The Cincinnatti Enquirer reports the growing anger against Common Core testing among parents, teachers, and superintendents.
Ohio proves that opposition to the Common Core is not limited to the Tea Party. Nor is support. One of the strongest supporters of Common Core is conservative Republican Governor John Kasich.
“More area school parents are taking a “none of the above” stance and yanking their kids from what they say is excessive new testing.
“And some area school superintendents are joining them by taking rare, public positions in opposition to state education officials’ backing of new Common Core-inspired testing for grades three through 12 in Ohio.”
“More kids are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Teachers are putting more pressure on the kids and teachers are worried because the new testing is part of their job evaluations,” said Jay Meyer, a Kings Schools parent who allowed his high school teen to opt out of the new exams.
“Overall, Ohio students this school year – depending on their grade – have seen a sharp increase in the number of exams and practice tests, most driven by the state’s adoption of Common Core standards. For some grades and academic subjects – language arts, math, science and social studies – testing, including practice exams, have nearly tripled from five to 14.
“The state is using new math and English tests this year supplied by the multi-state Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. The tests are based on the Common Core learning standards.
“Parents are allowed to opt out of testing by informing their local schools in writing.”
The reason for all this testing is to raise scores on international tests, but none of the high-performing nations test every child every year. Standards don’t raise test scores. Instruction does. Tests don’t raise test scores; they are a measure, not a remedy.
Our policymakers are ill-informed, know nothing of education research, and lack common sense.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Dr. Ravitch,
Have you had an opportunity to view Jacobin’s video essay, The School Closure Playbook, about the detrimental impact of the education reform movement in Chicago? I saw it featured on Naked Capitalism:
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/02/rahm-emanuel-election-education-reform/
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/02/school-closure-playbook-billionaires-exploit-poor-children-chicago.html
Matt,
I have not but I will
Matt Pappalardo: I viewed the entire video.
Thank you for posting it on this thread.
😎
Good news for folks on this list and public school defenders generally. The scale of public opposition from the bottom up against the billionaire’s private war from the top down is approaching the tipping point when democratic opposition to the undemocratic dismantling of schools and the looting of school budgets will face massive resistance. So much opposition is popping up in so many places, too much to report or count, so far too much to consolidate into an irresistible force, so perhaps that comes next as the wave which flushes Duncan, Gates, and Pearson down the tubes.
I never understood why Kasich was elected to begin with. He is not a deep thinker and tends to shoot from the hip. He must be insulated from scrutiny by handlers and friendly media due to his erratic and abrasive behavior. Remember, this is the guy who called a police officer an “idiot” over and over just because the Governor received a well deserved ticket. Wonder how NY would react if De Blasio did the same? Kasich was raised in a public service family, went to public schools, owes his wealth and career to a lifetime as a public employee and lobbyist.
Ok, ok, I get it. Ohio is flyover country and only counts in presidential elections. But what is happening in Ohio resembles North Korea.
Go Strickland for Senate! Strickland is a son of Appalachia, understands real people, and is authentic. Much of Ohio’s recovery is attributed to his support of true, working Ohioans and education. When Kasich took over, the archaic trickle-on policies of bygone years were implemented, resulting in 2+ years of growth below the rest of the country, high poverty, and the decimation of education.
It’s funny the Tea Party are opposing CC testing when that’s probably not primarily driving the increase in testing. They get rid of the CC they still have all the other reforms.
Why didn’t they object to the Third Grade Reading Guarantee? Because it was (supposedly) state-led? They took it word for word from Jeb Bush’s national lobbying group. This obsession with process and legalistic parsing of “federalism” seems to obscure the truth of what’s happening here.
“The number of tests have for some grades nearly tripled compared to the 2013-2014 school year.”
To be fair, Ohio adopts every ed reform that comes down the pike, so some of this is due not to the Common Core but to the fact that everyone in the ed reform “movement” gets their pet project and there are several political factions vying for dominance in our public schools.
We never tell anyone “no” so the “reforms” are layered one on top of another. I have no earthly idea how much testing came out of Jeb Bush’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee, for example, but I bet it’s a boatload. Add Arne Duncan’s VAM and then Common Core and the high school graduation “reforms” and you’re off to the races.
I give the two Cincinnati Enquirer reporters a grade of D–for their stories on the rapidly accelerating opt-out movement. In spite of making front page news with the headline: “Pushback grows on student testing,” they failed to create a portrait of the time and disruptions to learning caused by excessive testing.
A majority of Ohio’s tests are the result of current federal requirements for reports under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as NCLB, with some revisions added under Race to the Top that called for teacher evaluations based on test scores of students.
The state legislature has added tests to that agenda, producing a long list of required tests from the state. In addition, districts had to generate student test scores in “untested subjects” in order to evaluate teachers. In many subjects, these requirements meant students had to take a test early in the year and another by April–in theory to measure “growth” in learning, but in reality just to evaluate teachers.
The State Superintendent of Public Instruction and his testing experts in the Ohio Department of education (ODE) produced the following information, lightly tweaked by me, to include the average MINIMUM time for test prep reported in a recent survey of principals and teachers conducted by ODE.
The ODE report listed the grade by grade average testing times…together with the average length of a school year, to come up with some percentages that make the total time for testing look quite small—for the benefit of the Governor and legislators.
