We’ve seen this before. Sixteen years ago Ohioans fought and won a battle against outcome-based education, which would have required the testing of students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for promotion or graduation. These changes in state law were being pushed through in the state budget legislation. After huge public protests, the Legislature pulled the language and restricted state testing to academics.
Now the Education Bureaucracy is bringing OBE back.
Parents expect schools to teach rigorous academic skills. Yet Governor Strickland’s plan will require state standards and assessments (K-12 and graduation) to include interpersonal skills, social skills, collaboration skills, flexibility, creativity, work ethic, cross-cultural skills, leadership, and more. There is no way to score these highly subjective personality traits without discrimination or bias. Why would overburdened schools even want to try?
We already have a state assessment system that has lost its rigor. Now the state wants to add more requirements to the testing load for teachers to ensure children are creative, flexible, have good social skills, demonstrate leadership and much more. This means even less time for academic instruction. No wonder the governor is also calling for the addition of one entire month to the school year.
These new psychological standards and a longer school year will cripple local and state education budgets and force new and higher taxes. Teachers will need to learn to teach to psych evaluative tests and school systems will be at risk for lawsuits when graduates are denied diplomas due to their personality scores. These lawsuits could cost Ohio taxpayers millions more.
The only way to stop this plan is to show up at the public hearings and tell the finance committee members to reject this untested plan and stop experimenting with Ohio’s children. There will be three days of public hearings this coming week. We need to pack the room with parents/teachers/educators/taxpayers who are willing to tell legislators that these changes need to be rejected!
Tuesday, March 17, 1 pm
Public Hearing
Ohio Statehouse, Room 313
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Wednesday, March 18, 7 pm
Public Hearing
Ohio Statehouse, Room 313
Columbus, Ohio 43215
In addition, call your own state legislator. Firmly ask for a NO vote on the budget (HB1) if the Governor’s reforms are not removed from the state budget bill.
Source: The American Policy Roundtable.