- Here’s a pretty up-to-date status report on standardized testing in Ohio. Sure, parts of the story are given “juice” by the use of some loaded terms (“controversial”, “scrap”, “confusing”, “a mess”), but let’s not quibble over questions of authorial intent. Let’s just be glad of all the attention being paid to testing. For the sake of student achievement, because that’s what all of the interview subjects have as their bottom line interest. Right? (Cincinnati Enquirer, 5/8/15)
- As if Patrick O’Donnell’s series on his visit to a Pearson testing facility in Westerville couldn’t get any more interesting, he concluded by answering some specific reader queries on the how’s and why’s of grading standardized tests without a computer. Honestly, the questions folks wanted answered were almost more interesting than the answers themselves. There’s so much to unpack in a question like “How many breaks are they given to get refreshed since each score means so much to each student?”. Still no answer to my puzzler: “What kinds of snacks are provided for said refreshment, since #brainfood?” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/9/15)
- Meanwhile, in the oldies-but-goodies department, editors in Columbus opined yesterday on the vital need for students to read proficiently by the end of their third grade year. This is a subtle reminder of the actual “frenzy” of stories and op-eds about Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee from this time last year. Perhaps too subtle, given that the stakes are just as high this year as last. (Columbus Dispatch, 5/11/15)
- We end with an op-ed from this morning’s Beacon Journal, opining that the school levy travails of tiny Mogadore Schools are instructive about the state of school funding in Ohio writ large. Check it out and see if you agree. (Akron Beacon Journal, 5/12/15)
