Ohio’s new Common Core learning standards
What is changing?
In 2010, Ohio adopted new, demanding learning standards for students in math, English language arts, science and social studies. Ohio’s New Learning Standards allow for all kinds of learners to become well-prepared for college and careers. The math and English language arts standards are called Common Core State Standards because Ohio worked with many other states to develop them. The science and social studies standards are specific to Ohio. Students will learn to apply increasingly difficult math concepts to many different situations.
Under the new English language arts standards, students will learn better reading, writing and communication skills. They will closely analyze what they are reading, write arguments with claims and reasoning and think critically to draw their own conclusions.
Ohio students also will build strong foundations in science and technology and learn to apply them to real-world experiences, often in their own communities.
How will these standards be different?
Students will study only the most important and useful concepts within each subject, each year. They will drill much deeper into each area, learning to apply more knowledge and skills in the subject than ever before. The standards will help students see how different subjects like math, science and English language arts overlap.
Why is the change needed?
Nearly 40 percent of Ohio high school graduates who enroll in college in Ohio are not prepared for college-level work. Some Ohio employers believe the state will soon not have enough graduates to fill the good, higher-paying jobs that will be available.
When does it begin?
The new standards will be implemented for the 2014-2015 school year.
Source: Ohio Dept. of Education
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Springfield City Schools superintendent David Estrop wants the state legislature to slow down its implementation schedule of Common Core standards due to the effects it could have on both students and teachers.
“It’s too aggressive, particularly in light of the projections and the results to date,” Estrop said.
At Thursday’s school board meeting, Estrop said he will speak with area state and federal representatives about slowing down the process, which has happened in other states such as Massachusetts, Louisiana and Florida.
Estrop supports increased standards for students, but believes more time should be allotted to give more thought to issues raised. He would like “start the conversation.”
“We’re not asking for the impossible,” Estrop said, “we’re simply saying let’s be thoughtful about this and take some time as we see this through.”
Estrop is concerned about the students, particularly those in high school, who can’t reach the new levels.
“I’ve asked that question for three years and no one has answered it,” Estrop said. “If there’s a plan, I don’t know about it.”
John Charlton, associate director for media relations for the Ohio Department of Education, said they’ll move forward with what’s approved until the state legislature says otherwise. There are number of reforms currently in the pipeline, including the third-grade reading guarantee, new learning standards, new generation of student assessments and new graduation requirements among others.
The measures are being put in place, Charlton said, because Ohio needs to do a better job of educating its students.
“We need to raise the bar,” Charlton said. “There’s good jobs here in Ohio that our students are not qualified for.”
Charlton understands the amount of changes coming can be stressful, but the state needs to have the best interest of students in mind.
“We have to do the best job of educating them and we can’t wait a year,” Charlton said.
In 2010, Ohio adopted new standards for students in math, English language arts, science and social studies which will prepare them for both college and careers. The math and language arts standards, widely known as Common Core State Standards, were developed with other states, while the science and social studies standards are unique to Ohio.
The change was made after the ODE discovered nearly 40 percent of Ohio high school graduates were not prepared for college-level courses.
Springfield and other school districts in Clark County have already begun implementing Common Core standards, which will allow students to study the most important concepts in each subject at a more in-depth level.
The district has performed several steps to get ready for the statewide implementation, including spending $5.5 million over the last three years on upgrades to its electronic network and bandwidth, as well as new reading/language arts and math textbooks. They’ve also modified elementary school report cards to align with Common Core targets and implemented Ohio Third Grade reading guarantee a year early.
A 2012 projection of test scores based on new Common Core assessments showed drops of 58 percent for 10th grade math and 56 percent for 10th grade reading tests. In New York, only 31 percent of students in third through eighth grades met or exceeded the Common Core standards in both English language arts and math, according to 2012-13 test scores released in August.
With the recent additions of computer-based assessments for students, a new educator evaluation system introduced this year and revamped statewide school district report cards, Estrop believes students, teachers, districts and communities will all be labeled as failures.
At the meeting, Estrop used an analogy of a parent attempting to teach a baby to walk by simply commanding it, rather than assisting it from crawling to walking. He believes the federal and state government approach districts with command and compliance behavior, rather than assistance.
“The idea that you can command this to happen overnight to me absolutely makes no sense because you can’t,” Estrop said, “no more than you can command a baby to walk. If that’s how you’re going to do business, you’re probably going to have some unintended outcomes. My guess is the baby will get mad, cry, resist walking or give up altogether. Before long, you’ve convinced the baby he or she is a failure.”
School districts across the United States are still “hamstrung” by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, Estrop said. The education reform “assumes unfortunately all children start in the same place and make the same progress each and every day.” He hopes to speak with officials about making changes at the federal level as well.
The Ohio Education Association, which represents 121,000 teachers, faculty members and support professionals in Ohio public schools, colleges and universities, asked education stakeholders earlier this month to de-emphasize standardized testing. The organization supports the increased standards, but said in a statement it believes mandated shorter timelines are “congesting and confounding educators’ work with students and their families.”
“Testing has proliferated beyond reason, displacing needed instructional time and channeling funds to testing companies and testing technologies,” said OEA president Becky Higgins. “Ohio seems to be seeking to standardize learning through more standardized testing, rather than seeking appropriate and effective ways to foster the academic growth of our students.”
Damon Asbury, the director of legislative services for the Ohio School Board Association, said he’s heard similar concerns from other school districts in Ohio. He said the legislature is taking some steps to address some of those concerns, including HB 193 and SB 229.
HB 193 would revise high school diploma requirements, including state assessments. The bill would give local districts the time have the capacity to administer the tests online. It was discussed in committee earlier this week.
“We think that will be beneficial,” Asbury said.
SB 229 would update some of the requirements of the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System and provide school districts more flexibility with evaluations. It would lessen the standards and frequency of the evaluations in some cases. It was passed out of the full Senate and will head to the House of Representatives in January.
“It’s not that we mind doing it; we know it’s got to be done,” Asbury said. “It’s just a question of how fast can you do it all with the resources we have.”
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