Gadfly Bites 10/26/22—Fighting only half the battle

1. So we had our NAEP teaser on Monday. Let’s dig into the details today. First up, Fordham’s Aaron Churchill is among the analysts quoted in Gongwer. He called the results for Ohio fourth graders “significant”—as in significantly problematic—and the scores for eighth graders “truly a disaster.” No qualification required there, I reckon. (Gongwer Ohio, 10/24/22) Aaron is also quoted in the Dayton Daily News, noting that the disastrous NAEP data mirrors our state data. While not exactly a surprise, he is hopeful that the combination of bad outcomes will galvanize the state into action to solve the problem and reverse the obvious declines. (Dayton Daily News, 10/24/22) Not to be forgotten in all this is the specific spotlight focused on Cleveland Metropolitan School District as one of 26 current Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) cities around the country. Cleveland notched the steepest drop of all TUDA districts from 2019 to 2022. This look at the data includes responses from district and teacher union officials. As they do not talk much about why/how the problem arose nor how specifically they are going to combat the learning loss, they do not inspire me. YMMV. (WKYC-TV, Cleveland, 10/25/22) Meanwhile, in sunny (really sunny) suburbia, officials at Fairview Park City Schools are simultaneously claiming they have beaten the Covid slide writ large— “Internal data reveals academically-speaking students didn’t suffer learning losses that have been reported around the nation… “Our elementary teachers successfully facilitated an academic rebound in literacy and mathematics with most students…”—and availing themselves of $300K in state grants to provide high dosage tutoring for the handful of kids still needing a tiny boost for the next couple of years. The grass really is greener, isn’t it? (Cleveland.com, 10/26/22)
   
   

2. Meanwhile, Fordham’s Chad Aldis spoke to public media’s Andy Chow in support of the state’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Specifically, in favor of the retention and extra services provisions which lots of folks (you know who I mean) want to see removed from it. “The improvements mean most for the most struggling readers,” Chad said. “Low-income students, students of color. And that's where the gaps are biggest in Ohio. And that's why we can't turn away at a time when our students need the most assistance and there are signs we've made progress.” Exactly. (Statehouse News Bureau, 10/21/22)
   
   

3. Speaking of reading, Port Clinton High School has instituted a silent reading protocol whereby every other activity in the building stops—including math, science, history, phys ed, etc.—three times a week for an inexplicable 14 minutes’ duration and all students and staff members pick up a book or a magazine to read for pleasure. It’s called R.E.D. Block, which for some reason stands for “read every day” even though it’s only three days a week, it is the brain child of the district’s resource intervention specialist, and it is meant to increase the unacceptably low literacy level at the school (details not provided, but you can probably guesstimate) without “more curriculum, more testing and more pressure on staff and students”. That is, “she hopes to increase literacy levels by teaching the students that reading can be fun” rather than, you know, teaching them to read at higher levels than they are. According to the resource intervention specialist, “Trivia books seem to be a hit. They love ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’.” (I am sad we didn’t find out what was number two on the popularity list.) “We want to promote reading and help students enjoy books at their own level,” she continued. “If they can find some enjoyment out of it, that is half the battle.” I can’t even. (Freemont News Messenger, 10/25/22)
    
4. Sticking around in Bizarro World for a little longer, officials in Lorain City Schools are expressing “confusion” over two possible meanings of the term “performance audit”. Their version: Having the state dig into district spending under former district CEO David Hardy half a decade ago. ODE/Auditor of State version: Digging into the current administration’s efforts at reaching the goals of its academic improvement plan right now. Feels like a sitcom plot to me. Hilarity ensues. (Chronicle-Telegram, 10/26/22)
   
   

5. Unfortunately neither a sitcom nor an alternative universe: Charter school leaders in Columbus took their ongoing transportation complaints directly to the elected board members in charge of Columbus City Schools. It’s almost November, people. Figure this out! (Fox28 News, Columbus, 10/25/22)

Did you know you can have every edition of Gadfly Bites sent directly to your Inbox? Subscribe by clicking here.