. The Republican candidate for Governor, Attorney General Mike DeWine, was invited to participate but declined to attend.
“We believe Richard Cordray has the leadership skills to address the many challenges the state will face in the years ahead,” said Higgins. “Educators, students, parents and all Ohioans will be well-served by his election.”
The Ohio Education Association represents 125,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio’s public schools, colleges, and universities.
OEA Secretary-Treasurer’s Fiscal Fitness Award
The OEA Secretary-Treasurer’s Fiscal Fitness Award recognizes Local Associations excelling in the implementation of financial best practices. (It is presented to winning Locals rather than to the individual treasurer of the locals.) The full criteria and how to participate is outlined HERE as well as in the October/November 2023 Ohio Schools magazine. Locals must submit materials for the 2022-2023 fiscal year award by January 31, 2024, to:
Ohio Education Association | Office of the Secretary-Treasurer
OEA Fiscal Fitness Award
225 East Broad Street | Columbus, OH 43215
614-227-3199
Have an Additional Question?
InfOEA is a one-stop point of contact providing phone and email assistance to all members, particularly local treasurers and other members with administrative responsibilities.
- Email: membership@ohea.org
- Call: 1-(844)-OEA-INFO or 1-(844)-632-4636 | Mon.-Fri., during traditional business hours
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