But those small percentages do not reflect the realities of the disruption caused by out-of-control testing. They do not reflect the scheduling nightmares during a year caused by rolling “testing windows” where students in different grades are taking proctored tests and make-up tests are being given for kids who were absent. They do not reflect the havoc caused when there are conflicts in scheduling computer time for tests or the fact that ODE wants all test results before May 1.
Among other spillovers from the testing mania is the common practice of enlisting teachers of art (and teachers of other “untested” subjects) as test proctors, or sending students who are in a moment of “testing limbo” into these classes as if that did not create chaos and damage efforts to have coherent instruction.
Here are some of ODE’s recent counts on hours spent in testing, to which I have added the 15 hours of average time spent in test prep.
Instructional Test time
GR. Tests Prep Hrs hrs in school yr %
K 11.3 + 15 = 26.3 1,061 .025
1 11.6 + 15 = 26.6 1,087 .024
2 13.6 + 15 = 28.6 1,087 .026
3 28.0 + 15 = 43.6 1,088 .040
4 24.0 + 15 = 39.0 1,088 .036
5 22.6 + 15 = 37.7 1,092 .035
6 22.3 + 15 = 37.3 1,103 .034
7 21.1 + 15 = 36.1 1,109 .033
8 23.0 + 15 = 38.0 1,110 .034
9 20.4 + 15 = 35.4 1,115 .031
10 28.4 + 15 = 43.4 1,115 .039
11 18.9 + 15 = 33.9 1,114 .030
12 12.2 + 15 = 27.2 1,102 .025
2015-2016 Required State Tests- Spring unless otherwise indicated.
K Readiness Test (About one hour per child total, not all at one sitting)
3 Fall – English Language Arts
Spring – English Language Arts
Math
4 Social Studies
Math
English Language Arts
5 Science
Math
English Language Arts
6 Social Studies
Math
English Language Arts
7 Math
English Language Arts
8 Science
Math
English Language Arts
9-12 English I End-of-Course
Algebra I End-of-Course
American History End-of-Course or Substitute
Biology/Physical Science End-of-Course or Substitute
English II End-of-Course
Geometry End-of-Course
American Government End-of-Course or Substitute
11 College Admissions Test
Not here, are Advanced Placement tests.
Source https://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Testing/Ohio-s-State-Tests/Testing-Report-and-Recommendations-2015.pdf.aspx
This is not the whole testing picture. Our current high school students, especially the Class of 2018, are being decimated by tests.
In our District, second semester exams took place in mid-January. Afterward, the 9th graders started prepping for PARCC tests which were set to begin mid-February through mid-March. Then the students would have one week or so of scheduled instruction before they had third quarter exams; after which they have spring break, a week or so of instruction and then they are required to take the End of Year PARCC tests from Mid-April through mid-May. Then after a week or so of instruction they have to take second semester exams!! To top it off, somewhere in this madness during their second or third year of high school (if they haven’t dropped out) these same students will need to take their ACT’s and SAT’s. Of course our State Superintendent believes testing levels are about…20% too high. Right.
These tests are not reflective of the learning taking place inside Ohio classrooms, nor should they be. An effective assessment gives immediate results to a teacher based on what has been covered in class so they in turn can move forward or adjust their lesson plan to solidify objectives. Also, these tests are filled with arbitrary and twisted syntax meant to confuse the test taker. These tests contain content years above the students current grade level (i.e. PARCC tests for Algebra I contain questions connected to trigonometry, calculus and even linear algebra) yet that score will be part, if not all, of our students final grade for the class as well as part of an arbitrary point system toward their high school diploma. Imagine having to take every high school class in a format structured similar to an AP class for all four years of high school AND that big test at the end is not for college credit, but for your actual grade in that class and some points toward your diploma! Anxieties, fears, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are skyrocketing in this young teen group who are just beginning their high school journey.
In reality, active learning for our 9th grade freshmen effectively ended in December when they went on holiday break. Yet our State and Federal politicians, as well as some commentators, expect our current 9th grade students to reach learning standards higher than any public high school class in the history of the U.S. Moreover, they expect them to do so with approximately 56% less high school instructional time then the generations before them! It’s preposterous.
The enquirer article completely missed the mark when they placed the individuals and groups who are pushing back and saying ‘no’ into one specific political party or belief. Those of us living the reality know that we are a bipartisan group that has reached across the aisle and banded together in a manner our elected officials are completely incapable of.
You see, for us it’s not about politics, or political points, or political parties. It’s not about big business or about money. For us, it’s about our children. Our children’s health, our children’s welfare and most important…our children’s future.
“Our policymakers are ill-informed, know nothing of education research, and lack common sense.”
You’re way too nice, Diane, way too nice!!
Wait I have a question for anyone on here…my principal. and I were just discussing testing (we get to do paper pencil because we were not tech ready, whew and I was mentioning all the problems with the tech side of this test) and she told me that is illegal for a teacher, principal or student not to take the PARCC test here in IL, based on a letter she just got from the state. I KNOW this is now TRUE but she believes it! I don’t think we are going to have any people opt out (darn) but what miss information from the state is she getting? any ideas?
cary444 You will find the current policy on testing opt out from the Ohio Department of Education at this location. It is probably the document your principal was supposed to have on hand. You can print it if other teachers/parents have a question. I also suggest you call the Ohio Department of Education and ask for the person in charge of opt outs.
http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/53dc1f3e-11f1-4093-875c-090e160b187f/Guidance-on-Student-Participation-in-State-Tests.pdf.aspx