- On Monday, the Ohio House Education Committee approved a bill to limit annual state testing of students to four hours for any given subject. Notwithstanding the legitimate concerns that have led to such a push, placing a statutory limit is ill advised for at least three reasons. First, it’s a feel-good fix that may not solve the issue of over-testing (rampant test prep takes up geometrically more class time than the test themselves). Second, state accountability systems—the ability to say whether a student or a school is succeeding—are important and depend on assessment results. Third and finally, if we’re going to maintain test-based accountability, we should ensure that we use high-quality tests, and that requires flexibility. Having only one four-hour, super-high-stakes exam each year doesn’t allow for that.
- The seventeen member states of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, one of the two federally funded groups tasked with creating Common Core–aligned assessments, have approved initial achievement levels for the math and English language arts/literacy tests. Such cutoffs, which are used on other major tests—such as NAEP, PISA, and TIMSS—are important starting points for discussions about performance expectations, progress, and achievement gaps. And to that end, the consortium also approved a position paper that teachers, principals, parents, and other stakeholders can use to better interpret results. Moreover, SBAC expects more than half of kids to score below “proficient”—indicating that they are setting the bar reasonably high. It’s a major step on the country’s path to higher standards.
- K12 Inc., the country’s largest operator of online charter schools, is failing to live up to expectations. Among its problems are low test scores, threats of school shutdowns in a handful of states, the NCAA’s rejection of credits from twenty-four of the operator’s schools, and a 5 percent drop in attendance nationwide. Meanwhile the company’s shares have lost two-thirds of their value since September 2013. Yet the causes of this dismal performance aren’t entirely clear. Some say it’s due to rapid growth, others blame students who are ill suited for online learning, and still others point to a lack of investment in instruction. Whatever the reason, K12 is a cautionary tale for ed-tech enthusiasts and online charter startups everywhere.
- While we struggle nationwide with STEM employment and education, the situation is especially grim in rural America. Last week, The Atlantic wrote about how sparsely populated districts have trouble providing students with even basic chemistry labs. Budgets are tight (districts tend to be less wealthy, and transportation costs more across large rural districts), and there’s a shortage of qualified and interested teachers, compounded by the inability to provide adequate, modern facilities. Some stakeholders are proposing creative solutions, including seeking business partners to help foot the bill and giving students access to other educators through videos and teleconferencing.
